Lost in translation

When you consider there are dozens of languages spoken in Europe, it probably isn't too surprising when there is the odd error. Sometimes this is pretty minor. At Brussels airport, a big screen tells you "Welcome in Brussels". Further afield, you can get even better mistranslations. Hotel rooms in the old USSR used to say "If this is your first visit to the Soviet Union, you are welcome to it", and a laundry place in Singapore allegedly tells us that "This is the best place in town to drop your pants". Indeed.

Well, there was panic on an Aer Lingus flight the other day. Apparently, the announcement in English said "There will be some turbulence", whilst the French translation was "You're all going to die, make you peace with God". Some slight difference there. Apparently it was all due to a pre-recorded message for emergency landings being played by accident.

An airline spokesman said: "There was a malfunction of the public address system and we apologise to our passengers. This sort of thing happens very rarely."

What's French for "Someone might lose their job over this"?