[Repost] 21 Everyday Frustrations Bilinguals Will Understand (by Maddi Lewis)

Previously shared on fb by ElleDi Traduzioni

21 Everyday Frustrations Bilinguals Will Understand

Now, which language do I write this post in again…?posted on March 12, 2014 at 10:59am EDT

Maddi Lewis

COMMUNITY MEMBER

1. Needing a word in one language but only being able to think of it in the other.

Via mashable.com

“What’s the name of that little thing that lives in Australia? It’s ‘ornithorynque’ in French, what is it in English?”

2. Accidentally speaking the wrong language.

Warner Brothers Pictures / Via theheartofcamelot.com

“Yes, do you have a question?”
“Oui, savez-vous où… sorry.”

3. Having to speak in one language after you haven’t used it in ages.

Universal Pictures / Via prettyguilty.com

“I just came ba- oh, in French? Umm… Je, euh, je viens de passer mes vacances à, euh, c’est-à-dire en Australie où, euh, où j’ai vu un platyp- un ornithorynque.”

4. “Ooooh! Say something in [insert language here]!!!”

Buena Vista Pictures / Via herecomesjohnny.tumblr.com

Um, okay. “Va t’en, s’il te plaît.” GO AWAY.

5. “OMG! Teach me [insert language here]!”

NBC / Via mashable.com

Okay, do you have several years to spare? ‘Cause I sure don’t.

6. “Will you pleeeease do my [insert language here] homework? Since you’re an expert and all.”

BBC / Via giphy.com

A) No B) NO C) NO

7. Being the automatic translator whenever anything in your language is present: people, films, books, the translations of nutrition facts on food labels, etc…

MTV / Via rebloggy.com

Do you really need me to tell you that “hydrates de carbone” means “carbohydrates?” Is this really something you need reinforced?

8. Having people assume that, since you know one foreign language, you can therefore help them with any given language, no matter what it is.

The CW / Via goodreads.com

“You need my help? Okay, well I don’t speak Spanish… No, it doesn’t matter than Spain and France are next to each other. The languages are not the same.”

9. Accidentally changing language mid-sentence.

Via mashable.com

“I saw this guy on Friday night, et il était le plus bel homme du monde, il était tellement magni- damn it, sorry.”

10. Autcorrect. Just, autocorrect.

Screenshot / Via Maddi’s iPhone

OH MY GOD. ACTUALLY THE WORST.

This is what happens when you type English into a French keyboard. It’s mayhem.

11. Trying to tell really funny jokes from one language and having them fall flat because the humor gets lost in translation.

Via bela-kikinu.livejournal.com

“It’s really funny, I swear it is! No, like, seriously! I promise!”

12. Thinking something through in one language and then having to say it in the other.

BBC / Via howireacted.tumblr.com

“Hold on, let me translate my thoughts real quick…”

13. Reading one language as if it were the other and being totally confused when it makes no sense.

FOX / Via goodreads.com

“This is absolute gibberish!!… OH, it’s in English. Never mind.”

14. When you try to impress someone with your bilingualism but they couldn’t care less.

Paramount Pictures / Via cjr.org

“Well, heyyy there! What’s your sign- or, should I say, quel est votre signe? Oh, not interested? That’s cool. Just walk away now.”

15. Anything to do with accents: sounding American when you speak your foreign language, sounding foreign when you speak English, getting accents mixed up, etc. It’s a struggle.

NBC / Via stevencee.com

“Ah, crap- did I really just do a guttural ‘R?’ I’m not speaking French right now! What am I doing??”

16. When you visit wherever your “foreign” language is spoken and can’t understand a single word of any of the slang.

Via neogaf.com

It’s not the same between countries. Slang is not is universal.

17. When someone thinks they speak your language perfectly even though they only had, like, one semester of it in high school but they insist on using it anyways and it’s awful.

NBC / Via gifrific.com

“Uh huh, what you just said actually makes no sense, and half of it was just American words said with an accent.”

