A time for presents, family, food and cheer . . . too excess! I am unfortunately one of these people who doesn’t find Christmas the most enjoyable time of year. That is not to say that I would like everyone else to have a thoroughly miserable Christmas. Far from it I hope everyone has a brilliant Christmas full of joyfulness and frivolity. It is just that I would prefer to be left in a corner with a bottle of champagne drowning my Christmas cheer. Christmas for translators is not a busy time of year as everyone is on holiday enjoying the various goodies that go with it. I will keep this post brief for that very reason.
Christmas in Christian countries is technically the celebration of Christ. Etymologically speaking the word Christmas comes from Christ’s Mass. This was first recorded in 1038 and is still used today but it hasn’t always meant the same thing. In this day and age for most people it means a chance for businesses to make a hell of a lot of money, this is if one is being cynical of course. If one is not being cynical then it is a time for family and fun. Christmas has transcended the limits of just the Christian world and is now celebrated throughout the world. It has surpassed language barriers everywhere and has come to rest as one of the top holidays . . . for most people anyway. There are songs, movies and plays all dedicated to this special event. All of them available in a multitude of different languages. Take the traditional Christmas song Silent Night which has been translated into over 44 languages and it has been around since 1816 when it was made up. Songs are interesting things around Christmas as it seems that almost every shop, department store, supermarket, etc seems to play Christmas songs around the clock. You walk into a shop to hear the first notes of a Christmas song and go into another just to hear the end of the same song. Around Christmas it is highly likely that you will hear all I want for Christmas at least a million times. Usually before this point I have to escape to some deserted island on which is a solitary cave in which I have hidden myself. However, even if you have taken these drastic measures to escape you will never truly get the damn song out of your head. If you have taken the extraordinary measures mentioned above then you will probably drive yourself crazy as with all these kinds of things you will only ever be able to remember one line of the song and so you will be trapped on your island just repeating that same line over and over again until the pixies start appearing. Once this happens I suggest that you should go ahead and talk to the foliage as you are officially crazy.
Anyway on a more festive note from the whole team here at LinguaSpirit and FreeSpirit we would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas, may all your dreams come true.
12/27/2010
12/20/2010
Culturally diverse. . .
When people say that every culture is different they really aren’t wrong. There are similarities of course but it’s never truly the same. The same expressions can mean very different things depending on which country you are in. Most people will remember the HSBC advert where they point out subtle cultural differences that can cause offence but that are so simple people would never have thought that they could be in the least bit offensive. These nuances can often be lost in translation and if you are not aware of them then there can be consequences. As I and I’m sure you are aware of.
One thing that always gets lost in translation is sarcasm. I am like many other British citizens a fairly sarcastic human being. However, I have noticed on my various travels that sarcasm doesn’t travel as well as I do. In fact as soon as you leave the British coast line it stops, takes one look at the big wide world and then flees with its tail between its legs back to England its haven. It is commonly known that sarcasm has been labelled the lowest form of wit, a view that I am highly opposed to, but this does not mean that it should be used by the English only. I have tried a few times to use sarcasm abroad but it has usually ended fairly badly. I remember once when poor sarcasm took an appalling hit. I was on my gap year in Mauritania, Africa and I had a week off work so a few friends and I went to Senegal for a holiday. We stayed in St. Louis in a lovely little hotel and had a wonderful time. But like all things good before we knew it, it was time to go back. Travelling to and from Senegal was a long journey. It entailed a bush taxi, which was a normal sized taxi but an abnormal amount of passengers. It was like playing en epic 16 hour long game of sardines but without the hiding, counting, excitement and secrecy. No one really got any sleep and so when we got to the border, we were sleep deprived, unwashed and fairly grumpy. We were 5 girls travelling by ourselves so unfortunately we were getting a fair amount of attention. The driver parked up in this enormous car park, full of hundreds of other cars, and got out to stretch his legs. A man sidles over to our taxi and I am unfortunate enough to be in the front seat. He looks at us and asks me if I would swap myself for eight camels. I decide this would be a good time to feign sleep. The man is however insistent and continues to ask how many camels it would take. I answer and say that I am taken but thank you. He chooses not to hear this and offers me a goat as well. As he says it he holds a kid up to the window and states that this is a goat. I answered him sarcastically saying “no it’s a camel”. He looks down at the goat in disbelief and says “no, no it’s a goat look”. To which I respond that “no it’s a camel”, because I was at this point in a fairly bad mood. The man starts openly laughing at me and my friends join in. He manages to splutter out “it really is a goat” and I accept that sarcasm will not help me anymore so I say yes I had always known that it was a goat and at no point did I actually believe it was a camel. He disagrees and says that no I was saying it was a camel aren’t I stupid. I try to explain sarcasm to him but he and my friends are laughing too hard to hear the very pathetic explanation for my apparent stupidity. The only thing that can be said is Molly-0 and goat man-1.
