NO TOUCH NO ENGLISH NO COMPRENDO

Posted by: gmangw at February 13, 2006 12:13 AM

Maybe it's saying that if you touch anything, you will break the control. Good ol' translations.

Posted by: Cole Passannante at February 13, 2006 12:33 AM

I think it's trying to warn visitors not to touch. "Don't touch anything, Don't Break anything, this is a controlled environment" or something like that. At least that interpretation makes sense in context. (Though after a good bit of tilting one's head slightly to the side and staring at it. )

Posted by: Alex at February 13, 2006 01:21 AM

The sign means that area pass the sign isn´t controlled. That means that walls, ceiling, surroundings can break and cause hazardous situations. Visitors pass to the area on their own risk. Same type of sign can be found in different places where are controlled caves, tunnels ect mixed with other areas without personell or monitoring/control

Posted by: E.T. från Raptor Production at February 13, 2006 08:38 AM

I think I've been to that cenote, and I'm pretty sure the sign is trying to say, "don't swim in here, as we have recently found lots of ancient skeletons in the water."

Posted by: Bry at February 13, 2006 10:56 AM

ah, this is yet another broken thing that deserves a shot at engrish.com

Posted by: Zounds Padang at February 13, 2006 12:35 PM

"You touch it, You Break it, You Bought it"

Posted by: steve h at February 13, 2006 03:20 PM

Fairly simple: Don't bloody-well touch stuff :)

Posted by: MinkOWar at February 13, 2006 03:30 PM

Just don't! OK?

Posted by: The Damned Ghost Of Tookie at February 13, 2006 05:26 PM

Maybe it's a cryptic keyboard command? "No Touching Control-Break."

You might wonder that if you did so, would an entrance to a secret underground lair will be revealed?

Or perhaps one might just interpret this as: "You toucha this place, I breaka your face."

Posted by: Z at February 13, 2006 05:49 PM

:( control-break no do anything

Posted by: im_an_alien at February 13, 2006 06:03 PM

I'm just guessing here, but really, that's all anybody can do.. Could it mean "hold on to the hand rail going down the stairs" If you don't hold on you have no way to stop yourself if you begin to fall... therefore "No touch, No Break Control".... even though break should be brake. Either way it's broken... too much thought is required.

Posted by: melanie at February 13, 2006 07:21 PM

Perhaps it is suggesting to turn off your ABS or Traction Control on the car. Is there a road nearby?

Posted by: Ian Shook at February 13, 2006 08:48 PM

It means that "control" people will make shure that you dont touch or break.

Posted by: Adam at February 13, 2006 09:27 PM

I've been to other cenotes in the yucatan - they aren't underground rivers. What they are, are really deep, wide natural sinkholes filled with water. From the surface they look like a round pond - but they're very deep, and yes, there have been Mayan treasures and skeletons found in some of them.

Posted by: Alex B at February 13, 2006 11:39 PM

Maybe they are referring to the Stalagmite's that could be hanging to the ceiling of the cave/

Posted by: Gordon at February 14, 2006 10:19 AM

Hey at least the spelling is okay. They deserve points for that. Unless of course by 'break' they mean 'brake'...oh the mysteries of the universe.

Posted by: ?controlling? at February 14, 2006 03:53 PM

perhaps its supposed to mean;

no touch - don't go in the water/river

no break control - they do not attempt to control flooding with a break or dam or something like that.

So if you go in the water, and there is a flash flood or something, you're in deep doo-doo

yeah, ok... maybe I read into that too much, but that was actually the first thing I was able to translate that into... after reading it way too many times and scratching my head, and saying "huh?" to myself, and so on and so forth

Posted by: memnon at February 14, 2006 10:09 PM

No touch: Don't touch anything?

No break control: things are unstable and might break?

Posted by: grayshirtninja at February 15, 2006 11:42 PM

Perhaps the underground river floods onto the road and cars are admonished to not touch the break (sp) but to do a control glide hydroplane. LOL

Jonathan

Posted by: Jonathan at February 19, 2006 10:24 PM

they are striking.....they can't touch the women, they get no breaks for corona, and they have no control over jumping borders...wouldn't you be mad too???

Posted by: chadwick van helman at February 20, 2006 05:28 AM

As the sign is probably done by a non-native speaker, it simply means

"Don't touch (anything) and don't break (anything)

- (by order of The Management (control)

Posted by: Oakie at February 24, 2006 08:38 AM

If you don't touch the sign, you have no control over whether it breaks or not =P

Posted by: FLCL at February 25, 2006 07:52 PM

I think it says not to break the rail. Not to touch the rail. The rail is for control only, so as not to fall down savy?

Posted by: nobody at March 31, 2006 09:35 AM

It's most likely a translation from spanish gone bad. Considering the phonetic and syntactic differences between English and Spanish, I can see why it went wrong; especially if the translator is not fluent in english. He's probably trying to say "Don't touch [your surroundings]. Don't break [anything; ergo, by not touching]. [Excercise] control."

Posted by: Norz at May 15, 2006 10:13 PM

It means that if you don't touch it, you won't break it.

Posted by: Ken Durken at May 17, 2006 09:07 PM

maybe the sign just got broken in half? it could have said:

no one

touch anything

no break ing anything

control yourself

of course, the space between "break" and "ing" is unlikely, but it is still a possibility.

Posted by: Nini at June 10, 2006 10:00 PM