18. Accidentally trying to use foreign words in Scrabble/Words with Friends.

Via perezhilton.com

“But it’s worth so many poooooiiinntttssss.” 😦 😦 😦

19. Getting grammar rules mixed up.

The Walt Disney Company / Via teen.com

The English sentence is ‘Oh yea, I saw him there when I bought that.’ In French, you say ‘Oui, je l’y ai vu quand je l’ai acheté.’ Direct translation? ‘Yes, I he there saw when I it bought.’ Now YOU try to not get that shit mixed up when switching languages.

20. Knowing the subtitles for foreign-language characters in films are horribly wrong.

Via uphumor.com.br

“Yea, he didn’t just say ‘Put the money in the bag, bitch.’ He said, ‘Give me the duck and crackers, son.’”

21. IDIOMS. They never translate between languages, and languages don’t really share idioms.

Via reactiongifs.com

“Vous avez le cul bordé de nouilles?* Oh my god, are you okay? Oh… another damn idiom. Sorry.”

*This is a real idiom that literally means “to have an ass lined with noodles.” The idiomatic meaning? “To be lucky.” Yea, I don’t get it either.

If you love something… (Time for a little fun!)

Post per gli umoristi della traduzione, per chi ha qualche minuto da dedicare al mio blog e per chi è casualmente passato di qua ed ha voglia di farsi due risate.

Nei momenti di pura follia, che accompagnano una giornata-tipo del traduttore, c’è anche la ricerca di risposte a domande che oserei definire “esistenziali”.
Ogni traduttore ha le proprie, più o meno profonde che siano, e si racchiudono in grandi macrogruppi (diversi anch’essi da traduttore a traduttore).
Quella che vi propongo oggi fa parte dei miei “DUBBI da ANNI”.

Tutto inizia nel 1999 con la canzone di questo video

What a Girl Wants (Christina Aguilera) [1999]

in cui al minuto 1.55 Xtina canta “They say, if you love somethin’, let it go / If it comes back, it’s yours and that’s how you know / It’s for keeps, yeah, it’s for sure“.
Mi sono sempre domandata il senso di questa frase, che è poi diventata un tormentone assoluto e vittima di stalking da parte di molte adolescenti-blogger-tumbleraddicted etc (come mostrato nella foto qui sotto).

Per quale assurdo motivo se ami qualcosa (qualcuno), dovresti lasciarla andare per avere la certezza che sia tua per sempre nel momento in cui ritorna?
E poi… Perché è stato aggiunto – a mo’ di corollario – che se non torna, non era destino che andasse diversamente?
Ma che cosa? Di cosa stiamo parlando?
Carissimo tu che hai inventato per primo questo concetto assurdo, *imho* hai detto una delle più grandi cavolate mai sentite.

1. Se ami veramente qualcosa, non dovresti MAI, e ripeto MAI, abbandonarla. Un amico, un animale, un sogno, un lavoro, una qualsiasicosavivengainmente;
2. Se ti lascio andare, un motivo ci sarà e, probabilmente, non spero assolutamente di rivedere mai più quella cosa/persona sulla mia strada;
3. Se non era destino andasse così… CI MANCHEREBBE PURE! Perché mai sognare di veder tornare un qualcosa che mi sono “amabilmente” lasciata alle spalle?!

Per questo, ad oggi, in mio aiuto arrivano altre immagini dalla rete.

Per esempio questa recita: “Se ami qualcosa, non puoi lasciarla andare mai, nemmeno per un secondo, altrimenti è persa per sempre”.
Si avvicina abbastanza alla mia idea di ‘cavolata’, però mi sembra un pochino (tantissimo) estremista. Non esaspererei la cosa al punto da lanciare un’anatema o ergermi sul malcapitato in stile Gandalf.