Another cultural aspect which can never truly be translated is driving! Wherever you go in the world you find many variations of the same problem; driving! I myself cannot drive, which I am often very grateful, but I have witnessed some of the greatest driving blunders. It is true that most people think that they are the world’s greatest drivers. It is also true that every country believes that their drivers are superior to anyone else’s in the world. One of my favourite examples of this are the French who not only think they are the best but from personal experience seem to have a complete disregard for anyone else on the road. One of their specialities seems to be parking. No space is too big and more importantly no space is too small for a Frenchman. Having just witnessed a women try and park in a space that seemed to be perfect for her car, it was neither too big nor too small. She managed to manoeuvre into the space. However once there she decided that she wasn’t quite straight enough in her perfect space. So she proceeded to move drive forwards knocking the car in front and then reverse knocking the car behind and then repeated this sequence several times. Once she was in why did she straighten up? She seemed to be perfectly parked. It is my belief that the French take part in a special game known only to them in which they win a certain amount of points depending on how many cars they manage to hit. The goal being that at the end of the month whoever has the most points wins road supremacy. If this is not an application for the iPhone I believe they have seriously missed out on a good opportunity and should consider making it one. French drivers:1 and Apple:0
To be continued. . .
One thing that always gets lost in translation is sarcasm. I am like many other British citizens a fairly sarcastic human being. However, I have noticed on my various travels that sarcasm doesn’t travel as well as I do. In fact as soon as you leave the British coast line it stops, takes one look at the big wide world and then flees with its tail between its legs back to England its haven. It is commonly known that sarcasm has been labelled the lowest form of wit, a view that I am highly opposed to, but this does not mean that it should be used by the English only. I have tried a few times to use sarcasm abroad but it has usually ended fairly badly. I remember once when poor sarcasm took an appalling hit. I was on my gap year in Mauritania, Africa and I had a week off work so a few friends and I went to Senegal for a holiday. We stayed in St. Louis in a lovely little hotel and had a wonderful time. But like all things good before we knew it, it was time to go back. Travelling to and from Senegal was a long journey. It entailed a bush taxi, which was a normal sized taxi but an abnormal amount of passengers. It was like playing en epic 16 hour long game of sardines but without the hiding, counting, excitement and secrecy. No one really got any sleep and so when we got to the border, we were sleep deprived, unwashed and fairly grumpy. We were 5 girls travelling by ourselves so unfortunately we were getting a fair amount of attention. The driver parked up in this enormous car park, full of hundreds of other cars, and got out to stretch his legs. A man sidles over to our taxi and I am unfortunate enough to be in the front seat. He looks at us and asks me if I would swap myself for eight camels. I decide this would be a good time to feign sleep. The man is however insistent and continues to ask how many camels it would take. I answer and say that I am taken but thank you. He chooses not to hear this and offers me a goat as well. As he says it he holds a kid up to the window and states that this is a goat. I answered him sarcastically saying “no it’s a camel”. He looks down at the goat in disbelief and says “no, no it’s a goat look”. To which I respond that “no it’s a camel”, because I was at this point in a fairly bad mood. The man starts openly laughing at me and my friends join in. He manages to splutter out “it really is a goat” and I accept that sarcasm will not help me anymore so I say yes I had always known that it was a goat and at no point did I actually believe it was a camel. He disagrees and says that no I was saying it was a camel aren’t I stupid. I try to explain sarcasm to him but he and my friends are laughing too hard to hear the very pathetic explanation for my apparent stupidity. The only thing that can be said is Molly-0 and goat man-1.
