Lost in Translation

Have you ever gone to one of those online text translators like Babelfish or Free Translation to get a translation of something from English into another language? And then a few days later you find out that you inadvertently said something appalling, politically incorrect, embarrassing, dirty, or nonsensical?

Well, yeah, that's the problem systematic translating. So why not exploit this terrible inadequacy? That's what the site, Lost in Translation, by Carl Tashian does. From English into 5 different languages and then back into English, the phrase you type in will become ridiculous. Some examples of stuff I typed in:

Can't stop this.
--This cannot be arrested.

Roses are red. Violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you.
--One rose of the colors is red. The viola is blue. Therefore the sugar is motivatings force and you are you.

Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.
--Maria had a small lamb, of that trapunte he who was white women like the snow.

Row row your boat gently up the stream.
--Rudders he he chain its easy boat to the expensive outpost of the startings.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
--Itsy bitsy of the spider assembled entrerrosca of the water.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.
--It has something because the liberations at noon do not eat.


Huh?
Just think---these are the things you are telling your foreign friends (or German teacher) when you use these services. Shudder.

That Ain't Right

Paul Brians' website, Common Errors in English, tells us all those things we thought we were saying right, while the grammar freaks around us were snickering. To be honest there were several in the list that I did not know. Shame on my English major self. Here's a preview of some of the most interesting ones:


“Cache” comes from the French verb cacher, meaning “to hide,” and in English is pronounced exactly like the word “cash.” But reporters speaking of a cache (hidden hoard) of weapons or drugs often mispronounce it to sound like cachet—“ca-SHAY” —a word with a very different meaning: originally a seal affixed to a document, now a quality attributed to anything with authority or prestige. Rolex watches have cachet.

A greedily hoarded treasure is a hoard. A herd of wildebeests or a mob of people is a horde.

The standard expression is “buck naked,” and the contemporary “butt naked” is an error that will get you laughed at in some circles. However, it might be just as well if the new form were to triumph. Originally a “buck” was a dandy, a pretentious, overdressed show-off of a man. Condescendingly applied in the U.S. to Native Americans and black slaves, it quickly acquired negative connotations. To the historically aware speaker, “buck naked” conjures up stereotypical images of naked “savages” or—worse—slaves laboring naked on plantations. Consider using the alternative expression “stark naked.”

Frankly. Sentences beginning with this word are properly admissions of something shocking or unflattering to the speaker; but when a public spokesperson for a business or government is speaking, it almost always precedes a self-serving statement. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” is correct; but “Frankly, I think the American people can make their own decisions about health care” is an abuse of language. The same contortion of meaning is common in related phrases. When you hear a public figure say, “to be completely honest with you,” expect a lie.

“Xmas” is not originally an attempt to exclude Christ from Christmas, but uses an abbreviation of the Greek spelling of the word “Christ” with the “X” representing the Greek letter chi. However, so few people know this that it is probably better not to use this popular abbreviation in religious contexts.

R.S.V.P. stands for the French phrase Répondez s’il vous plaît (“reply, please”), so it doesn’t need an added “please.” However, since few people seem to know its literal meaning, and fewer still take it seriously, it’s best to use plain English: “Please reply.” It is a mistake to think that this phrase invites people to respond only if they are planning to attend; it is at least as important to notify the person doing the inviting if you cannot go. And no, you can’t bring along the kids or other uninvited guests.

Shakira's Hay Amores Translation

I decided to post my Spanish to English translation of the song, Hay Amores, from Love in the Time of Cholera by Shakira as well. Translating is like doing a puzzle. In general, translations aren't completely literal and that is what makes doing them such fun...but on the other hand, difficult. Everytime you work through a passage to translate you can't but help improve your knowledge and appreciation of the complexity of language.

Hay Amores

Ay mi bien,
¿qué no haría yo por ti?
¿Por tenerte un segundo,
Alejados del mundo
Y cerquita de mí?

