English Idioms 1

[Olaf Doschke]

As cool as ... Two other idioms meaning nothing to me.

Duck to water than has a variation in german "wie ein Fisch im Wasser" = "as a fish in the water", so it's only a bit ducked under ;-).

The universal nature of so many idioms may be explained by having a very old source. Perhaps even more of those came out of the bible, like "eye for an eye".

Well, that doesn't mean you don't need to be carful to literally translate idioms, but some may even work, although they are unknown in the other language. The "cool as ..." examples may translate to a cold shoulder in german, you show someone the cold shoulder, if you ignore him. I Can't really explain why that idiom is used for that. Let's see what google finds:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-col4.htm

Ah, and I see what cool as a cucumber means now:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/38500.html

I can't think of a similar idiom in german rigth now.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Amongst the most idomatic of phrases that just does not translate into virtually any other language (due to the "visual results") is the one we Anglos use to get people to smile when taking a photograph,

Say, "Cheese"

Can you imagine how "kissie-looking" the people would look in a photo taken by a Spanish photographer of like-speaking photo subjects:

Diga, "Queso".

...or the dour appearance of either French subjects that are told:

Dire, le « Fromage ».

...or Germans

Sagen Sie, "Käse"

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[mjldba]

Anybody remember when Pepsi was being marketed in China for the first time and the slogan that Pepsi used in their TV advertising jingle went something like "Come alive .... you're in the Pepsi generation."

The Chinese were shocked and confused because the slogan translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead.

 

[GwydionM]

Coca Cola in Chinese transliteration was 'Bite The Wax Tadpole', apparantly.

Googol can mean 'DogDog' in Chinese transliteration (Guardian, 29th April). They chose a new name that apparantly sounded like "fool, funny and fart" (or rather the Chinese thereof).

------------------------------
An old man who lives in the UK

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
And General Motors will never forget trying to market a car to Spanish speaking countries called the NOVA -
( NO VA is not a good thing for a car)





To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[SantaMufasa]

Actually, Turkbear, GM didn't actually try to market the Nova in Latin America...they re-labeled them the "Caribe"...a much more tropical (and inviting nameplate) for that region.

But amongst other "Lost In Translation" marketing fiascos are:

1. The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"

2. Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

3. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."

4. Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."

5. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.

6. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

7. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).

9. (Following up on Gwydion's earlier observation)...not only was Coca-Cola's original name in China "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole", but it also meant, "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole", translating into "happiness in the mouth."

11. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant!"

12. When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.



Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[SF0751]

More on the Nova from the Snopes website:

General Motors, we're told, finally wised up and changed the model name of their automobile from Nova to Caribe, after which sales of the car "took off." One small problem with this claim: the Caribe sold in Mexico was manufactured by Volkswagen, not General Motors. (The Caribe was the model name used by VW in Mexico for the car more commonly known in the USA as the Volkswagen Golf.)

Susan
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work."
- Thomas A. Edison

 

[SantaMufasa]

Cool!

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[cresbydotcom]

All hat, no cattle"

reminds me of the "Fur coat - no knickers" saying particularly in the North of England (ney sure aboot Scortlanders)

There are others fully equivalent like "Red hat, no draws" and "Red shoes, no draws" of which I make no affirmation other than

http://cresby.com

will not reveal confirmation.

And as for cars - Rolls-Royce almost marketed the Silver Mist - a wonderful name in Anglophone countries but not in teutonic regions.

FWIW the cognicentii refer affectionately to their "Royce" never their "Roller". Unless they come in red and tow red caravans I won't be buying one.

 

[KenCunningham]

(ney sure aboot Scortlanders)

Hmm. I can feel a 'Braveheart' moment coming on! Not that I'm a Scortlander (or even Scottish/Scots), you understand. It would be 'nae' BTW.

 

[columb]

FYI
[ul]
[li]Scot - an inhabitant of Scotland named after the tribe of the same name[/li]
[li]Scottish - of or about the Scots.[/li]
[li]Scotch - a version of whiskey brewed in Scotland[/li]
[li]Scotlanders - beware, whilst the Scots are a wonderful people they tend to be a bit fussy about what you call them[/li]
[/ul]

Ceci n'est pas une signature
Columb Healy

 

[cresbydotcom]

humour and precision are unlikely bedfellows
<PEDANT ON>
Whiskey is Irish ie Bushmills
Whisky is Scotch ie Glen Morange
Ale is brewed
Cider is milled
Whisk(e)y is distilled (but mashed & fermented first)
ScoRtlanders is just plain prosaic phonetic spelling
but ye nae wrorrrrrrrng on the ney item
</PEDANT>
The English can be fussy about geographical heritage too - Yorkshire is a whole enclave to itself. Me? A Staffordshire man - owr kid.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Aye, 'n' where be ye from in Staffs?

"Oh, to be in England
Now that April’s there (and gone),
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now!..."


Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[columb]

<humour on>
Just because the Scots misspell whiskey doesn't mean I have to. Oh, and they don't have a monopoly on tartan and bagpipes either. On celtic people, several warring tribes!
<humour off>

Ceci n'est pas une signature
Columb Healy

 

[cresbydotcom]

Aye, 'n' where be ye from in Staffs?

I am, SIR, from the dead centre of civilisation

Wednesbury

the very dead centre.

there are two sorts of people in this world - those who have been to Wednesbury, and those who say "Where?

 

[SantaMufasa]

...the very dead centre

Sure'n yer saying ye live near where Darlaston Road dead-ends into Walsall Street, noreast of Holyhead Road? Aye, 'n' I know it well.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[KenCunningham]

The English can be fussy about geographical heritage too - Yorkshire is a whole enclave to itself.

I know, I'm a Tyke myself. As they say "You can always tell a Yorkshireman, but you can't tell him much" ;-)

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Ken ... I'm from Sussex but scored 9 from 10 at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/quizzes/fun_stuff_dialect_quiz_feature.shtml

[Cheers]

 

[columb]

Nice one CorBlimeyLimey
Although I'm Hertfordshire born and bred I managed to fluke 10/10 with three lucky guesses. I guess it's the 'Last Of The Summer Wine'/'Heartbeat'/'All Creatures Great And Small' influence.

It's funny how televised Yorkshire happens exclusively to the rural population!

Ceci n'est pas une signature
Columb Healy

 

[SantaMufasa]

I "Yanked" a miserable 6 of 10...But that's 'cuz ne'er liv'd nie unta a Yorkie. I'm a "Yankee Broomie".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]