Another cultural aspect which can never truly be translated is driving! Wherever you go in the world you find many variations of the same problem; driving! I myself cannot drive, which I am often very grateful, but I have witnessed some of the greatest driving blunders. It is true that most people think that they are the world’s greatest drivers. It is also true that every country believes that their drivers are superior to anyone else’s in the world. One of my favourite examples of this are the French who not only think they are the best but from personal experience seem to have a complete disregard for anyone else on the road. One of their specialities seems to be parking. No space is too big and more importantly no space is too small for a Frenchman. Having just witnessed a women try and park in a space that seemed to be perfect for her car, it was neither too big nor too small. She managed to manoeuvre into the space. However once there she decided that she wasn’t quite straight enough in her perfect space. So she proceeded to move drive forwards knocking the car in front and then reverse knocking the car behind and then repeated this sequence several times. Once she was in why did she straighten up? She seemed to be perfectly parked. It is my belief that the French take part in a special game known only to them in which they win a certain amount of points depending on how many cars they manage to hit. The goal being that at the end of the month whoever has the most points wins road supremacy. If this is not an application for the iPhone I believe they have seriously missed out on a good opportunity and should consider making it one. French drivers:1 and Apple:0
To be continued. . .
More exciting updates from FreeSpirit . . .
Here at LinguaSpirit we do a variety of things from normal translation of documents such as CVs to financial reports. However we also offer other services such as FreeSpirit which provides free translation for, mostly, NGOs. Important documents that help make the world better are translated right here at this very computer. I know what you are thinking, how can one computer be capable of so much good work and how can we harness this power? I have already mentioned the work done for the Red Cross but there are so many other companies that we have helped such as:
1. The Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor. In France and England how many of us could claim that we have been sent flying into the air and ripped to shreds on the way to work, school or a party? I imagine I could probably count them on one hand. However in some countries this is a real possibility and a daily occurrence. Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor aims to get rid of landmines in affected countries, raise awareness to the risks, implement laws banning landmines and many more things involving removing the threat of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. Imagine a world where it wouldn’t be safe to just walk to the shops or meet a friend for coffee for fear that on the way you would be blown to bits by something you didn’t even know was there. Oh wait we already live in that world!
2. The Coalition Internationale Sida. AIDS is a worldwide problem that even people in this country have to deal with. This international organisation partnered with other important organisations help in the fight against AIDS. No one is exempt from this threat. Mistakes can be made, especially if people do not know any better. Sex education is definitely taught in English schools but this needs to be a worldwide project. If you had no idea that AIDS could be contracted or even spread through sex then you would have no way of knowing that you could be potentially killing yourself or others. To stop this sounding like a sermon or one of those adverts that makes you feel like a bad person just because you are sitting at home watching the TV rather than donating all your life savings or picking up a shovel flying to said problem area and trying to dig a well, I shall move on.
3. SHERPA. Sherpa is a Paris-based non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting and defending victims of economic crimes. Our work at FreeSpirit doesn’t just include helping organisations that deal with illness and death. You can be a victim of more than that; financial injustices can be just as crippling. Imagine being stripped of all your money through no fault of your own. Sherpa offers a voice to these people, full of knowledge and understanding. Not in the scary I hear voices way though, solely in a we can help you way. Their work helps a lot of people.
These three organisations are just a few examples of the types of companies we help. I do realise that this article makes us sound like saints with sunshine shinning out of certain areas. Wow that is a hard sentence to read out loud far too many “ss” sounds. In real life we are all monsters who eat ferrets and things. Really we just do this on weekends. Anyway back to more important things. FreeSpirit does its bit to help and by translating documents for reduced or no pay we can help in a small way. It is nothing compared to what these organisations do for people around the world.