“You shall not pass” -Gandalf [from The Lord of the Rings]

Personalmente, preferisco una più modesta regola di un gentiluomo. In questo caso la n. 163:

In tempi recenti lo stesso tema è stato trattato anche nelle stupende E-cards.
A. Una versione “autocelebrativa”

B. Una versione “restrittiva”

C. Una versione “vendicativa”

D. Una versione “punitiva” (con tanto di caccia!)

E. Una versione “definitiva” (ndt: non ha neanche bisogno di inseguire la ‘cosa’!)

Un po’ di Damon Salvatore ci sta sempre bene.
[Ian Somerhalder]

#perlediunatraduttrice
#translatorsgonnatranslate

Per chi volesse lanciarsi in qualche riflessione filosofica, consiglio questo link sull’argomento: http://philosiblog.com/2011/08/16/if-you-love-something-let-it-go-if-it-comes-back-to-you-its-yours-forever-if-it-dosent-then-it-was-never-meant-to-be/

Per chi invece “sa di amare la sua donna solo quando la lascia andare”, propongo un po’ di Passenger e la sua Let her go.

Well, You only need the light when it’s burning low,
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow,
Only know you love her when you let her go.

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home.
Only know you love her when you let her go,
And you let her go.

Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you’ll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies

But you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go

Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
‘Cause Love comes slow and it goes so fast

Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
Cause you loved her too much and you dived too deep

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go ooooh ooooh oh no

And you let her go
ooooh ooooh oh no

Well you let her go

ooooh ooooh oh no

Cause you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go

Cause you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go

London Grammar

La playlist in modalità shuffle mentre stai lavorando crea il giusto sottofondo musicale. Infatti, per rimanere in tema, non potevano mancare i London Grammar.

Enjoy the song!

Strong

Excuse me for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle
I’ve excused you for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle

And a lion, a lion roars would you not listen?
If a child, a child cries would you not forgive them?

Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong

Excuse me for a while,
Turn a blind eye
With a stare caught right in the middle
Have you wondered for a while
I have a feeling deep down
You’re caught in the middle?

If a lion, a lion roars would you not listen?
If a child, a child cries would you not forgive them?

Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong

Excuse me for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle
Have you wondered for a while
I have a feeling deep down?
You’re caught in the middle

Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong

#perlediunatraduttrice

 

FOOD TRANSLATION: UK vs USA

 

UK vs USA

 

repost: (from) Transgalator

Machine Translation(s)

The only MACHINE TRANSLATION I accept. ;D

Go Indie!

amnesia

additional musicians:
guy freer – keyboards
katheryn brownhill – violins, backing vocals
jonathan nix – backing vocals
ania freer – backing vocals
marianthe loucataris – drum samples

choose your taker, lips and purse
oh jees you picked one worse
amnesia, here’s your curse

for every new thing that you find
you’re gonna leave something behind

at ease you’re a skipping stone
knock knees you till you’ve grown
amnesia, pick up the phone

for every new thing that you find
you’re gonna leave something behind

and you can dance me round again
till it feels like everything
is getting smaller
and closer up

the same again tomorrow…

amnesia, the wild bore
that’s the cheese you ate before
amnesia, please get out more

for every new thing that you find
you’re gonna leave something behind

and you can dance me round again
till it feels like everything
is getting smaller
and closer up

the same again tomorrow…

goodnight

#perlediunatraduttrice
#translatorsgonnatranslate
#getinspired

Repost: The Joy of Swearing in a Non-Native Language (by Corey Heller)

The Joy of Swearing in a Non-Native Language

Cf. original piece at “http://www.multilingualliving.com/2010/08/31/the-joy-of-swearing-in-a-non-native-language/“

by COREY · 30 COMMENTS

By Corey Heller
Photo Credit: Ben and Kaz Askins

Today was not a day that I am proud of.  I yelled at my German husband in front of my multilingual kids.  And, as always, I regretted it later.

My patient husband kept calm – which made me even more annoyed.

Is that a German trait, that staying-calm-in-an-argument trait?  That trait that can drive me up the wall?  My fiery response to it (inherited from my Irish grandparents) was a clear indication that I still haven’t mastered that trait – not yet, at least.

