Signs in the US with no English-language equivelant

[corco]

So the other day I was in Nogales AZ, and on SR 189 I noticed two signs, one headed northbound and one southbound




OK..those are interesting in their own right, but what made it even weirder was that I couldn't find a single English language sign alluding to a school zone- the only indication that we were near a school was in those signs.

Are there any other instances in the US where something is only signed in a non-English language?

[national highway 1]

How about Canada?

[formulanone]

Interesting...About the only thing in South Florida that makes no attempt to be bilungual (or even multi-lingual) or "non-English" are the road signs.

[agentsteel53]

I remember finding a Spanish-only sign in downtown Wilmington, DE in 2006.  It was a diamond and had something to the effect of "caution, children playing" ("CUIDADO - ninos jugando", I think?) and there was no English equivalent in sight.

[realjd]

Are there any other instances in the US where something is only signed in a non-English language?

Yep. It's a common occurrence in Puerto Rico.

[J N Winkler]

These particular signs on SR 189 (if indeed they are meant to be school zone signs) are strange because they don't match US school-zone signs in format or Mexican school-zone signs in either format or verbiage.  Mexican school-zone signs tend to have white legend on green background and say "Zona Escolar"--a more or less literal translation of "School Zone."  These signs actually say "Attention:  Entrance of school."

The Arizona DOT MOAS used to have, and may still have, a sprinkling of Spanish-only signs, including "Carretera Sin Salida."

[agentsteel53]

The Arizona DOT MOAS used to have, and may still have, a sprinkling of Spanish-only signs, including "Carretera Sin Salida."

"highway without exit"?  is that an oblique way of referring to a freeway, or something else?

what is the word for freeway that is used in Mexico?  in Spain it is "autopista" but I do not know what it is for other Spanish-speaking countries.  I just remember that certain roads are marked "cuota", but that means "toll" and I do not believe it unequivocally means a fully access-controlled freeway.

[corco]

The Arizona DOT MOAS used to have, and may still have, a sprinkling of Spanish-only signs, including "Carretera Sin Salida."

I actually saw one in Nogales on the same trip. It was off the main road and I didn't notice it until it was too late to take a picture, and traffic(there is so much traffic in Nogales!) made it not worth it to turn around.

Jake- it was used in the same context as a "road closed" sign, which I guess makes sense though not a direct translation.

[realjd]

^^^
I was going to guess "dead end" for a non-literal translation.

[corco]

That very well might be what it was trying to convey

[J N Winkler]

"Carretera Sin Salida" does mean the same as "Dead End" (and I suspect Arizona DOT borrowed the sign design from Puerto Rico DTOP, whose Standard Highway Signs equivalent--Señales de Tránsito--is now online as a scanned PDF).  Jake:  I am not sure Mexican Spanish has a direct translation for freeway.  I have seen the term autopista used in relation to divided highways which appear to have full control of access, but I don't know if it is limited to such facilities in Mexico the same way autopista is in Spain or freeway is in the US.

[roadman65]

Speed Limit in Puerto Rico is actually the Spanish equivelant for Velocity Maximum on their road signs. 

Vehiclos Pesados is the speed limit for trucks, but means in English "Vehicles Heavy."

Many word phrases in Spanish are backwards to English.  For example San Fransisco Street in Spanish would be Calle de San Fransisco or Ponce de Leon Avenue would be Avenida Ponce de Leon.  The descriptor is always first and the name is followed.

[Dr Frankenstein]

How about Canada?

Almost all of Quebec, since English is not an official language there.

[bassoon1986]

not to be rude, but corco did say instances in the US. I think it's obvious that Mexico or Canada will have signs not in English.

Most Louisiana street signs or welcome signs down south are bilingual, French and English. I know that Natchitoches street signs only say Rue _____.  I did find a brown historical marker sign on the web that is only in French.

[Alps]

not to be rude, but corco did say instances in the US. I think it's obvious that Mexico or Canada will have signs not in English.

Most Louisiana street signs or welcome signs down south are bilingual, French and English. I know that Natchitoches street signs only say Rue _____.  I did find a brown historical marker sign on the web that is only in French.

The other side is not only French.

[SP Cook]

what is the word for freeway that is used in Mexico?

autopistas de cuota = tolled expressway (although only the word "cuota" will appear on signage, as pretty much every expressway is a toll road and pretty much every toll road is an expressway, at least by Mexican standards).
carreteras libres = free road
libramientos - toll bypass of a city
periféricos =  free beltway or bypass of a city
(both rare, Mexican practice is that the expressway ends at the city limits and you have to drive through the larger towns on surface strees)

How about Canada?

