Languages

How disappointing!

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:46:09 -0700

I remember loving ordering things like corn flacks and fried children in India (this was a long time ago so maybe menus more standardised there now as well). Now it seems that visitors to China for the Olympic Games will be denied this simple pleasure:

New food gold for Olympics

Article from:

June 21, 2008 12:00am

IT'S official. Hungry Foreign hordes heading to Beijing for the Olympics will no longer have to order "chicken without sexual life" or "Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman."

As it readies for an influx of visitors for the August Games, the Chinese capital has offered restaurants an official English translation of local dishes whose exotic names and alarming translations can leave foreign visitors frustrated and famished.
If officials have their way, local newspapers reported on Wednesday, English-speaking visitors will be able to order "beef and ox tripe in chili sauce," an appetizer, rather than "husband and wife's lung slice."

Other favorites have also received a linguistic makeover.

"Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman," as the Beijing Youth Daily rendered the spicy Sichuanese dish, is now "Mapo tofu." And "chicken without sexual life" becomes mere "steamed pullet."

According to one widely repeated story, the Chinese name of "kung pao chicken" comes from the name of an imperial official who was fed the dish during an inspection tour.

With the Beijing Olympics 51 days away, a notice on the city tourism bureau website told restaurants to come and pick up a book with the suggested translations.

In China, where meetings are almost as popular as banquets, agreeing on the English-language menu has taken many rounds of discussions over previous drafts since last year.

Just as predictably in this country where nationalism and the Internet make a potent brew, controversy has already broken out over the blander new translations.

Stir fry vegetables and noodles

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What is real?

nobody@vox.com(In the neglected olive tree...) — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:21:30 -0700

I have been reading a book for the past two months, it is about someone who sort of lives in an alternative reality. People would see, I don’t know, horses and he would see an entire army of criminals that he has to fight. And that is pretty much the thesis behind the book, the contrast between two realities: his and the other characters’. At the beginning of the book you get the idea that he is crazy and that he is driven by this admirable want for justice and you know, for doing what is right. This is a guy who has such strong values. He understands right and wrong better than anyone and he might be the only genuinely good person I have ever known. I know you might think ‘hey, silly, it’s a BOOK. You can’t KNOW him?’ But you know what? I do. At least I do know the values he stands for and his reasoning and I find myself thinking, is it possible for someone to be perfect? I mean, not on an intellectual level because in the end that’s not all we are - even though I do believe that is even more feasible - but on a spiritual level.

This man who lives in an alternative reality and sees damsels in distress and evil knights to fight, understands what it is like to be HUMAN. And I was thinking that there’s no more perfection than this. And I am not saying he doesn’t have flaws because what are we without flaws? But he is beautiful. So I have asked myself what is real? We’ve been discussing in class about the concept of real and link it to what MAKES us real. And what makes us real is what makes us beautiful, the more real we are, and by that I mean, the more honest to ourselves and those around us we are, the more beautiful we can be. Honesty means having values, and when we mention values the word justice pops in, we need to be fair. Trust, equality, respect, beliefs, ideas. When I think about this character I’m talking about, I think about those words. Why can we humans create a character like that and not be like that?

Anyway, the book is Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. I’d been reluctant to read it because it is the kind of book they usually throw down your throat when you are in junior high and for years I refused to read it. At first the idea of reading it for this term was not appealing to me but it was the book they picked so I didn’t have much choice. How glad I am that they did pick this and made me read it. It has been one of the most wonderful learning experiences I’ve ever had. I’d never in my life imagined that so many concepts and topics were so richly addressed in that book. The beautiful thing is that this was written in the 15^th century and it makes me think that reality as we live it is always the same, we are the ones who change. We are expendable, I mean, our bodies and careers and possessions and our ugliness. What makes us ugly is outside of us and it can go but our values, our reason, our ideas, they all stay and make us beautiful, make us human and real.

It makes me think that it is possible to be perfect and not in a negative I-am-so-much-better-than-you kind of way, not at all. It’s not a competition with the other. It’s about who you are as a person, how you approach life and live it. And people might hurt you and make fun of you and yes, you will indeed suffer for this but you will not lose who you are. Because you KNOW who you are. Just to be able to say I know myself would be amazing. Because the truth is we do not really know ourselves, we spend so much time worrying about how we act, about the roles we play in this world that we never really sit and think about US, about who we really are. I know I’m sounding spiritual but the core of what we are is beautiful and we spend our life hiding it.

