Alright so when I found this up at China World in Richmond, BC, I was curious. ‘What’s this torpid all about, anyway?’ Well, Thanks to my friend Kyle, that’s been cleared up. It’s a really bad translation. This really should be Sichuan Spicy Flavor. As far as torpid goes, here’s the definition –
tor·pid
tôrpəd/
adjective
mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.
“we sat around in a torpid state”
Spicy and lethargic beef flavor? Yummy! Translation is a seriously tough thing. It’s definitely an uphill battle for me – Google is of very little help. I’ve been asked in the past by companies what I would call a product and helped them with translating and making it sound like a good name for something sold in the west. I think that would be a neat job – helping companies with western translations. So I guess if you need help with someone proofreading a packaging bound to be on products for the west, contact me maybe I can help. Alright – let’s do up some spicy beef vermicelli! ...see full post