OT. Mis-translations?

[Andy BB]

Mistranslations are wonderfully fertile areas for comedy. My favourites include.

1. President JF Kennedy addressing the Berlin people during the Berlin Wall crisis in 1963. His world-famous speech included the immortal phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner", intending to express his, and the West's, solidarity with the Berlin people. Noble sentiments indeed. Pity it translates locally to "I am a doughnut".........

2. A British admiral giving a speech to a UN/Nato assembly in France. In describing a new bit of military hardware, he included the English word "showpiece" in his otherwise-French presentation. Unfortunately this translated locally to "warm p&ss", which did not amuse the French whose hardware was the subject under discussion.

(NB, this latter story was told to me by the Admiral's daughter. Her mother (who incidentally was French) was at the assembly in question, and was horrified. She later described her husband's French as being "tintinese French" - ie learnt from the Tin-Tin comic strip...............)

 

[Tadpole]

Mistranslations are wonderfully fertile areas for comedy. My favourites include.

1. President JF Kennedy addressing the Berlin people during the Berlin Wall crisis in 1963. His world-famous speech included the immortal phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner", intending to express his, and the West's, solidarity with the Berlin people. Noble sentiments indeed. Pity it translates locally to "I am a doughnut".........

http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/jfk_berliner_2.htm

 

[Andy BB]

http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/jfk_berliner_2.htm

A vociferous defense! However, having lived in Germany and mentioned this to the locals, the general consensus was that, whilst no-one misunderstood his meaning, and regardless of the theoretical grammatical correctness, the general population would, and did, undoubtedly translate it as "I am a doughnut". (Even Berliners - who didn't use the term themselves - were well aware the rest of West Germany did.) The difference between "Correct" and "common useage" language..............

In fact, a published interview with a youngster who was already there makes that quite clear. " I did think it was a bit silly, his sentence "Ich bin ein Berliner," because it was with such a strong American accent. And then... of course, in West Germany, "Berliner" means a pancake, and for the Berliners, we don't use that term, but you know that the West Germans call it "pancake", so I thought that was (Laughs) rather silly. But, you know, one sort of respected his effort (Laughs) he made. That it was such a success, I didn't quite realize, you know, I just thought it was a bit sort of... well, sort of a bit obvious, to try to be nice."

 

[laro13]

Luckily, J.F.K never went to Hamburg!!!

 

[santaman2000]

Luckily, J.F.K never went to Hamburg!!!

Or Frankfurt

 

[Shambling Shaman]

When I lived in Nijmegen I went to see 4 weddings and a funeral. Which was in English with Dutch subtitles...

I was laughing like mad at some bits and getting some of the worst looks ever from the people around me.

As this is a family forum I will not go in to details ... but something just do not translate especially if involves public school boys.

 

[Harvestman]

... something just do not translate especially if evolves public school boys.

Most public schoolboys could certainly do with evolving...

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Most public schoolboys could certainly do with evolving...

lol ah the dreaded dyslexia, thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Harvestman]

Sorry SS, but you made me laugh, and I understood exactly what you meant anyway.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Sorry SS, but you made me laugh, and I understood exactly what you meant anyway.

Its no problem, I normally double check before posting but it was a long night last night and still a bit fussy