Is vocabulary important?

[Eric]

Hurray, Galatea! You win the prize for setting out the difference. You will, of course, note that I smuggled the "the former" versus "the latter" distinction into my posting about hanging, in order to demonstrate the difference.

[Miriam]

That's a nice dicussion) May god speed you, translator!))) What about vocabulary... It's a rather important thing. To my mind everyone, who deals with translations should always enlarge his vocabulary

[Eric]

Metaphors should be used with care. Here's a sentence from today's Observer (the Sunday version of the Guardian, London):

With temperatures at 35C, the situation in the Iranian capital threatened to reach boiling point as special forces in riot gear chased protesters through side streets near Fatemi Square.

Logic tells me that however apt the metaphor, you need another 65 degrees Celsius (aka centigrade) of heat to reach real boiling point.

Another not-brilliant sentence in this article, this time caused by the ambiguity of the verb "to lie":

Ahmadinejad lies in front of the whole nation on state-run TV.

OK in context, as the word "liar" is in the previous sentence. But I can't help thinking of Ahmedi-Nejad vying with British model politician Caroline Flint to look gorgeous, stretched out languidly on a carpet in front of the whole nation.

[Miriam]

nice examples! Many young juornalists or wrighters try to make the language of their articals more vitable, but sometimes such things as you've shown, happen. I remember words from one pop song (one humourist has said about it): "Eneralb eyebrows are in the ear by the light of the Moon" )))))))))))

[Eric]

This is a sad story. A depressed Dutch-born banker has disappeared along with two shotguns. People fear the worst. But the journalist's use of English means she didn't quite say what she wanted to, given the various meanings of the verb "to miss":

Huibert Boumeester is an experienced marksman. He has been missing since June 22, 2009.

[Liam]

Well-meaning people in the West often list slavery, homophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, etc., as principal evils, and maybe think that the first thing they should do is ban words, so that the thoughts behind them will ultimately wither.

Although I found out later that this line was older than the hills, back in the day it DID teach me a thing or two about the importance of choosing the right words:

When yours truly was still a well-behaved young Catholic boy, he quoted Leviticus 18:22 to a guy he eventually ended up in bed with: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination."

"That's OK," the other one said. "We'll do it standing up."

To me, it seems like there will ALWAYS be some loophole. Vocabulary is such a slippery tool.


Cheers,
L

[lionel]

Vocabulary is such a slippery tool.

I love that sentence in this context!

[Eric]

I second Lionel's amusement at the mention of the slippery tool in the context of a small orifice such as a loophole.

[hdw]

I second Lionel's amusement at the mention of the slippery tool in the context of a small orifice such as a loophole.

This sounds like the kind of painful, embarrassing, and painfully embarrassing solitary pleasure gone wrong that, according to anecdote or urban myth, firefighters are occasionally called in to extricate men from.

Harry

[Liam]

Tony:

I love that sentence in this context!

Eric:

I second Lionel's amusement at the mention of the slippery tool in the context of a small orifice such as a loophole.

Harry:

This sounds like the kind of painful, embarrassing, and painfully embarrassing solitary pleasure gone wrong that, according to anecdote or urban myth, firefighters are occasionally called in to extricate men from.

And here I thought we were all adults here...

[You guys made me laugh though].


L.

[lionel]

This sounds like the kind of painful, embarrassing, and painfully embarrassing solitary pleasure gone wrong that, according to anecdote or urban myth, firefighters are occasionally called in to extricate men from.

You know, when I was a kid, I saw this irresistible milk bottle, and... OK, I'm all growed up now and prefer dolls.

[beelzebubbles]

When yours truly was still a well-behaved young Catholic boy, he quoted Leviticus 18:22 to a guy he eventually ended up in bed with: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination."

"That's OK," the other one said. "We'll do it standing up."

I am glad that I am a heterosexual woman, because I am too lazy to have sex standing up.

Good to know my supine nature has me right with the Lord.

I am going to go lie down now.

[lionel]

Good to know my supine nature has me right with the Lord.

If that's a joke, then I like it, but if it's not, then I don't like it.

[Eric]

Although not a heterosexual woman myself, I side with Beelzebubbles: I'm buggered if I'm going to have sex standing up.

[Liam]

Although not a heterosexual woman myself...

That's good to know, Eric...

L.

[beelzebubbles]

'If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.'

If you lie down with me, there could be waffles later.

[Eric]

Getting back to the less cuddly aspects of this waffle-hugging thread, why is it that the British media are incapable of distinguishing between a translator and an interpreter? Yes, both translate but one on paper (or hard disk), the other verbally, usually instantly. It's like blurring the distinction between an electrician and an electronics expert. They too do different jobs.

[Eric]

Here's another one:

I've always assumed that the established English name for the coastal city in the West of Sweden is Gothenburg in English. Then the Swedes themselves started calling the book fair there the "G?teborg Book Fair" following Swedish usage. In Swedish the city is pronounced something like "yerter-BORRY".

Now the Daily Telegraph (online 11 September 2009), a newspaper not known for being particularly Europhile, said this:

The report is being prepared for the October meeting of EU finance ministers in G?teborg, which will focus on the exit strategy from the economic crisis and the long-term sustainability of EU public finances.

So, when choosing where to go for my holidays, should I choose to go to Milano, Warszawa, Brussel, Lisboa, Roma, K?benhavn or Beograd? Some names of cities co?ncide with the local name (e.g. Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Oslo, Madrid, Frankfurt), although the pronunciation may differ, but some do not.

What's wrong with the established English name "Gothenburg" in this instance?

[Eric]

Latest piece of "important" vocabulary used by BBC newsreaders:

petting farm

This is presumably a farm where heavy petting takes place... The sheer daftness of this term beggars belief.

[Eric]

Another stoopid book about silly words:

Are these the best ever words in the English language? - Telegraph

As the article says:

Some are lost words redisovered, others are gems from local dialects, but all are intriguing examples of how English continues to be the most quirky languge in the world.

It's ironic that some typo-ridden hack called Harry Wallop, of all names, is writing this in an article about language.

As many people can't even cope with the normal words we've got, and sort them into posh, not-so-posh, and downright vulgar, I don't think we need some "bowerbird" to collect junk words and put them in a book.