I wonder if someone like Don Quijote exists in real life.

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Friday 13 - 13 countries I have visited

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:19:43 -0700

Wow! It is exactly 13 (although one is a bit of a cheat)!

Indonesia flag (with clipping path)

Indonesia - I first visited Indonesia (Java and Bali) when I was 19 years old on a university study tour. It was quite a revelation to me after studying Indonesian language at school for four years, ie, to find out 1) that noone really spoke the way we did in the classroom and 2) not everyone spent their days working in rice fields or making batik! I went back again at 21 (Sumatra, Java and Bali) and at 29 (to work in Jakarta and travel in Sulawesi) and again at 34 (on a family holiday to Bali). Out of everywhere I have visited, Indonesia is the one place that has the most special place in my heart!

Flag of Thailand

Thailand - This was part of a fairly disastrous trip I took shortly after starting my first job. It was with a (then) boyfriend who got sick and ended up in hospital. I saw quite a lot of Bangkok but not much else apart from a few days at Koh Samui. I did like the Thai people I met though but felt a bit bewildered not speaking the language.

Indian flag with clipping path

India - I flew to India from Thailand. While an amazing place, I did find the whole experience of India (the crowds, the poverty etc) very confronting. It probably didn't help that we were there during the lead up to an election so there were all sorts of shenanigans going on at the time. I would love to go back to India one day - I am sure it has changed a lot since I was there. Would also like to visit the South (we only went to a few of the Northern states on this trip).

Flag of Nepal

Nepal - Nepal was where we went to to get away from all the fun and games in India. Quite a hair raising bus ride in but found it a beautiful country with great people.

Flag of Singapore

Singapore - The first time I went to Singapore in the early 90s, I thought it a little sterile and boring. I don't know whether it is me who has changed since then or whether Singapore has but I appreciate it much more these days. We took the kids there last year and they loved it too. I also have family there now so got to see a different side of Singapore.

Malaysian flag (with clipping path)

Malaysia - After Indonesia, Malaysia is the other country very close to my heart. I spent more than a month travelling to almost every state (including Sabah and Sarawak) in the early 90s (the same trip as when I first went to Singapore) and loved it. Even trying to speak Bahasa Malaysia was fun. In some ways it was easier than Indonesian as it had more borrowed English words and constructions. Got lots of weird looks from people at some of my vocabulary and pronunciation. Also took the kids here for 3 weeks last year - mostly on the East Coast of West Malaysia and to KL and they loved it.

United Arab Emirates flag (with clipping path)

UAE - This is my cheat country as I have really only been to the airport at Dubai. I remember being impressed at the hot water in the toilets there, all the gold in the stores and the fact that it was 30 degrees celcius at midnight. A friend lives there now and it doesn't really sound all that appealing to me.

Turkey flag

Turkey - I spent a month in Turkey in the mid 90s and thought it was a great travel destination. So much variety (ie, shopping, beaches, mountains, ancient ruins, fantastic food etc etc) and a great bus service to get around on. I studied Turkish language for a little while at night school before this trip and this really helped me get to know the locals a bit better. I even had people mistaking me for a Turk a couple of times in Istanbul (or course, that was quickly dispelled when I opened my mouth to say Turkce bilmiyorum).

Syria flag (with clipping path)

Syria - A bit of a weird, creepy place especially for women but glad I went. The ruins at Palymyra were magnificent. I also loved the food and spending an afternoon at the women's hamam in Aleppo.

Flag of Jordan

Jordan - I absolutely loved Jordan. It was much easier to travel in than Syria and such magnificent sites to see including Petra and Wadi Rum. I also enjoyed Amman although I did get very sick and end up in hospital there though. Even that was okay. They treated me well and didn't charge me a single dinar. I still don't know why that is.

Israel flag (with clipping path)

Israel - I visited Israel during a fairly tense time (isn't it always?). While very interesting and amazing, I found it a hard place to relax in. Not sure if I would go there again.

Egypt flag (with clipping path)

Egypt - Was feeling a bit worn out and homesick when I was in Egypt so probably didn't appreciate it as much as I should have. After visiting ruins in Turkey, Syria and Jordan, I also felt really peeved at all the hordes of people at every significant site in Egypt. My favourite place was the city of Alexandria. It had a lovely feel to it - more like Europe than the Middle East.