1. The Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor. In France and England how many of us could claim that we have been sent flying into the air and ripped to shreds on the way to work, school or a party? I imagine I could probably count them on one hand. However in some countries this is a real possibility and a daily occurrence. Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor aims to get rid of landmines in affected countries, raise awareness to the risks, implement laws banning landmines and many more things involving removing the threat of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. Imagine a world where it wouldn’t be safe to just walk to the shops or meet a friend for coffee for fear that on the way you would be blown to bits by something you didn’t even know was there. Oh wait we already live in that world!
2. The Coalition Internationale Sida. AIDS is a worldwide problem that even people in this country have to deal with. This international organisation partnered with other important organisations help in the fight against AIDS. No one is exempt from this threat. Mistakes can be made, especially if people do not know any better. Sex education is definitely taught in English schools but this needs to be a worldwide project. If you had no idea that AIDS could be contracted or even spread through sex then you would have no way of knowing that you could be potentially killing yourself or others. To stop this sounding like a sermon or one of those adverts that makes you feel like a bad person just because you are sitting at home watching the TV rather than donating all your life savings or picking up a shovel flying to said problem area and trying to dig a well, I shall move on.
3. SHERPA. Sherpa is a Paris-based non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting and defending victims of economic crimes. Our work at FreeSpirit doesn’t just include helping organisations that deal with illness and death. You can be a victim of more than that; financial injustices can be just as crippling. Imagine being stripped of all your money through no fault of your own. Sherpa offers a voice to these people, full of knowledge and understanding. Not in the scary I hear voices way though, solely in a we can help you way. Their work helps a lot of people.
These three organisations are just a few examples of the types of companies we help. I do realise that this article makes us sound like saints with sunshine shinning out of certain areas. Wow that is a hard sentence to read out loud far too many “ss” sounds. In real life we are all monsters who eat ferrets and things. Really we just do this on weekends. Anyway back to more important things. FreeSpirit does its bit to help and by translating documents for reduced or no pay we can help in a small way. It is nothing compared to what these organisations do for people around the world.
12/10/2010
Just a little update on our latest work . . .
The Red Cross is a very well known organisation which helps people from all around the world. Most people have some knowledge of their work and how beneficial it is. Their latest projects include the polio outbreak in the Congo, the explosion at Pike River, the stampede in Cambodia, the continuing problems in Haiti, and so many more issues. Organisations like this very much rely on donations and volunteers from all over the world. This means that they have to deal with a vast range of languages ranging from English to Arabic to Cantonese. News reports, petitions, meetings and websites all need to be translated to allow for maximum coverage. This is where the professional translators come in as no one wants a detailed report on various crises around the world which has been translated as an intricate recipe for lentil soup. I am not saying that lentil soup is not good but it rather takes away from important economic problems, enter LinguaSpirit! We have done a couple of translations for the Red Cross from French to Arabic, Arabic to French and French to English in which no culinary masterpieces were created. These translations didn’t just take into account the words used but also cultural references and expressions that were pertinent to the target language. All of this was done free of charge through Freespirit.
Lost in translation?
We have all been in a situation when we have absolutely no idea what the person next to us is trying to say. You may be on holiday, trying to do a foreign business deal, be in a dream, trying to complete a university degree, the possibilities are endless but the outcome is often the same. We either nod and pretend like we understand or we run in the opposite direction of the conversation, although I would not recommend this at the moment due to this ice which I am sure would lead to falling over. I have to say that the English (being English I can make this generalisation without fear of persecution, I hope anyway) have developed an extremely entertaining way to deal with Johnny foreigner and that is to speak very loudly and slowly in English and hope that the meaning will be understood. Often we just get looks of complete bewilderment in response. For anyone witnessing a scene like the one described I would suggest buying some popcorn and watching, as usually it is fairly amusing.
Another method of communication that we British citizens resort to is the mime. It is a common belief that if you gesticulate enough when speaking the other person will understand exactly what you say and that in no way, shape or form will you resemble a windmill which is trying to fly whilst buying a hotdog. Another method of communication, which although fruitless is again fairly amusing, is continuing to speak English but in the accent of the person you are conversing with. For example if you are trying to communicate with a French person you just mimic the French accent whilst speaking English. Communication is not actually possible but this does ensure that passersby have a jolly good giggle!
