> Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2015 18:54:36 -0600 > From: jim.felder@GMAIL.COM > Subject: Re: Friday LVC Language observation > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > > Once I bought some gadget at the hardware store and when I got it home, I > read that it was "fabriqe au dinde" (made in Turkey) meaning in French the > turkey bird not the Turkey country (Turkei). > > > > Sales of Chevrolet's Camaro didn't fare so well in Spanish-speaking > countries where it was interpreted to mean "shrimp" and I am sure that > everyone recalls hearing about their Nova car as being interpreted as "No > go." > Jim > Now that one about the Chevrolet Nova being interpreted as "no go" in Spanish is one of those Internet tales that is simply untrue, but keeps circulating. In Spanish "Nova" means "new" - no Spanish speaker would ever break down that word to 'no va', 'doesn't go', anymore than an English speaker would understand 'asphalt' to mean the place where snakes stop moving ('asp halt'). The Chevy Nova in fact sold very well in Latin America. However, translations are fun. I stayed in a Holiday Inn in small-town Quebec once which had one of notices that you hang on the doorknob to order room service. It told me that, 'To order the little breakfast, please, fulfill this doorknob." James Living in the capital of Franglais in Canada, Ottawa.
|
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.