Italy flag (with clipping path)

Italy - Ah bella Italia! I went there at the end of my Middle Eastern trip and it was such a nice change of pace. I spent some of the time staying with a family in Verona and also travelled down South as far as Naples and Sorrento. I have never learnt Italian but was amazed at how much I just seemed to know by osmosis. Maybe because Italian so widely spoken in Australia. Would love to go back to Italy one day.

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Radio No Escuchada: Learn Spanish with our Podcast (Rojas Spanish Language)

nobody@vox.com(reechard) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:33:39 -0700

Aquí lo tienes
Aquí el "podcast"

Lecciones de Español, y ahora noticias de Latino America también.

RojasLogo

Update: I'm having trouble with their podcast feed; they may have stopped in favor of video podcasts or local Spanish lessons (in Colorado.) I thought they had started up something more regular...

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TV prank

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:01:44 -0700

Rude TV-host can't stop laughing at his disabled guests!

I can't watch Youtube where I am but think this is the one I saw on Australian television (20 to 1: Pranks and Pranksters) last night. I was just about wetting myself. I can so relate to that guy as I have been known to get the hysterical giggles in inappropriate situations and not be able to stop laughing. I am pretty sure this is a set up (ie, the stony faced expressions of all the other 'guests') seem a bit of a giveaway. Also some of the things the squeaky voiced guy says seem designed to provoke the host into further hysteria. Very very funnym though!

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Unpublished Blog: Emily Blog Post Number 01: Expletives (Blogging for Wankers)

nobody@vox.com(reechard) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:18:15 -0700

WTF? srsly, the spell-correction for "kerfuffel" is "motherf***er" not
"kerfuffle"... minutes ago

I think the situation is pretty Fup ... Duck ... agree! -ed.

An observation, a few assertions: and then five rules.

At issue here is not existence or prevalence or specific uses of bad words that mean bad things.
I assume here you wish to offend, surprise, shock, and do so intentionally. I also assume you know about the seven broadcast illegal words, racial epithets, "hate speech" and even speech that intends to incite a mob to do violence.

This serves as a reminder that using such speech unnecessarily and thoughtlessly will get you judged by some, filtered out by others, and labeled a Knave and a Blackguard by your local Lordship or Community Board or Homeowner's association. Is your lazy f-bomb really necessary? Are you sure it won't turn around later and bite you on the posterior?

A dire situation in U.S. law arises when one of seven unspeakables ref: wiki ref: George Carlin are broadcast during non-late-night programming. Fines may add up to hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars, and still may not include a broadcaster's fine.

So, while we bring our shameful and Puritanical tendencies into the 21st century, remember:

1) Just because you can use bad language, racial epithets, expletives, does not mean you should. Supporting evidence: lack of UK or Canadian "obscenity law" as we have; lack of expletives in BBC, CBC; Lack of their desire to follow our shining example in making "sounds representing words representing offensive concepts" a soundcrime (but not a spelledwordcrime.) These are quite different from a more personal kind of offense such as defamation, slander or libel, which isn't about the language per se being offensive, but is damaging an individual or group. Scandal rags, busybodies, gossips, bloggers, character assassins, trash talkers - may exceed their right to speak freely and lose the protection of old man Bill... O'Rights.
2) Inability to refer to or use offensive or bad language without creating a problem for someone else implies a lack of education or imagination. "...defecate, fornicate, micturate!" (translation left as an exercise for the reader). The Irish version of "s***" - is shite which you will notice is just an S-bomb with an "e". "F-bomb" and "S-bomb" are good terms for specific expletives. "Fudge" and "Sugar" to quote my Grandmama Della.
3) Penis penis penis. Refer to South Park on Comedy Central. Adults skeptical of the value of this show have to wade in way past the F-bombs and S-bombs to get at some valuable ideas. Almost all medical terms for body parts are completely OK. (At least for now.... until Science is classified as offensive by puritanical clerics). If you actually find a justification to say "penis penis penis" perhaps an award is in your future. Perhaps not.
4) "N-word", once again, is OFF LIMITS to HONKIES who don't have STREET CRED with the AUDIENCE at the venue. Very nearly the only way to do this right is to insult all parties ad nauseum, including the speaker or author, and not just echo or establish pejorative stereotypes that can encourage racism and intolerance. Example Asian Drivers. At its most innocent it's a nonsequitur fallacy; the issue is Anyone who is a Citizen who decides or wants to Learn To Drive at an Advanced Age with optional Language Barriers. Asian rebel teens drive just as well as American rebel teens. The humor of Carlos Mencia is sacrificed on the altar he constructs to honor this error. His comedy is stereotyped, revelation-free, and his signature "deet-dee-dee" running gag is an example of the straw man fallacy. By mocking really stupid behavior and getting you to laugh at it, you both can feel like "f***ing geniuses" by comparison.
More importantly much of his (better) material is not "borrowed" but "stolen" in the worst way; this is proven by his response to the allegation Joe Rogan made on stage. One more thing: Even if you think all you have to do is engage in some quick self-stereotyping, Mr. Beaner, you're wrong. There, I said it.
5) Acronyms "WTF" or phonetics and unspellings "s**t" are appropriate if the equivalent written or spoken form is also O.K. Watch out for phonetic forms, pity the poor radio people! Vietnamese family at health clinic with Aunt Linda, "...Mrs. Yu asked, "you want I get my son Fuk?"" Also a problem.... "gung hey phat choy phuc." Very easy to screw up.

