Register Log In Wordsmith Talk Forums General Topics Wordplay and fun Hmmmm Search Advanced Forum Search Forums Calendar Active Threads

Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Hmmmm #135254 11/16/2004 11:43 PM Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Zed Pooh-Bah Zed Pooh-Bah Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada I like finding words in other languages that twist the way I think about the English translation. For example The Spanish embarazada translates to pregnant, which, in my situation I would find very emarrassing. One Spanish translation of engaged is compromiso. Hmmm. And the French etiquettes becomes the English labels. I am sure that some of these have actual historical or linguistic links but I just like the double take and silent smirk they give me. One of my favorites was a very old Spanish English dictionary that translated the Spanish word macho as i)masculine, ii)a male mule or iii) a very stupid man. Any one else notice others? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Hmmmm #135255 11/17/2004 5:32 AM Joined: Feb 2003 Posts: 725 Oregon, USA Coffeebean old hand Coffeebean old hand Joined: Feb 2003 Posts: 725 Oregon, USA I am reminded of the time when my German teacher informed us that although "heis" means "hot" in most senses, not to use it in reference to yourself. That is, "Ich bin heis" would not mean "I am very warm" but "I am turned-on!" We thought that was awfully funny! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Hmmmm #135256 11/17/2004 11:24 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 To wander a little farther afield, in Spanish listo can mean ready or intelligent depending on which verb to be it is used with. Pedro está listo means Pedro is ready. Pedro es listo means Pedro is intelligent. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Hmmmm #135257 11/17/2004 5:58 PM Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 67 gonoldothrond journeyman gonoldothrond journeyman Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 67 It's not really related to what you asked, but when you mentioned "embarazada" I remembered a story I had heard. According to: http://www.baetzler.de/humor/ads_gone_wrong.html, 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". Instead, 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". (Plenty more stories in the same vein on that site, too.) Just thought I'd share. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Hmmmm #135258 11/17/2004 10:16 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 belMarduk Carpal Tunnel belMarduk Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 The Spanish embarazada translates to pregnant, Ooof, good thing you posted this Zed. I have a (very) basic knowledge of Spanish and I do try to speak in Spanish in a Spanish-speaking place. It looks exactly like something I'd say - "Lo siento, soy mucho embarazada" - after butchering a sentence - and confusing my listener even more. I do try though. Do I get an A for effort? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Out of sight, out of mind #135259 11/18/2004 12:05 PM Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,385 plutarch veteran plutarch veteran Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1,385 Hmmm. How about this: In the early 1960s, an apocryphal tale went around about a computer that the CIA had built to translate between English and Russian: to test the machine, the programmers decided to have it translate a phrase into Russian and then translate the result back into English, to see if they'd get the same words they started with. The director of the CIA was invited to do the honors; the programmers all gathered expectantly around the console to watch as the director typed in the test words: "Out of sight, out of mind." The computer silently ground through its calculations. Hours passed. Then, suddenly, magnetic tapes whirred, lights blinked, and a printer clattered out the result: "Invisible insanity." http://www.snopes.com/language/misxlate/machine.htm Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

Default Style BlackNTan Drab eBay GooG v2 infopop new dark new light original dark original stock rounded corners Slate snow sunny dropshadow theblues Touch Of Grey UBB.threads UBB.threads - Dark UBB.threads - Light UBBCentral UBBCentral - Crimson UBBCentral - Lime UBBCentral - Marshmallow UBBCentral - Mocha UBBCentral - Zen UBBT77 UBBT77 - Dark ubbthreads ubbthreads-dark Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith Talk