Lost in Translation

Now for an update on my progress with learning German. And Swiss German. And French.  I find daily conversations can be a challenge, but I am becoming more comfortable with hearing languages and deciphering meanings. I try to learn at least one new word or phrase a day. I particularly enjoy German because it can be very logical in nature. For example in Swiss German, "miteinander" literally is squishing the 3 words together that mean "with one another". So, this means "together". Of course. That's another example, "selbstverstandlich" translates to "understood by itself". In other words, "of course". (This is a long word and takes some getting used to!)

Sometimes I need some help to understand the background or meaning. During a discussion at work, a colleague referred to a "grünschnabel", or greenhorn. I wasn't familiar with this term but it is slang for someone who is inexperienced or new at something (most probably from the color of new animal horns). And don't be offended if your desk is called a "huere-puff". In Swiss German, it is frequently used as slang for "a mess". (I'll save you an embarrassing Google search...it translates to, well, 'whore house'.)

Translations from German to English don't always come through as equivalent, either. At work, there was an advertisement for a corporate health fair to promote healthy living and such. An English version of a German poster said: "Head into Spring feeling full of beans!" I had to laugh at this one. Apparently it's promoting feeling full of energy (i.e. from jumping beans). I'll be honest: feeling full of beans doesn't feel very comfortable to me. (I guess there are multiple translations for this example!)

And leave it to the French to be very personal. When my colleague insisted that she put me in a bath, I stopped her. No, she was only trying to "immerse" me in a new subject. Ahh, I see!

English is full of idioms and expressions, and I'm much more careful about when I use them now, particularly with non-native English speakers. Phrases like "piggy back" become very difficult to translate. (How often does anyone use a piggy to get anywhere? And using the word piggy makes me feel like I'm 4.) However, these phrases are fun to discover. I just make sure to watch for shocked expressions, or puzzled looks. Then, perhaps I need to explain.