{"id":1460,"date":"2013-10-18T17:41:11","date_gmt":"2013-10-18T17:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=1460"},"modified":"2013-10-21T12:31:58","modified_gmt":"2013-10-21T12:31:58","slug":"lost-in-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/lost-in-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost in Translation"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\n

smoke a fag\"Thank<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

1. Have a cigarette (British)<\/p>\n

2. Kill a homosexual (American)<\/p>\n

As a New Zealander living in England I have come across many phrases and words that are misconstrued, cause confusion, and sometimes offense - the above example from the Urban Dictionary demonstrates just how easily some things can really get lost in translation!<\/p>\n

Luckily, as an English speaker I can communicate on an everyday level with my British counterparts, but every now and then something crops up that identifies me as a foreigner to these shores.<\/p>\n

Common phrases from the colonies like can\u2019t be fagged<\/i> (can\u2019t be bothered), hunky dory<\/i> (everything\u2019s fine), pack a sad<\/i> (sulk), piece of piss<\/i> (something that\u2019s easy to do), sweet as<\/i> (all good), and it\u2019s my shout<\/i> (I\u2019ll pay for this round of drinks) bring about a hint of mirth, and then there\u2019s a sandwich short of a picnic<\/i> (someone\u2019s a bit thick), get off the grass<\/i> (stop making up stories), and get up at sparrow\u2019s fart<\/i> (an early riser), which all result in downright derision\u2026 and that\u2019s without taking the accent into account!<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there are plenty of terms that don\u2019t translate the other way, like if a Brit or an American tells us they root for a certain team we think they\u2019re a bit slutty, as to root is slang for fornicating in Australasia!<\/p>\n

Being on the other side of the world we have developed our own identity and form of language, and take offence when it\u2019s defined or used the wrong way, even when the Oxford English Dictionary is the guilty culprit.<\/p>\n

\"lostintrans2\"<\/a>Last year, the OED listed the Australasian term Bogan<\/i> in its tome, and defined it as someone who is uncouth, uncultured, and of low status similar to the British equivalent Chav<\/i> and the American White Trash<\/i>.<\/p>\n

As a result, Kiwi and Australian Bogans<\/i> from all walks of life revolted at the definition, as they wear the name as a badge of honour \u2013 along with their black jeans, black singlets, usually unkempt flowing locks, and heavy metal music paraphernalia!<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not the only ones who have weird and wonderful ways of speaking that more often than not will raise an eyebrow or two in the UK \u2013 here are just a few examples from around the world.<\/p>\n

The Dutch say they\u2019re sweating carrots<\/i> when they\u2019re overworking, the French say they have other cats to whip<\/i> when they have other things to do, and when experts make an error, the Japanese say that even monkeys fall out of trees<\/i>.<\/p>\n

These all have similarities to English speaking phrases, but then there\u2019s the Hindi example\u00a0to excrete embers<\/i> when someone\u2019s very angry, the French pedal in sauerkraut<\/i> when you\u2019re not going anywhere fast, and then there\u2019s the entertaining and logical Tibetan phrase, to put up a beer tent<\/i> meaning there\u2019s going to be a wedding.<\/p>\n

So, put another snag on the barby mate, grab another bevvy from the chilly bin, Bob\u2019s your uncle, and she\u2019ll be right \u2013 in other words, cook a sausage, get a cold beer, and all will be good with the world!<\/p>\n

Have you got any good examples of phrases that have got you lost in translation?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  smoke a fag 1. Have a cigarette (British) 2. Kill a homosexual (American) As a New Zealander living in England I have come across many phrases and words that are misconstrued, cause confusion, and sometimes offense – the above example from the Urban Dictionary demonstrates just how easily some things can really get lost(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,27,28],"tags":[46,163,125,164],"class_list":["post-1460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday-language","category-humour-offbeat","category-culture-travel","tag-languages","tag-lost-in-translation","tag-oed","tag-translation"],"yoast_head":"\nLost in Translation - Listen & Learn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/lost-in-translation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lost in Translation - Listen & Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  smoke a fag 1. 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