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Translation services have helped businesses and people across the world eliminate communication barriers. Translation services have evolved from the simple document translation services to more advanced Web and chat translation services, catered to meet the growing needs of businesses and its customers.

Translation services have also been making headlines for wrong reasons. Wrong interpretations by translators result in hilarious bloopers and sometimes more serious consequences that could damage the reputation of a business.

Accredited Language Services, a provider of translation and interpretation services including chat translation and transcription, has launched a unique award that identifies noteworthy lapses in translation, interpreting, and localization throughout the past year.

The awards, called the annual Jelly Donut Awards, now in their third year, recognize the top translation, interpreting and localization errors of the year. From made-up languages to unintended voice-activated insults, this year’s top five mistakes offer a look at what not to do when another language is involved, the company said.

The “winners” of this year’s Jelly Donut Award include companies that experienced unfortunate consequences, including loss of sales, credibility, and goodwill. They include leading brands like Apple, Nokia (News - Alert) and fashion magazine Vogue, among others.

One of them involves the latest launch from Apple. The iPhone 4S’s signature app – Siri, the digital personal assistant – garnered largely unwanted attention following its release Japan. In Japanese, the app’s name sounds uncomfortably similar to the word “shiri,” a crude word for someone’s rear end.

Nokia experienced similar problems in Spain as they unveiled their latest handset, entitled “Lumia.” Unfortunately, the product’s unveiling hit an unexpected snag when it was pointed out that in Spain, “lumia” is slang for “prostitute.”

Fashion magazine Vogue Italian edition made a world-class translation blunder earlier this year. In an online fashion spread about earrings, the magazine referred to large gold hoops as “slave earrings,” prompting a swift and severe backlash from its readers.  Vogue Italia’s editor-in-chief ultimately apologized for the incident, stating that it was a matter of poor translation from Italian to English. Following that, Vogue removed the offending language.

By recognizing these winners Accredited Language Services reminds the translating community on the importance of good translation and localization. “Stay tuned for the winners of next years’ awards – but avoid becoming one of them,” the company said.

In another related piece on translation services, Auerbach International, a San Francisco-based language services specialist offering a variety of translations services including Web/chat translation, explains top five reasons why native speakers of a language are not necessarily the best resource for translation and interpretation.