(Source)

British Airways has started an advertising campaign in New York to help accustom Americans to British expressions before they arrive in the UK:

bq. On billboards and bus shelters across Manhattan, “Brit-speak” can be heard loud and clear. Next to one of the city’s busiest roads a huge billboard says: “This traffic is ‘bonkers’! In London, ‘bonkers’ means ‘crazy’.” On a bus shelter in Greenwich Village a poster reads: “Avoid ‘legging it’ by taking the bus. In London, ‘leg it’ means ‘to run quickly’.”

BA also has a ‘Brit-Speak Dictionary’ online.

(Via Onze Taal)

It’s all very well for British Airways to talk. But I remember when BOAC and BEA merged to form the new British Airways in 1973, there was a letter to the Times (that’s the Times of London for those across the pond, and in those days it was a respectable paper) consisting of only two words:

bq. British Airways?

TILP Rechtsanwälte vertreten deutschen Mandanten in US-Sammelklagen und haben auf ihren Webseiten ein Sammelklagen-Wörterbuch und eine Sammelklage-FAQ.

bq. Class Representative:
Repräsentant der Klägergruppe: Die Person, die in der Klage als der Kläger (die Person die anklagt) genannt wird und vom Gericht ernannt wurde, als rechtliche „adäquate“ Person die Interessen der Gruppe zu vertreten.

bq. Clear Sailing Agreement:
Nicht-Einmischungs-Abkommen: Eine Vereinbarung die zwischen den Anwälten beider Parteien während oder nach Vergleichsverhandlungen gemacht werden, wonach die Verteidigung zusagt, einem Honorar Antrag des Anwalts der Klägergruppe nicht zu widersprechen.

bq. Collusion:
Kollusion: Eine ungebührliche Vereinbarung, üblicherweise eine Absprache zwischen Kläger und Beklagten.

bq. Commonality:
Kommunalität: Eine gemeinsame materielle Tatsache oder rechtliche Frage aller potenziellen Klage-Mitglieder.

(Link gefunden bei der pt-Gruppe bei Yahoo.com, Dank an Martin)

The Language Guy discusses Language in the Law, and in particular Sandra Day O’Connor (Supreme Court justice) using a dictionary to show that ‘using or carrying a firearm’ included bartering a firearm for 2 ounces of cocaine.

bq. According to O’Connor, who wrote for the majority that upheld the conviction, this constituted “using a firearm.” O’Connor says that according to the “natural” or “ordinary” meaning of “use” Mr. Smith’s action constituted using a firearm. This is true in a mindlessly literal way. But it is not how we normally interpret “use” in a sentence like “He used a firearm to scare off the burglars.” She appeals to several dictionaries to support her position, noting that “Webster’s defines ‘to use’ as ‘[t]o convert to one’s service’ or ‘to employ’.” She goes on to say that Black’s Law Dictionary defines it as “[t]o make use of; to convert to one’s service; to employ; to avail oneself of; to utilize; to carry out a purpose or action by means of.” This use of dictionaries belies a profound misunderstanding of what a dictionary does. Dictionaries to not define words — they give synonyms for words as well as guides to usage. We might ask Justice O’Connor how it advances our understanding to say that “to use” means “to make use of”?

Here’s the case in question.

It’s lawyers and dictionaries again!

Stadtpark Fürth, May 17, 6 p.m.

Ron Coe’s Universal Pentecost Translator (via Isabella).

bq. Ron Coe Church Supplies proudly presents the Universal Pentecost Translator. This amazing device automatically translates sermons and homilies into the preferred language of the person in the pew. If there are responses the listener will hear the responses by those around them also in their desired language!

Article by Jeff Miller, a former atheist and current Roman Catholic. I wonder whether he believes Acts 2:1-4?

bq. Disclaimer: The Universal Pentecost Translator can not render unintelligible or poorly written homilies into intelligible and intelligent ones, but will simply translate the meaning into the desired language. Likewise heterodox teaching will not be translated into orthodox language. If you experience these difficulties please do not call us without first replacing the priest/minister unit.

I hope my entry of May 13 wasn’t misleading. I wasn’t cooking any Indians, or even turkeys, but something much more appropriate to Whitsun.

Incidentally, the logo of the SDI (Sprachen und Dolmetscherinstitut, no hyphens) in Munich represents two tongues. Not many people know that!

And I didn’t realize the German name for borage was Ochsenzunge (albeit not geräuchert).