Help preserve our Cultural Epithets and Expletives, but not the censorship laws enforced in the courts. If the epithets are lost, or devalued, they become useless. Your right to offend with intent to offend is lessened.

Imagine having to make up a bunch of new Shakespearian Insults to hurl at that Arthritic Excuse for a Not Even Fair Weather Friend of yours. Now do that in 8 languages. Now do those in street slang (Modern Urban Vernacular) by location. You are [expletive-adverb elided] crazy to want this; I say keep the expletives underused and offensive, but remove the bureaucratic mechanisms to defend society from soundcrimes and spelledwordcrimes. Forum and context and other writing and rhetorical rules apply. That's all that applies. What do you mean, you improperly Christened serf? Say it clearly.

Define offensive language and talk about offense in words on paper or spoken or signed in your languages and more. Over the internet, automatically translated to a dead language and back. How do you say "f***" in Euskadi? in Latin? or is it "f***" with a noun? Is a meaning of "f***" personal nonsexual or sexually offensive? without the noun? I'm curious to know what we would use for "f***" if it were no longer functional as expletive? f*** or word-meaning-f***? Or abstract offensive concept equivalent-to-f***?

What about when an expletive needs translation away from or towards religion? "I defecate on the host" is a very common offensive exclamation in Spain not technically offensive in English. Here the "meaning" of the insult is lost when semantically broken up and properly translated... it lacks the description [common-expletive accepted-usage offensive-esp-to-catholics not-a-literal-description]

Usage of "%^@$*" (from comics) is offensive by lookslike-euphemismfor-expletive, whether or not you mean to use whitewashed offensive language; euphemisms are stand-ins for expletives. My teacher assumed I was using cynical-intenttooffend-bywayof-euphemism; I really had no idea what all the punctuation was about. Srsly. I was like eight years old!

Of course I followed rules on public scope and guidelines on offensive language; appropriate for all ages; the topic of bad language doesn't require such. Spoken form should substitute "f***" with "f-word" etc. watch out for anything that soundslike-expletive; spell it out letter by letter when nothing else will do. You silly "gee eye tee."

that's enough for the premiere Emily Blog Post!

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A challenge to kick this new group off

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:33:16 -0700

The challenge for May is to think of somewhere that you have always kind of wanted to visit or something you have wanted to do but never bothered because it was close to home and therefore not "exotic" enough to be a priority. Then make a date to go, commit yourself here, take your camera and report back afterwards.

Bungee Jumper

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Dunedin Dalang meets Mandarin-speaking Aussie (soon to be) PM

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:33:26 -0700

Just came across this in the Jakarta Post:

Joko Susilo: Puppet Diplomat Charms Kiwis

His shows sound really interesting. Also like that he had a dig at the mono-lingualism of John Howard and his ilk. Language teaching and learning (particularly of Asian languages) really suffered in Australia during the Howard years and it is going to take a lot to get us back on track.

I am pleased to hear that our new Asian-language speaking PM was receptive to what Joko Susilo had to say.

I and other Asian language proponents really hopeful that all Asian languages (ie, not just Mandarin) will get a big boost under Rudd's leadership. He certainly is a good role model in that area.

Kevin Rudd mandarin: Chinese new year greeting to China

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Translation please

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:36:42 -0700

Translation please

Is anyone here able to tell me what these Chinese characters translate to in English? It is my daughter's Kung Fu t-shirt and I have noticed she gets funny looks from people when wearing it out and about in Chinatown.

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For my son ...

nobody@vox.com(Emu with a Clue) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:02:03 -0700

who loves the Winx club(!) and is leaning German at school.

Winx Club - Opening (German)

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