One way to make the person you are talking to believe that you can understand, even if you don’t, is to find the translation of the word yes in the target language and then proceed to respond yes to anything this person says. Obviously this method is no good if you are trying to talk about something important and it can often go wrong especially if you end up selling your daughter for eight camels because you have replied yes to their offer. First of all where would put the camels and secondly I am fairly sure that said daughter would be fairly upset about being swapped for camels. I have however personally witnessed the benefits of this method. Whilst I was on holiday with my family in Germany we went to an outdoor swimming pool. Now none of my family can speak German, although I can state that I have bathroom and I also know the word for rabbit. Neither of these are particularly interesting or useful. My brother however makes friends with a young German boy and disappears off with him for most of the day. Every time we look over at them they seem to be chatting away happily so we left them to it. It soon came to leaving time and I was chosen to go and collect my brother, I managed to catch a small amount of their conversation. When I say conversation what I really mean is that the young German boy was just talking at my brother who was nodding back. They say goodbye and my brother and I walk away. When asked what they had been talking about my brother replies that he has no idea and proceeds to tell me that he has not understood a word of what the young German boy has said all day. It turned out that my brother had merely nodded and said “ja” all day and the small German boy had continued to talk believing that my brother could speak German.
An internationally renowned method of communication is the phrase book, which has its problems as we have all seen in the famous Monty Python sketch with the Hungarian to English phrase book. In which the Hungarian phrase “can you direct me to the station” is translated into English as “please fondle my buttocks”. As amusing as this is it is not particularly helpful if you actually do want to find out where the station is. Or whatever else you are looking for!
Seemingly the best thing to do is to just learn the language mind you that has its own problems which I will consider at a later date.
Another method of communication that we British citizens resort to is the mime. It is a common belief that if you gesticulate enough when speaking the other person will understand exactly what you say and that in no way, shape or form will you resemble a windmill which is trying to fly whilst buying a hotdog. Another method of communication, which although fruitless is again fairly amusing, is continuing to speak English but in the accent of the person you are conversing with. For example if you are trying to communicate with a French person you just mimic the French accent whilst speaking English. Communication is not actually possible but this does ensure that passersby have a jolly good giggle!
One way to make the person you are talking to believe that you can understand, even if you don’t, is to find the translation of the word yes in the target language and then proceed to respond yes to anything this person says. Obviously this method is no good if you are trying to talk about something important and it can often go wrong especially if you end up selling your daughter for eight camels because you have replied yes to their offer. First of all where would put the camels and secondly I am fairly sure that said daughter would be fairly upset about being swapped for camels. I have however personally witnessed the benefits of this method. Whilst I was on holiday with my family in Germany we went to an outdoor swimming pool. Now none of my family can speak German, although I can state that I have bathroom and I also know the word for rabbit. Neither of these are particularly interesting or useful. My brother however makes friends with a young German boy and disappears off with him for most of the day. Every time we look over at them they seem to be chatting away happily so we left them to it. It soon came to leaving time and I was chosen to go and collect my brother, I managed to catch a small amount of their conversation. When I say conversation what I really mean is that the young German boy was just talking at my brother who was nodding back. They say goodbye and my brother and I walk away. When asked what they had been talking about my brother replies that he has no idea and proceeds to tell me that he has not understood a word of what the young German boy has said all day. It turned out that my brother had merely nodded and said “ja” all day and the small German boy had continued to talk believing that my brother could speak German.
An internationally renowned method of communication is the phrase book, which has its problems as we have all seen in the famous Monty Python sketch with the Hungarian to English phrase book. In which the Hungarian phrase “can you direct me to the station” is translated into English as “please fondle my buttocks”. As amusing as this is it is not particularly helpful if you actually do want to find out where the station is. Or whatever else you are looking for!
Seemingly the best thing to do is to just learn the language mind you that has its own problems which I will consider at a later date.
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