Klinsmann a translator?

Tina Vallès (Catalan) reports that the word translator was used as an insult for Mourinho of Chelsea – see this article (Portuguese LATER NOTE No! it’s Spanish…should have recognized that before being corrected by a lover of pedantry) – he used to help Robson at Barcelona press conferences:

bq. Un grupo reducido de aficionados del Barça, cerca de una veintena, le recibieron con gritos de “traductor, traductor”, en alusión a su época en el Barça, cuando llegó como asistente de Robson en las ruedas de prensa.

(Via Trevor)

6 thoughts on “Klinsmann a translator?

  1. Murinho may be Portuguese, but the article is, in fact, in Spanish – not even Catalan.

    Maybe there’s a remote connection with the Italian adage: ‘traduttore, traditore'(Sp. traidor) – translator = traitor. But, then again, acting as Bryan Robson’s interpreter at press conferences in Barcelona doesn’t sound like treachery.

    At least Jose could have raised a smile when the Blues won a well-deserved but sadly futile last-minute penalty against Barca – despite Austrian TV soccer pundits’ mistaken view that it didn’t deserve a penalty in the first place.

  2. Sorry, you’re right. It’s the weblog that’s Catalan. I should have noticed this as I have learnt Portuguese, but I guess it was the word Mourinho that caught my eye.

  3. If we’re going to be pernickety, then it should be pointed out that the adage is Latin – traductor/traditor. I don’t know who came up with it, but early (ie well before Luther & Calvin) Spanish-language bibles were indeed lousy. Übersetzer/Verräter doesn’t work and doesn’t need to work because German translators have always operated with better quality control, except in Alberta.

  4. Not being pernickety, I assume Bryan Robson is Catalan for Bobby Robson.

    Even the partisan English pundits thought it was never a penalty, by the way. For an explanation as to why the player concerned, John Terry, gets the benefit of so many outrageous penalty decisions see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-2059743,00.html

  5. Thanks Trevor and Ciaran. This website claims even tradutor traditor is Italian and not Latin.

    (cf. the well known Italian saying “tradutor traditor”). – One single meaning is not encapsulated in one word for ever. There is no absolute stability in a …
    diplowizard.diplomacy.edu/tara/ getxDoc.asp?ParentLink=none&IDconv=2546

    At the risk of boring the lady-readers of this blog, I can only assume, Ciaran, that you are not a Chelsea FC supporter. Also the tongue-in-cheek ref. – in the Times Online article – to a throw-in from the spot where the ball goes out and not 5 yards up has long been known as ‘yard-pinching’ and featured as a soccer tip in the Tiger Comic almost half a century ago when (Sir) Bobby Charlton used to write the Roy of the Rovers cover story.

Leave a Reply to trevor@kalebeul Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.