Re: Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji...

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Henna Page Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by txilar on July 17, 2001 at 20:04:16:

In reply to: Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji... posted by BarefootSophie on July 16, 2001 at 15:03:52:

I agree completely - the dangers of transliterating between alphabets
and ideograms are even moreso than between two foreign languages; but
I just had to share these links:
http://www.snopes2.com/business/misxlate/nova.htm
http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/tadpole.htm
http://www.snopes2.com/business/misxlate/ancestor.htm

: Having seen the zillionth post in here asking for how to write
: something in Kanji, I feel a personal responsibility to warn you
: against using Kanji without an interpreter who really reads Kanji --

: and one whom you know and can trust! I have yet to meet a tattoo
: artist who knows Kanji except for the pictures people bring him
: (often off the Internet -- and OF COURSE everything that's on the
: Internet is true! Right?)
:
: Even without malicious intent, ignorance can get you in trouble if
: you don't keep one thing in mind: AMERICA IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE
: UNIVERSE; THEREFORE, NOT EVERY LANGUAGE WILL HAVE WORDS FOR
AMERICAN
: IDEAS OR THINGS.
: *sigh* I love my country, don't get me wrong, but there seems to be
a
: nationwide arrogance when it comes to dealing with other countries.
: Every language course I've taken involved learning "Does anyone
here
: speak English?" within the first two lessons, as if the world owed
it
: to us to learn *our* language and customs. To heck with their own...
:
: Okay, that's a rant for another time. Back to the dangers of
: transliteration (that's when you make up a word for something that
: doesn't cleanly translate). Back when Chevrolet introduced
: the "Nova," it seemed to do really well in the US, but for all
their
: marketing efforts, they couldn't sell that thing in Mexico if it
came
: with a free US citizenship! It's because "Nova" in English
describes
: a stellar phenomenon-- something presumably futuristic and really
: exciting. "No va" in Spanish, however, means "doesn't go."
:
: And more than a decade ago, when Eastern markets were really
starting
: to open up to the West (Anyone remember "Domo Origato, Mister
Roboto"
: or "Turning Japanese"?), the Coca-Cola company decided to reach out
: to China's roots by creating advertisement billboards in Kanji.
With
: apparently no forethought, they used Kanji to phonetically spell it
: out: Ko-Ka Ko-La.
: In Chinese, "Ko Ka Ko La," literally interpreted, means...
:
:
:
: "Bite the wax tadpole."
:
: Now you can't say nobody told you.

Follow Ups

Post Followup

Name:
E-Mail:
Subject:
: I agree completely - the dangers of transliterating between alphabets : and ideograms are even moreso than between two foreign languages; but : I just had to share these links: : http://www.snopes2.com/business/misxlate/nova.htm : http://www.snopes2.com/cokelore/tadpole.htm : http://www.snopes2.com/business/misxlate/ancestor.htm : : : : Having seen the zillionth post in here asking for how to write : : something in Kanji, I feel a personal responsibility to warn you : : against using Kanji without an interpreter who really reads Kanji -- : : : and one whom you know and can trust! I have yet to meet a tattoo : : artist who knows Kanji except for the pictures people bring him : : (often off the Internet -- and OF COURSE everything that's on the : : Internet is true! Right?) : : : : Even without malicious intent, ignorance can get you in trouble if : : you don't keep one thing in mind: AMERICA IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE : : UNIVERSE; THEREFORE, NOT EVERY LANGUAGE WILL HAVE WORDS FOR : AMERICAN : : IDEAS OR THINGS. : : sigh I love my country, don't get me wrong, but there seems to be : a : : nationwide arrogance when it comes to dealing with other countries. : : Every language course I've taken involved learning "Does anyone : here : : speak English?" within the first two lessons, as if the world owed : it : : to us to learn our language and customs. To heck with their own... : : : : Okay, that's a rant for another time. Back to the dangers of : : transliteration (that's when you make up a word for something that : : doesn't cleanly translate). Back when Chevrolet introduced : : the "Nova," it seemed to do really well in the US, but for all : their : : marketing efforts, they couldn't sell that thing in Mexico if it : came : : with a free US citizenship! It's because "Nova" in English : describes : : a stellar phenomenon-- something presumably futuristic and really : : exciting. "No va" in Spanish, however, means "doesn't go." : : : : And more than a decade ago, when Eastern markets were really : starting : : to open up to the West (Anyone remember "Domo Origato, Mister : Roboto" : : or "Turning Japanese"?), the Coca-Cola company decided to reach out : : to China's roots by creating advertisement billboards in Kanji. : With : : apparently no forethought, they used Kanji to phonetically spell it : : out: Ko-Ka Ko-La. : : In Chinese, "Ko Ka Ko La," literally interpreted, means... : : : : : : : : "Bite the wax tadpole." : : : : Now you can't say nobody told you.
Optional link URL:
Link title:
Optional image URL: