INCORRECT automatic translation: 'ENGLISH' = 'ESPANOL'?!

[#1]

Hi, 
I sell Patterns in English on Etsy. To ensure that the buyer knows that the pattern is in English I put 'ENGLISH' in the title. 
I just had a customer complain that a pattern was not in Spanish, when it clearly states this as the title. 
Etsy automatically translated 'ENGLISH' to 'ESPANOL'.: WTF etsy??! I just had to issue a refund. 
This could cost me a lot of money. 

Does anyone know how to solve this? 

[CryzalisDesigns]

I have just tested it on one of my listings.

If I put ENG in front of my description and set my language to Spanish on Etsy, it translates to ESP then description in Spanish

If I put PDF ENGLISH ONLY in front of my description

It translates as it should

PDF SOLO EN INGLÉS: la tiara de cuero con textura de escamas de dragón

[JMOldeVintage]

I could understand a translator getting confused by the use of abbreviations - ENG ends up becoming ESP.

But on the listing for "English Beaded Bracelet Tutorial" to change "English" to "Espanol" doesn't make sense.

On the listing for "Beaded Bracelet Tutorial" nowhere do I see where the OP used the word English. Yet if I change my language preference to "Espanol" the title now reads "Espanol, Tutorial, Patron para...."

It appears the translator is adding words into titles? 

[CalineBeadPatterns]

Hi, 
My 'original' language is also English. This is why the titles don't change in your case. 
If you set the language to French or spanish, the titles become 'francais' and 'Espanol', respectively. 
I'm now playing around with different wordings, to see what is translated correctly and what is not. 
Another example is my name (Caliné) . It translated into 'California' automatically in English, ha! 

Thanks for your reply!

[MetroRetroVintage]

How bizarre, since it's not even a translation but an alteration.  English would be translated into Inglés and not Español as many have stated.  

Poor programming.

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

I have read that Etsy uses Google Translate. When I input one of the OP's titles with ENG at the front directly into Google Translate,

"ENG Beaded Lydia Necklace Tutorial, Pattern...."  becomes "ESP Collar Lydia Con Cuentas Tutorial, Patrón...."   

So it probably isn't specifically an Etsy problem, but a Google Translate problem.  My favorite translator, DeepL, did NOT make this error.  

In my pattern listings, I include this text:  "Pattern is written in English..."   When input into Google Translate, it correctly returns "El patrón está escrito en inglés..."  Ever since I've added this text to my listings a few years ago, there's been no misunderstandings about language.  I'm not sure you need "English" in the title as long as you make this point within the first few lines of the listing description.

Edited to add:  Most English speakers automatically interpret "ENG" to be a reference to the English language.  However, outside of English speaking environments "ENG" can take on many different meanings as either a word or acronym.  I can't account for why Google Translate interpreted it as "ESP" but my point is that it would be better to write out "English" in full to get best results from translations.

[BagmakerSupply]

@PieceByNumberQuilts: It also appears to be a case sensitive translation issue : eng -> eng, but ENG -> ESP

And agree with you that abbreviations can be problematic if the writer is assuming that the reader will interpret it the way they meant it.

[CalineBeadPatterns]

Thank you all for your answers! 
I'll have to play around and see what it translates correctly. 

Just noticed that my name 'Caliné' gets automatically translated into 'California' in my Shop intro.
So I think Etsy just has a larger problem with automatic translations ha! 
I can't check every language option manually to see if Etsy has translated it correctly. 

[BagmakerSupply]

There is an interesting article at https://ingcointernational.com/what-google-translate-gets-wrong/ that touches on some of the gotchas with Google Translate.

[givemeacrown]

In Google Translate in a web browser at least there is a "Send feedback" link below the translated text box that you can use to point out issues with their translation.

When the centimetre/inches issue was going on I think that Etsy was able to raise it with the translation tool (I don't remember if it was Google at the time) to get it fixed so it's worth making sure Etsy Support are also aware of it.

[RueDeLouvain]

A few years ago the Etsy translation turned one of my listings (written in English) from a vintage 19-PIECE glassware set into a 19th CENTURY glassware set, in several languages. If I remember right I checked in French, German and Italian. 

The sale went well, but this could have had serious repercussions as the set, nowhere near as old as that,  would have been "Not As Described" - same as the pattern issue the OP describes. 

Also, a lot of the translations are so bad as to be almost nonsensical. I've given up reading my listings in other languages - there is nothing I can do to change it and it causes me anxiety. (I studied languages and started out as a translator so this language stuff gets to me).