Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Jokes & Aphorisms that Defy Expression
Do you speak another language besides English? If not, perhaps you know someone who does. Jokes and aphorisms can help us think about the similarities and differences among languages and cultures. What jokes or aphorisms do you know of that do not translate well into English? What parts of it make sense in English, and what parts are "lost" in translation? Why?
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West Indians use the term 'gripe', which means 'stomach-ache' to us. So if someone from the U.S asks us how we are and we say, "Oh, I have a gripe", they think it means we have a problem with them.
ReplyDelete- Jordan M.
Có hai ông nuôi cá gặp nhau, và nói chuyện như sau:
ReplyDeleteÔng A hỏi Ông B: Năm nay cá của ông nuôi ra sao?
Ông B trả lời: Ao cá của tôi năm nay được mùa, chỉ cần vạch nước ra là tháy cá. Còn ao của ông thé nào?
Ông A trả lời Ông B: Cám ơn ông, ao của tôi thì vạch cá ra mới tháy nước.
Fish farmer A says to fish farmer B, “How are your fish this year?”
B replies, “My pond is very good this year, I just have to wave aside some water and I’ll see fish. How about yours?”
A replies, “Thank your for asking, in my pond I have to wave aside the fish in order to see water.”
I got this joke from my father, and did not find it very funny at all. He, on the other hand, was cracking up on the other end of the phone call. He explained that it is funny because the first claim was already outrageous, and the second claim was merely to "one up" on the previous claim. (He is also an avid fisherman, so maybe that's why he likes it so much ^_^ )
"Camaron que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente"
ReplyDeleteIn english it would translate as...
"shrimp that falls asleep the tide will take them"
I guess they tell lazy people this....or how bout this one..
Saliste de Guatemala y te metiste en Guatapeor.
This one translates...
You left Guate-bad and went to Guate-worse.
I thought it was pretty funny thats why I put it up..it doesnt make sense...
Elizabeth M.
Snachala devochkam interesued kukle, a malchikam machina, a patom na abarot.
ReplyDeleteAt first girls are interested in dolls, and boys cars, then they switch.
After hearing what seemed like 20 dirty Russian jokes from my parents, my mother finally gave me this one. I thought it was cute and simple. I believe the ending gets lost in the English translation. Also the word 'kukla' (doll) in Russian is often used to describe a pretty girl, but in English it just does not sound as good, calling a girl a doll...
- Yuliana B
"Slovo ne vorobei, viletit ne poimaesh."
ReplyDeleteThe word is not the sparrow,when it fly away, you cannot catch it.
This is a Russian aphorism that can be also translated as "First think and then speak."
"sorry fi mawga dawg, mawga dawg wi tun roun bite yuh"
ReplyDeletesorry for skinny dog, skinng dog will turn around and bite you. but "dawg" would refer to a person-mostly to a man who dont take care of his responsibilities.
this means -sometimes the people we help are least grateful and can turn on you
A "pun" on the word 'fascinate'
ReplyDeleteA teacher asked her class to give her a sentence with the word 'fascinate.' Marva said she went ro the Vermont Nature Trail and saw some parrots. She found it fascinating. The teacher said that's good, but I want the word 'fascinate.' Dave said, his family went to the Botanical Gardens and he was fascinated. Wrong use of the word the teacher said. Little John put his hand up high in the air, but the teacher tried to ignore him for she got burned from him before. As no one else came forward, she asked him to give his sentence. This is what he said, My Aunt Gina has a sweater with ten buttons, but her breasts are so big she only can'fasten eight.' The poor teacher sat down and cried. This goes to show that with the English language, one word can come up with a wealth of different meaning according to how the listener interpret it. KEEP ON SMILING.
Whenever I can, I collect culture-specific sayings from my diverse group of friends because doing so helps me understand the richness of their background, even when the meaning is at first lost to me.
ReplyDeleteFrom Haitian kreyol come the following:
1. Sa ki pa touye w, li angrese w.
--"What doesn't kill you makes you fatter."
I thought this was hilarious/sarcastic at first. Then my boyfriend explained to me that when you see a relative or friend you haven't seen in a while, it's actually a high compliment for them to say "Wow, you've really put on weight. Look how fat he/she's gotten!"
Being fat means you're eating well and thus is equated with strength, i.e. our expression in English: "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
2. Se konsa depi berejenn goumen ak konkonmb.
--"It's been like this since eggplant fought cucumber."
The origin of this saying is unknown by my Haitian friends but it's used to say "it's been like this forever."
One last one from Russian:
1. Za dvumya zaitsami pogonish'sya, ne odnogo ne poimaesh.
--"The man who chases two rabbits catches none."
This one is pretty self-explanatory and translates well into English. I was talking with a German friend of mine (who said they have the same expression in her language) and she was saying that for her, it carries heavy cultural baggage. Growing up in Germany, she said, you constantly receive the message that you should focus your energy on one proverbial rabbit: one major, one profession, one goal.
It would be interesting to find out if the same cultural connotation applies in Russian.
"a luchen kup"
ReplyDeleteThis is a Yiddish expression that literally translates as, "a hole in your head." If someone got something that they didn't need or if you were asking someone if they want something and they don't want it, they can reply, "i need it a luchen kup" or in English, "I need it like I need a hole in my head." This expression literally make sense in English, however, it is not used.
Most of the aphorisms are untranslatable into any other language. Sometimes it is impossible to translate a simple joke. Main difficulty could be in the structure or in the use of the language and in the habits of an ethnic or national community, and it could be many linguistic difficulties in translating as well.
ReplyDeleteI speak three languages which are totally distinctive from each other – English, Russian, and Georgian. These languages have completely different alphabets and pronunciation. There are numerous methods for studying foreign languages in general. The hardest part when you are acquiring new language is to understand a joke. If you can do it – you are already fluent in this language.
When you do the exact literal translation some aphorisms may lose their meanings. There are some aphorisms that have the same meanings but they are just expressed in different words. “The early bird catches the worm” in Russian sounds like “God gives you more (helps you) when you wake up early.” Even if it is written in different words it has the same meaning which shows similarities in two different cultures and people can understand it.
But there are some aphorisms that don’t make sense for other cultures: “Long braid is girl’s beauty.” Many people cannot understand it because they have different beauty standards that have nothing to do with long hair.
Another example: “Job is not a wolf; it will not run to the woods” or “Georgian “right now” takes an hour.” These aphorisms show that for some people work is not as important as other things in life and you can always postpone it.
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ReplyDeleteIn Russian there is a phrase, "Kak zaitzu stawp signaal." Literally, it means, "like a rabbit needs a stop sign." However it is used when someone takes something they don't need, you say this phrase to them.
ReplyDelete-Rivka Mendlowitz