The failure on the part of Romance lexicographers to include common words and meanings (eg bragueta = codpiece) in their bibles forms a formidable obstacle for those who would better understand their societies. Stanley Brandes published a really cool book 25 years ago–ie before the advent of easily searchable corpses–called Metaphors of Masculinity: Sex and…
Just found out that “go fry asparagus” is an invitation to depart and engage in some other activity. Unfortunately it’s not an accurate translation of what Alistair Campbell actually wrote (3rd para).
Nineteenth century nationalism and anti-Papism made it easy to forget the extent of Spanish influence in the Low Countries during the sixteenth century. Much of this influence was literary, with translations and localisations of Spanish classics appearing rapidly and serving as models for several generations of Dutch authors, but Iberia’s greatest gift to the Provinces–like…
Mad Werner Georg Patel wants to be a politician. Here‘s a classic example of his public utterances, and here and here‘s him accusing me of being Spanish and English and a translator (he claimed somewhere else that I do drugs–chance’d be a fine thing…). For the more conservative among you, here‘s a picture of two…
I think you can still use the following Dutch rhyme: Allah is groot en Allah is machtig, Allah heeft een lul van één meter tachtig. … as long as it is accompanied by the following English translation, to be pronounced with the London glottalstoppery of the gentleman with whom I spent a year in a…
Where arse turns up regularly in jokes, proverbs and stories, bollocks–cojones–in CORDE’s version of sixteenth century Spain seem to be confined to medical treatises and to a verse novel of quite extraordinary and possibly unsurpassed filth. The anonymous Carajicomedia (1519) consists of the adventures of the noble Diego Fajardo’s one-eyed trouser snake, which is said…
From the mid-fifteenth century translation into Spanish of Peter Apian‘s Cosmography: The towns of the Duchy of Saxony. – Wittemberg, Witenberga. 30.30/51.50. – Halberstat, Halberstadium, 28.38/52.11. – Lunenborg, Luneburgum, 27.50/54.0. – Braunsvick, Brunsuicum, 28.0/52.34. – Embeck, Embica, In this region they make very good beer. 27.32/52.6. – Lebenberg, Leoburgum, 28.2/54.10. – Hal, Hallis Saxoniae, 26.49/51.41.…
Most unfortunate that Tony Blair’s moderate Muslims mostly turned out to be cartoon psychos. Here’s another burst of frivolity, available in several locations, which, like Yasser Arafat, I take to be a spoof: Many of us celebrate what is known as April fool or, if it is translated literally, the “trick of April”. But how…
More evidence that our /l/ and /r/ may constitute a single phoneme for Spanish speakers: At Starbucks they always write your name on the cup so that the coffee machine operative can say “Have a nice day, [your name]!” When I give the name “Trevor” it often gets converted into “Trébol”, so this evening I…