Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Humorous Article on Mistranslations

  Tags: Error | Translation
 Language Learning Forum : General discussion Post Reply
15 messages over 2 pages: 1
hjordis
Senior Member
United States
snapshotsoftheworld.
Joined 5187 days ago

209 posts - 264 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Spanish, Japanese

 
 Message 9 of 15
07 April 2013 at 7:07pm | IP Logged 
I'm fairly sure that intoxicated can have the meaning of poisoned in English too, at least in a medical context. I'm sure I've read it in older books, though not specifically with food poisoning. It's just been completely overrun by the alcohol only meaning.
1 person has voted this message useful



Vannny
Diglot
Newbie
Chile
Joined 4311 days ago

3 posts - 4 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, English

 
 Message 10 of 15
11 April 2013 at 7:32pm | IP Logged 
About "mosquito" and "zancudo", they are regional words.
In Argentina, we use only "mosquito".
In Peru, they use "zancudo"
In Chile, they use both.
2 persons have voted this message useful



ling
Diglot
Groupie
Taiwan
Joined 4587 days ago

61 posts - 94 votes 
Speaks: English*, Mandarin
Studies: Indonesian, Thai

 
 Message 11 of 15
13 April 2013 at 6:29am | IP Logged 
Wait... did it say "President" Carter went to Poland in... 1973?
1 person has voted this message useful



Journeyer
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
tristan85.blogspot.c
Joined 6869 days ago

946 posts - 1110 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, German
Studies: Sign Language

 
 Message 12 of 15
13 April 2013 at 8:58am | IP Logged 
ling wrote:
Wait... did it say "President" Carter went to Poland in... 1973?


Ha, it does! If you check the newspaper sources on the hyperlinks in the article, they all say 1977, so it must have been the writer's oversight.
1 person has voted this message useful



dampingwire
Bilingual Triglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4666 days ago

1185 posts - 1513 votes 
Speaks: English*, Italian*, French
Studies: Japanese

 
 Message 13 of 15
13 April 2013 at 5:56pm | IP Logged 
So an unfortunate statement/(mis)translation that may have lead to the world's only
nuclear strike rates number three but a humorous (possibly automatic) mistranslation of
干 is the worst ever example?

Hmmm.


2 persons have voted this message useful



Phantom Kat
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5064 days ago

160 posts - 253 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, English
Studies: Finnish

 
 Message 14 of 15
13 April 2013 at 6:16pm | IP Logged 
My family and I have always used zancudo, and we're from northern Mexico. Whenever
I've heard the word mosquito it was always used to refer to those gnats flying
around in droves.

- Kat

Edited by Phantom Kat on 13 April 2013 at 6:16pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Gala
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4551 days ago

229 posts - 421 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Italian

 
 Message 15 of 15
13 April 2013 at 7:13pm | IP Logged 
Intoxicated literally means to be suffering from the effects of a toxin (alcohol being
one), and in Spanish it has sensibly retained this meaning in regards to other toxic
substances. I've heard it used to refer to both food poisoning and chemical poisoning.

But even given the various possible translation of "intoxicado" in Spanish, the
unfortunate gentleman in the article was unwise to use it to describe what he was
suffering, as it's always best to tell doctors your symptoms rather than offering your
own diagnosis as to their cause. After all, he didn't have food poisoning either, and if
they had understood what he said to mean that he still might not have gotten proper
treatment for the blood clot in his brain that was causing his nausea. It's common and
idiomatic Spanish to say "Siento náuseas" (I feel nauseous.)

Edited by Gala on 13 April 2013 at 7:47pm



1 person has voted this message useful



This discussion contains 15 messages over 2 pages: << Prev 1

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.4063 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.