Translation – Leeds's Singing Organ-Grinder

Spanish Christmas Lottery rips off Google logo

Google translates the “I’m feeling lucky” button into Spanish as “Voy a tener suerte”, which is closer to “It’s my lucky day.” So, easy meat for ventura24.es, which wants to associate a brand for losers with one where you really do win (almost) every time you play. Google may be an addiction, but it isn’t…

An unusual case of risus sardonicus

Is Mr Barbecue Bunny’s sardonic grin pre- or post-mortem?

Drawing by <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Laguna'>Andrés (de) Laguna de Segovia</a> of a candidate for the Sardinian laughing plant in <a href='http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA250&id=l8I9qBq-PNYC'>a 1651 Valencian edition of Dioscorides</a>.

Pubic Monopolies, Concessions and Competition Law and Policies

Oh dear. The translation of this memo by the Spanish National Competition Commission is actually pretty good, so I suspect there’s some revenge scenario at work here.

Son of a broker

A Dutch compliment becomes a French insult.

Pan di Spagna?

A Sicilian says it ain’t.

Raphael tortures Aquarius, Matt Monro destroys Libre (subtitled)

Do Spanish speakers get more excited about “defective” accents than English speakers?

Mysterious Zaragoza nights

Between-wars texts about Zaragoza by Germans who appear never to have visited the place.

El gallito inglés / le coq anglais

Proud English cock, limp Latin hen: the binary opposition of English and Spanish fowls as a metaphor for the contrast between growing British military might and declining Spanish power.

Photo by <a href=http://www.drbizarre.net/post/el-gallito-ingles>Dr. Bizarre</a>, licence <a href=http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/mx/>CC 2.5 Mexico</a>

The universality of bu/bo/boo

The strange shrieks of theatrical monsters often don’t require translation.

Clientes / Costumers

MurciaMarketing has a photo of the curious sign that greets the hoards of designers and suppliers of theatrical vestments disembarking hourly at Murcia Airport, but no one else: (Thanks Transblawg.)