8.10.04
When my mother was living in Montreal, she tried to learn french. The attempt was valiant, but flawed as she discovered she was incapable of pronouncing languages other than english with anything except a spanish accent. Believe me, this proves much funnier when she's trying to speak welsh than anything she's ever said in french.
For example, there was the time when I congratulated her on working out how to ask for me to bring her coat and handbag.
"I am proud!" she wanted to say. However, searching for the welsh word for "proud," she inadvertently found the spanish word, "orgulio" (I admit, I have no idea what that means, regardless, *she* thought it meant proud.)
From here she managed to find the closest sounding welsh word.
"Dwi'n golygus!" she said. I am handsome!
Or the time she was trying to read, "Perygl yn Sbaen!" (Danger in Spain!) a thriller for welsh learners. The problems mutations (the first letter of a word changing) posed in looking things up in the dictionary, led to the wonderfully mistranslated sentences:
"She lifted her device used for milking cows from the table,"
and:
"Turning around, he felt the longing for a stallion."
It would be easy to blame the welsh language, but I think it's more accurate to blame my mother. She is, after all, the woman who managed to translate a spanish film title (while in Mexico, and, bearing in mind, this is supposed to be her better second language) as, "The Eagle Without Socks."
The film was actually, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."
Then again, I'm not really qualified to judge.
I'm trying to learn some german and recently managed to address my friend in, as she put it, "The old form, reserved for kings."
I'll leave you with my favourite mistranslation story.
There was a sign on a road outside Cardiff. "We apologise for any delays," it said, referring to some roadworks. "This is due to a Welsh Office scheme."
As the Language Act demanded, there was a welsh translation. Problem is, they didn't use the welsh word for plan, "cynllyn," they added a "w" and turned it into "cynllwyn."
The sign now read, "We apologise for any delays. This is due to a Welsh Office conspiracy."
For example, there was the time when I congratulated her on working out how to ask for me to bring her coat and handbag.
"I am proud!" she wanted to say. However, searching for the welsh word for "proud," she inadvertently found the spanish word, "orgulio" (I admit, I have no idea what that means, regardless, *she* thought it meant proud.)
From here she managed to find the closest sounding welsh word.
"Dwi'n golygus!" she said. I am handsome!
Or the time she was trying to read, "Perygl yn Sbaen!" (Danger in Spain!) a thriller for welsh learners. The problems mutations (the first letter of a word changing) posed in looking things up in the dictionary, led to the wonderfully mistranslated sentences:
"She lifted her device used for milking cows from the table,"
and:
"Turning around, he felt the longing for a stallion."
It would be easy to blame the welsh language, but I think it's more accurate to blame my mother. She is, after all, the woman who managed to translate a spanish film title (while in Mexico, and, bearing in mind, this is supposed to be her better second language) as, "The Eagle Without Socks."
The film was actually, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."
Then again, I'm not really qualified to judge.
I'm trying to learn some german and recently managed to address my friend in, as she put it, "The old form, reserved for kings."
I'll leave you with my favourite mistranslation story.
There was a sign on a road outside Cardiff. "We apologise for any delays," it said, referring to some roadworks. "This is due to a Welsh Office scheme."
As the Language Act demanded, there was a welsh translation. Problem is, they didn't use the welsh word for plan, "cynllyn," they added a "w" and turned it into "cynllwyn."
The sign now read, "We apologise for any delays. This is due to a Welsh Office conspiracy."
