Random translations?

For Christmas my girlfriend and I gave ourselves a brand spanking new Garmin Nuvi GPS unit - it's the 760, because I like to get the best I can afford so it stays up-to-date for as long as possible.

Anyway, I was just going through some of the tools it has, things like a currency converter, world clock media player to name but just a few - one that took my fancy was the language guide? I thought hear's something cool lets have a look.

It covers a number of different languages, but is only a taster for an upgrade (of course why would it be included in full?) although it contains some handy phrases that you might use covering words, recreation, food and drink, entertainment, accommodation, problems and miscellaneous.

I don't have to tell you that the first one I looked at was the miscellaneous list of phrases, and although they didn't go to far, it still didn't dissapoint. The following is a list of phrases ready for translation;

Am I distrubing you?
Are you enjoying your stay?
Are you married?
Are you OK?
It's one o'clock [am] exactly?

Now am I distrubing you, enjoying your stay, or if you're OK? I can see times where I might use that, but it's one o'clock exactly? Sure I might have a chance to say that once a day as long as I'm awake - but who am I going to have to say that to in a different language? Then there's the are you married line, which I think is perfect! because I know when I've been in foreign countries where I didn't speak the local language that was something I was dying to ask everyone!

Pushing through I checked out the phrases for accommodation and there was another one that stuck out - can I have an itemised bill? Itemised bill?? If I needed the GPS unit to find out how I asked the question in the first place what chance do I have of understanding what the bill says anyway? Gold.

Looking through some other phrases one more I found was are children allowed in? What kind of place am I going to that I'm not sure if the kids are allowed in anyway? I don't know about anyone else, but if you have to ask the answers probably no - followed by the next suggested phrase of are there Afrikaans subtitles?

It just keeps getting better - I'm not sure who the people are who nominated to put these phrases in the service in the first place, but I'd like to meet them and probably have a few drinks together because I reckon they're stories must be able to fill a number of books!

It's worth a small chuckle anyway.

Cheers,
C