The Groundbreaking Event!

To whom it may not concern …

Alright this is a quick one.

So last month we sent out an invitation to some VIP’s and senior journalists for a “groundbreaking event” that my company was organizing (I work in events & PR).

For the VVIP’s who don’t speak English, I had asked my colleague to send them an Arabic invitation, which she did.

The next day, I started receiving calls from those VVIP’s asking what the hell was the event all about, and different kinds of weird stuff. So I immediately asked my colleague to send me a copy of the Arabic invitation which she’d sent them, and what did it say?

It was supposed to say something like:

You are cordially invited to the groundbreaking occasion of blah blah

And I sh!t you not, the Arabic equivalent read:

ندعوكم لحضور حفل تكسير أول بلاطة

Now excuse me please while I stab my heart with a BiC pen.

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17 Responses to “The Groundbreaking Event!”


  1. Gravatar Icon 1 Mrs. Al Ramahi

    loooooooooooooooooooooooooool! Oh my! this is one big mistake! She needs to learn english all over again!

  2. Gravatar Icon 2 Who's-sane!

    lol mrs. ramahi,

    I think she needs to learn a language first!

  3. Gravatar Icon 3 7aki Fadi

    I would consider changing the choice of object to stab yourself with; I personally prefer to stab myself with a pencil and in the head when I work with stupid people..

    Taught you to proofread anything before it goes out, didn’t it? :)

  4. Gravatar Icon 4 Who's-sane!

    7aki fadi, I really did grab a pencil but couldn’t find a sharpener! :-( So I had to grab the closest sharp item next to me! You’re right though, next time I kill myself I’ll definitely use a pencil! :P

    And yes it was a good lesson, nothing goes out without proofreading!

  5. Gravatar Icon 5 Mariam Ayyash

    wahahaha! she needs to STOP USING GOOGLE TRANSLATOR!

    but u know what? 7afel takseer awwal balata, really would be grabbing attention if it was a launching event, but jordanian heads, especialy those who dont know english, are used to “ground-breaking” so no use of being funny! :D

  6. Gravatar Icon 6 Ta2e3

    looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool,,,, but you know what?!?! it’s nice after all (tadol 3ala ebda3) lol

  7. Gravatar Icon 7 Who's-sane!

    mariam ayyash: i tried google translator and even THAT didn’t translate it as takseer awwal bala6a! Trust me, only a person with a ONE digit IQ would do that. lol

    ta2e3: fi3lan ebda3 if you’re thinking “How can I get a client to fire our agency without getting him to think twice!” … lol

  8. Gravatar Icon 8 Sam

    that is soo funny!!*LOOOOOOOOL* talk about stupid translation…i wonder what dictionary she used…

  9. Gravatar Icon 9 tariq

    hi who’s-sane. ya i also have some nice stories about miscommunication

  10. Gravatar Icon 10 Who's-sane!

    hey sam,

    I think she used the “Dictionary That Will Sure Get You Fired” dictionary. lol

    tariq: thanks for dropping by, and please be my guest, stories are welcomed.

  11. Gravatar Icon 11 Oula

    krkrkrkkrkr… who hired this genius?

  12. Gravatar Icon 12 Who's-sane!

    OULA!! KEEFIK w keef hubby w natalie?

    Mahoo that’s the catastrophe. I am that genius who hired her :( … yes yes, I admit … I’m not a great judge of character.

    Anyways, I’m spending my last days at work.

    Will keep you updated with that. :)

  13. Gravatar Icon 13 Maioush

    LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL BALATAH??? :D
    hadi ta7sheeeeeesh hehehehe
    bs sara7a.. mesh mawqef :D

  14. Gravatar Icon 14 Tiger

    7afel takseeer awal balataaaaah hahahahahaha

    bas ok a questioon keef fehmat eno takseer awal bala6ah means ground breakin hahahahahaha

    bas belive me she knows how to draw ur clints attention

    o mnee7 ma 7akat 7afel takseer awal balatah 3ala roosko
    kan kemlat
    sa33etha bedak ya m3alem box of pencils to stab ur self with:)

  15. Gravatar Icon 15 Who's-sane!

    maioush: balatah, amazing how some people think? lol

    tiger: hahahahaha, awwal balatah 3a roosko! lol

  16. Gravatar Icon 16 FATEN

    teach her the word “defenstrate” and tell her to perform it on herself next time! we’ll laugh harder at the story you’ll have to tell.

    yes i’m a word-geek, got that word from the free online dictionary’s word of the day and i was just waiting for the chance to present itself to use it…omg did i just share too much?

    i just wanted to say loool but i saw amal has already used it :P

  17. Gravatar Icon 17 Who's-sane!

    faten: hahahahaha. AMAZING WORD!! I checked the meaning out and it fits perfectly!

    She should really defenestrate herself! ;-)

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