Ay mi bien,
Como el río Magdalena,
Que se funde en la arena del mar,
Quiero fundirme yo en ti.

*Hay amores que se vuelven resistentes a los daños,
Como el vino que mejora con los años,
Asi crece lo que siento yo por ti.

Hay amores que se esperan al invierno y florecen
Y en las noches del otoño reverdecen
Tal como el amor que siento yo por ti. *

Ay mi bien,
No te olvides del mar
Que en las noches me ha visto llorar
Tantos recuerdos de ti.

Ay mi bien,
No te olvides del día
Que separó en tu vida,
De la pobre vida que me tocó vivir.

(Repite seccion entre las *)
Yo por ti...por ti...como el amor que siento yo por ti.

And now my Englsih translation (WordReference is a great help for those stickler words or phrases that could mean one thing or another, like "me tocó vivir"):

There Are Loves

Oh, my well-loved
What wouldn’t I do for you?
To have you a second,
Far away from the world
And close to me?

Oh, my well-loved
Like the Magdalena River,
That melts in the sand of the sea,
I want you to melt into me.

*There are loves that that remain resistant to damage,
Like wine that gets better through the years,
So grows how I feel for you.

There are loves that wait until the winter and flower
And in the night of autumn sprout again
Just like the love I feel for you.*

Oh my well-loved,
Don’t forget the sea
That has seen me cry in the nights
So many memories of you.

Oh my well-loved,
Don’t forget the day
That separated your life,
From the poor life that I had to live.

(Repeat section between the *)
And for you…for you…like the love I have for you.

Here's a link to my translation of La Despedida as well.

Shakira Translation

As requested (by Emily) from this post a few days ago, here are the lyrics for Shakira's song, La Despedida, in Spanish and then in English:

No hay mas cielo , no hay
No hay mas vida, no hay
No hay mas vida, no hay
No hay mas lluvia, no hay
No hay mas brisa, no hay
No hay mas risa, no hay
No hay mas llanto, no hay
No hay mas miedo, no hay
No hay mas canto, no hay

Llévame donde estés, llévame
Llévame donde estés, llévame
Cuando alguien se va, él que se queda
Sufre más
Cuando alguien se va, él que se queda
Sufre más

No hay mas viento, no hay
No hay mas hielo, no hay
No hay mas fuego, no hay
No hay mas vida, no hay
No hay mas vida, no hay
No hay mas rabia, no hay
No hay mas sueño, no hay

Llévame donde estés, llévame
Llévame donde estés, llévame
Cuando alguien se va, él que se queda
Sufre más
Cuando alguien se va, él que se queda
Sufre más...
Sufre más....

Lyrics from Complete Album Lyrics

Now here's my translation into English:

The Farewell

There is no more life, there is none
There is no more life, there is none
There is no more rain, there is none
There is no more breeze, there is none
There is no more laughter, there is none
There is no more crying, there is none
There is no more fear, there is none
There is no more song, there is none

Carry me to where you are, carry me.
Carry me to where you are, carry me
When someone leaves, he who stays
suffers more
When someone leaves, he who stays
suffers more

There is no more sky, there is none
There is no more wind, there is none
There is no more ice, there is none
There is no more fire, there is none
There is no more life, there is none
There is no more life, there is none
There is no more rage, there is none
There is no more dreaming, there is none

Carry me to where you are, carry me.
Carry me to where you are, carry me
When someone leaves, he who stays
suffers more...
When someone leaves, he who stays
suffers more...

Also check out her song, Hay Amores (There are loves), which is almost equally moving. Here's the YouTube link to both songs in one video.

English as a Foreign Language

Errrrr. Gross. McDonald's Flesh Drink. I'll pass.

And the travel one. Good Luck! Has the pilot been drinking again?

Enrish has a bunch of messed up English language products and signs. This is why native fluency is such a valuable commodity. Nobody wants a Flesh Drink.