Law and practice are different.

By law, the federal government and New Brunswick are bilingual.  Therefore NB signage is bilingual, even in the part of NB that is 100% English speaking.  Signage will be bilngual (as it relates to highways) on federally funded facilities (some major bridges, inside national parks, federal facilities like military bases) nationwide.

Quebec signage will be 100% French only (political issue).  Signage in other places is up to the province.  Ontario signs bilingual near Quebec.  Atlantic provinces sign bilingual some.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Ontario signs bilingual near Quebec.

Ontario signs bilingual in areas covered by the French Language Services Act of Ontario, that is, areas that have a significant French-speaking population. That includes areas near Québec (including but not limited to the Ottawa Region and the Prescott & Russell Counties, in which some areas may be up to 85% French-speaking), Toronto, Welland, Windsor and many communities in Northern Ontario like Sudbury, Cochrane District (Kapuskasing, Hearst, etc.) and more.

[kphoger]

what is the word for freeway that is used in Mexico?

autopistas de cuota = tolled expressway (although only the word "cuota" will appear on signage, as pretty much every expressway is a toll road and pretty much every toll road is an expressway, at least by Mexican standards).
carreteras libres = free road
libramientos - toll bypass of a city
periféricos =  free beltway or bypass of a city
(both rare, Mexican practice is that the expressway ends at the city limits and you have to drive through the larger towns on surface strees)

The term 'autopista' in México is ambiguous.  It can distinguish a divided highway from a single-carriageway road, or it can distinguish a toll road (single- or dual-carriageway) from a free road.  For example, my copy of the 2011 Guía Roji [typically] marks high-speed roads with two lanes and wide shoulders as 'autopista', while it marks any divided highway as 'autopista dividida', and standard two-lane roads as 'carretera'.  However, in colloquial Spanish, I don't know that anyone would refer to a single-carriageway highway as 'autopista'.  It's sort of like the term 'expressway', in that nobody can quite come to an agreement as to its definition.

'Libramiento' does not necessarily mean that the road is tolled.  Most bypasses are tolled, but this is not always the case.  Monterrey has two parallel bypasses, one free and one toll; both are considered 'libramientos'.

'Periférico' theoretically refers to a ring road, or a highway that completely circles a city.  In reality, not all 'periféricos' actually make a whole circuit–see especially México City's Periférico.

Bypasses of cities are becoming much more common in recent days.  Look at Nuevo Laredo (free), Saltillo (toll), Matehuala (toll), Querétaro (both varieties), San Luis Potosí (both varieties), Zacatecas (toll), and others.  Monterrey's free bypass is now completely stoplight-free from the Nuevo Laredo highway to the Saltillo highway.

[kphoger]

The Arizona DOT MOAS used to have, and may still have, a sprinkling of Spanish-only signs, including "Carretera Sin Salida."

I actually saw one in Nogales on the same trip. It was off the main road and I didn't notice it until it was too late to take a picture, and traffic(there is so much traffic in Nogales!) made it not worth it to turn around.

Jake- it was used in the same context as a "road closed" sign, which I guess makes sense though not a direct translation.

Nogales is 94% Hispanic, 81% Mexican.  Only 7% of its population speaks English only.  51% speaks English 'less than very well'.  If anywhere should have Spanish-only signs, it is Nogales.

[Scott5114]

If I had to guess, I would instinctively expect "libramiento" to be a free road because of "libre!" (Though upon actual thought, "libre" means free as in freedom, not free as in cost...)

[kphoger]

If I had to guess, I would instinctively expect "libramiento" to be a free road because of "libre!" (Though upon actual thought, "libre" means free as in freedom, not free as in cost...)

Exactly, it frees you from the city traffic.

[r-dub]

Veering away from the Spanish and French for a moment...

Found on I-40 east of Albuquerque.

[NE2]

Last I checked, 'exit' and 'mile' were English.

[corco]

Nogales is 94% Hispanic, 81% Mexican.  Only 7% of its population speaks English only.  51% speaks English 'less than very well'.  If anywhere should have Spanish-only signs, it is Nogales.

I actually stopped to buy gas at a Circle K in Nogales and the cashier politely informed me that I owed veintisiete y cincuenta y dos. The store had Sabritas potato chips, which I'd never seen in the US.