Let’s hope my children inherit my husband’s calm genes.  Please!

The thing that I find fascinating is that when I lose my temper and start to yell, it is usually in German, my non-native language.  Rarely do I launch into a host of deeply familiar American exclamations.

Instead, I automatically turn to my limited, yet carefully selected, set of German vocabulary – words that I have chosen over the years due to the way they so comfortably roll off my tongue.

Non-native speaker tip: Don’t use swear words in a heated argument that you (1) haven’t learned well enough to use comfortably and (2) you can’t pronounce correctly.  I can say this from experience.  The impact is less than stellar when a swear word you utter makes your opponent burst out laughing (at you) because he can’t figure out what you just said.  “Did you just say I’m a pair of binoculars?  Bwahhhahhahh!”

Memorable.  But definitely not satisfying.  Not in the least.

I enjoy swearing in German.  It feels sophisticated compared to the English equivalents.  It gives me a certain sense of satisfaction, primarily because the words feel so very empowering and forceful yet not crude and obscene.  Those German words just roll of the tongue with such slithering pleasure:

“Verdammt, noch mal!”  Doesn’t that sound so much more appealing and mature than “damn it all”?  Course, I have to admit that I do enjoy a good “bloody hell” from time to time while watching those fantastic British mysteries on our local PBS TV station!  What sophistication.  Such refinement.

“Scheiße!”  Those two syllables make our English “shit” seem so very vulgar.  The smoothness of the “sch,” the openness of the “eye” and the soft ending of the “eh” is so very soothing to the ear, is it not?

Even “Idiot” in German has a kind of low, casualness with that lovely long-o sound.  Contrast that with its sharp, edgy American-English cousin.  Anything that ends in “ut” like the American pronunciation must be relegated to the compost heap.

Obviously, I didn’t pick up the worst of the worst when it comes to German swear words (thanks to my clean-talking husband and his friends).  My repertoire of German swear words is limited to a few targeted general ones that I most likely learned from German television.

The fact that I lack a personal association with these words makes them feel so much less offensive – almost pleasant in my mind.  In fact, being that I learned them during a very exciting, joyful time in my life (those first euphoric years with my husband-to-be), it is no surprise that they hold with them many pleasant memories (even though some were used in that same joyful context against that same wonderful person – let’s just blame it on that same Irish blood).

Even though I try never to use swear words in front of my bilingual children, there are times when they slip out.  Purely by accident.  I swear!

I have even been known to use an occasional English swearword in front of my children now and then. However, I aim to stick with German exclamations: they are so much easier to get away with when my kids repeat them in front of English-speaking community members.  I can just pretend like my kids said something extremely cute and praiseworthy: “What did he just say?” they ask.   My response: “Oh nothing, really.  Just ‘darn it,’ that’s all.”  (Inward chuckle.)

I have been asked once or twice by my kids to please define a given swear word in English.  As I usually only use German swear words, I always respond with an honestly shocked response: “What!?  Where did you learn that word!?”

To which my children answer matter of factly, “From you Mama.”

“Really?  Are you sure?  From me?”

Scheiße, verdammt noch mal!

On the rare occasions that you lose your temper, which language do you prefer?  Do your children ever use swear words?  If so, do find that swear words in one language have less of an impact than in your other languages?  Are your children allowed to use words in one language but not their translation in the other language(s)?

Corey Heller is the founder of Multilingual Living and the Editor-In-Chief/Publisher ofMultilingual Living Magazine. Multilingual Living is the place where she shares her knowledge about raising multilingual and multicultural children. Corey, an American, and her German husband live in Seattle where they raise and homeschool their three children, ages 12, 10 and 8, in German and English.
CLICK HERE to send her an email!

Quote of the Day.

QOTD:

 

by Translartisan

Have a good weekend everyone!

Get inspired!

🙂

Karma.

 

The only assignment that has NO DEADLINE

is KARMA.

 

#perlediunatraduttrice