London: Thousands of fire safety leaflets in Scotland have been withdrawn because a wrong translation in the leaflet's Urdu version for people of South Asian origin mixed gadda (cushion) with a gadha (donkey).
The leaflet, titled 'Fire Kills - You Can Prevent It', was produced by the Scottish Executive and has been made available to the public for five years.
However, its piquant mistranslation has only now been brought to the notice of the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service.
The leaflet's English version reads: "Never jump straight out of a window. Lower yourself on to cushions, etc."
But language experts charged with putting the passage into Urdu - there is a large minority in Scotland speaking the language - translated it as "Never jump out of a window straight. Put yourself on a donkey."
Reports reaching London from Glasgow say that the leaflets were produced in thousands, and now most of them have been destroyed.
Bashir Ahmad, a Scottish Nationalist Party councillor for Glasgow Shawlands, which has a high proportion of Urdu speakers, said: "How can you mix up cushions with a donkey? My constituents will be laughing that such a silly translation has been made."
Urdu expert Bassneem Kareem, told the local media: "The Urdu word for donkey is gadha, while the word for cushion is gadda. It is a very big error - ridiculous and stupid."
A Scottish Executive spokesperson apologised for the error and said: "Since this leaflet was translated in 2001, quality control on translated material has been improved by running a system that includes proof-reading."
Rosemary Dale, founder of the Scottish Borders Donkey Sanctuary, remarked: "I would not let the people who made this translation anywhere near my donkeys."
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