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Welsh translation error warns of race for food road closure

BBC Race for FoodBBC
Race for Food: Will hungry runners make a special effort to take part?

Ravenous runners' mouths will be watering at the thought of a "race for food".

That is what the Welsh translation of a road sign in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, has promised instead of the planned Race for Life.

Cancer Research's event takes place across the UK every year and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023.

The charity said the sign was used for a short period but had been corrected.

The gaffe follows the misspelling of the English word "school" and the Welsh word "ysgol" outside a Swansea school.

They appeared as "shcool" and "ysool" last month.

The latest translation mishap appears to have occurred due to a missing letter for the word "fywyd" - Welsh for "life" - which leaves the sign with the Welsh word for food "fwyd".

The erroneous sign was shared on social media over the weekend.

Ruth Amies, Cancer Research UK's spokesperson in Wales, said the sign appeared ahead of Caernarfon's planned Race for Life on Sunday, 14 May at Coed Helen Recreation Ground.

"For a short period of time over the weekend, several signs informing the public about a nearby road closure in Caernarfon, included a word in Welsh which was spelt incorrectly," she said.

"This has now been corrected."

Stephen Grainger The misspelled word on the roadStephen Grainger
It was A for effort, but F for spelling for contractors working outside a school

There is a long list of examples of Welsh translation blunders happening across Wales.

Gaffes have appeared on road instructions, supermarket signs, government messages and maps.

This week a citizenship oath written in Welsh was criticised for asking people to curse at God.

Last month there was an error in the UK government's emergency alert text that resulted in it mentioning a Slovenian ski resort.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden blamed it on autocorrect.