McDonalds has apparently taken a clearly Austrian cow (despite its map-of-Switzerland markings) for its ‘pure Swiss beef’ ads. The giveaway is the ear tag.
Auch beim zweiten von drei Sujets hat McDonald’s den Mund etwas voll genommen. Ein Hamburger-Bun mit einer Schweiz aus Sesamsamen suggeriert dort, dass der Konzern hierzulande nur einheimisches Getreide verwendet. Ein Sesamfeld wurde in der Schweiz aber bisher noch nicht gesichtet.
(Tweeted by Jeremy of IPKAT)
Nearly all foreign films on German TV are dubbed, alas – but not the songs. While zapping around at the weekend I caught Audrey Hepburn singing
Can I trust how I feel?
Is this my Achilles heel?
German subtitles: Ist das meine Achillessehne? (Achilles tendon)
This recalls one of my students (main subject area Geisteswissenschaften/humanities) translating Pandoras Büchse as Pandora’s gun.
I read this post on Simon Myerson’s blog when it first appeared on July 13.
Pupil barristers need to spend some time at a set of chambers. Under the heading Here Are the Results of the BVC Jury, Myerson collects comments of prospective pupils who were treated rudely at interview, and he has a Wall of Shame of particularly criticized chambers, and a Buttress of Acclaim for the ones that got positive comments (some chambers appear on both lists!).
Charon QC points out that there’s been a bit of a flamer in the comments (‘Troubled Barrister’). Fun.
From London Shop Fronts: QED. I see they now have an online shop for postcards etc.
No, not ruminations on this interesting topic, but a Translators Association workshop on the topic, on 29th July, in London I presume.
In many languages, our private parts can be described in neutral language, for example the French ‘le sexe’, which is applicable to either gender. In English however we often find ourselves vacillating between medical, pornographic and downright crude vocabulary.
Translators from any language are invited to join Polly McLean in a facilitated discussion of the impact on register and tone of these less than perfect choices. If you would like to contribute some problems or examples in advance, please email her on pollymclean@googlemail.com
I’ve tried the serving suggestion on the lid of this yogurt – use a spoon – and it definitely works. Mind you, I haven’t tried any other method for comparison, such as knife and fork.