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#6836 09/23/00 10:55 AM
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A report from their Rome correspondent in today's Melbourne Age mentions the public sign "Grazie per non fumare" (Thanks for not smoking) where all the words are Italian but it does not make sense, as it is an English construction translated word for word.


#6837 09/23/00 11:31 AM
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What would the proper construction be, then, please?

This brings to mind another question: if this is an
example of anastrophe, if the words were in the correct
order, then would it be a strophe?


#6838 09/23/00 06:27 PM
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how about: grazie per non aver fumato


#6839 09/24/00 01:08 AM
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Where's emanuela when we need her??


#6840 09/24/00 11:14 AM
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Jackie, great pun. But alas, not so.

tsuwm, once again you are perfect in the present

Speaking of verbose Italian: trains in Europe (this may have changed - it's been 10 yrs since I rode one - but if it has changed, I will always cherish the thought) sport warning signs posted in 5 languages. Four say, literally: "Do not lean out the window" (German is all I remember: "Nicht hinauslehnen!") Italian, however, tells you WHY: "E pericoloso sporgersi"


#6841 09/24/00 08:19 PM
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Anna,

I had enough trouble understanding public transport signs written in my native English. For the first few years of riding Melbourne's trams as a schoolboy, I was puzzled by the signs "HAIL CARS HERE" at tram stops. The expression conjured up images of taxis with a sort of bullet-proof roof to guard against our notoriously inclement weather!

The signs advising passengers how to "alight" were a mystery, too, until my vocabularly improved sufficiently.


#6842 09/24/00 09:44 PM
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"E pericoloso sporgersi"

The most I can make of this is "the periscope sponges"

(I don't speak Italian.)


#6843 09/24/00 11:50 PM
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Marty, if it makes you feel any better, I had a lot of trouble with the sign "MIND YOUR HEAD" over London tram doors.


#6844 09/24/00 11:53 PM
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(I don't speak Italian.)

I don't either. But I read it, to a certain degree. You want the literal translation or the contextual one?


#6845 09/25/00 03:36 AM
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I remember attending a talk by a US professor speaking on "plain language for lawyers" ( - an oxymoron, I hear you say). One of his examples was a set of fire instructions on the back of a hotel room door which concluded with the message "If you are deaf and/or dumb, please let reception know in advance so that appropriate arrangements can be made."

His point was; why the "and/or", why not simply "or"? Would someone otherwise read the sign and think "Oh it's OK I'm deaf AND dumb so I don't need to let the front desk know in advance"?!?!?


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