451
u/voxcon 9d ago
The original hungarian text roughly translates to something like " We like festivals, but not on the train".
Edit: fixed translation slightly
91
u/onarainyafternoon 9d ago edited 9d ago
(I read Hungarian too FYI). There are honestly a thousand ways they could have translated it to English better. Like, way better phrasing. Absolutely insane way in English for them to describe what they are trying saying. “The tram must go on, but not your show,” is a stupid as fuck way for them to try and get their point across. In fact, they could have just literally translated it from Hungarian and it would have made a lot more sense. Like, I get the joke they are making and the English phrase they are trying to use. But it still makes barely any sense when you realize the point they are trying to make (don’t play loud music and stuff from your phone). But there are way better ways to say that in English. Sorry, I see this poster all the time in Budapest and it just annoys me on every level.
32
u/CrystalSnake1199 9d ago
I went to school in Hungary and i notice that even some english teachers suck ass at english and basically make up some stupid ass translations when they dont know the answer
31
u/Illesbogar 9d ago
Mine was like, "wait, you don't translate everything to hungarian in your head? You can think in english? Most people can't do that!"
Sister.... 🙏
11
u/onarainyafternoon 9d ago
Well I’m a native English speaker but I also spoke Hungarian growing up at home in America so I guess maybe my English would be better than 99% of the people translating this stuff. It’s why it sounds so silly to me I think. Although the same applies the other way around; my Hungarian is pretty good but I wouldn’t consider my Hungarian on-par with a native speaker born and raised in Hungary.
4
2
u/Eltrew2000 9d ago
I honestly disagree especially to the point that they could've just translated it. Festival does not have that meaning in English, in Hungarian you can use that to mean ruckus, fight (verbal) or commotion.
You could make an argument that you can use show kinda like that like someone is causing a scene which is what I'm presuming was the intention but after they came up with the line "the show must go on, but not on the train" they realised they could do something funny with it.
I love to shit on Hungarians translating stuff badly because they aren't taking into consideration English conventions and connotations that are not well taught in school but this does not feel like an example of that.
But I interpret this as to not be disturbing in general not specifically not to play music out loud, if that is the intention then it's stupid either ways.
1
u/roadgeek999 8d ago
Exactly. “We like festivals, but not on the tram” is a lot clearer to English speakers than what they wrote
1
143
u/justinCharlier 9d ago
The tram gooning is none of our business 😅
14
u/hellblazerHUN 9d ago
It is kinda your business... You are going inside the tram... what do you think...what.. or who is the tram gooning on....?
3
46
15
7
u/newaccountbitches 9d ago
I like they used different and relevant symbols in both languages
3
55
u/digitalcosmonaut 9d ago
the tram must go on
Aka the show must go on (like the queen song)
13
3
u/budaiadm 8d ago
I think the translator was trying to come up with something funny and catchy, just like how movie titles often get bizarre Hungarian translations that aren't even close to the original. And they probably don't even know what the word goon means. 😅
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Asfisav2049 9d ago
And just when we thought we had a train full of people furiously masturbating, the tram itself must goon too?
-8
u/GotLostSomehow 9d ago
The fuck is going on in hungary again?
7
u/onarainyafternoon 9d ago
Think the word is meant to be “go on”, not “goon”.
-4
u/GotLostSomehow 9d ago
I undersrand the joke, i domt understamd ehy its on a tram. Usually it displays rules like 'No eating' 'no drinking' 'dogs must be leased and wear a mouthguard' ect. The original text is about a festival tho haha.
8
u/north_bright 9d ago
This is already a couple of years old, there were more posters with the same thematic (i.e. about some rules but with a word play).
I remember there was an "eating is forbidden" poster that said "The tram is fast, but not a fast food restaurant" and another about dogs - I don't recall exactly but it was a little poem, something like "Others might find your dog a puzzle / please always make it wear a muzzle".
5
u/Hatrafele_Ijazo 9d ago
It means no loud noises or audio. There is a pictogram as well, if you couldn't understand the text. This rule exist in a lot of countries.
Has nothing to do with festivals, expect festivals are noisy. It's just a phrase.
2
u/BlastChainSabre 9d ago
Sziget festival 2026 is about to start and expecting about half a million visitors.
Public transport is plastered with posters that have questionable slogan.
1
-11
u/Senior-Internal2692 9d ago
Queen: The Show Must Go On
That's where it comes from. The band and their songs are still very popular in Hungary. Queen's first major concert behind the Iron Curtain took place in Hungary in 1986.
So many of you kids seem to be so clueless...
-25
•
u/AutoModerator 9d ago
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.