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September 29, 2005
Bloody Arablishisms
Working on some investment proposals (not particularly brilliant ones but that is another matter) submitted in Arabic; written by easterners. Stuck on one word in the bloody use of funds section describing intended use of capital. Shefel.
What the fuck is Shefel?
I go to town looking this thing up, it's clearly some piece of equipment, but what the bloody hell is it.
No sign of the goddamned word in any proper dictionary or even sketchy one.
This am in the shower it suddenly hits me.
Shovel. It's a motherfucking steam shovel! Shefel = shovel. Like Driwer = Driver.
Now the only question, what's the goddamned plural. Is is Shefelat? Or maybe Shefail.
I favour the later, if only for the pure perversity of it.
In other matters, looking through the portfolio of the proposed fund, I realise that this is not a happy portfolio. So, again it's a turnaround situ people are looking to me for. Well, I guess that's okay, indeed could be very interesting, presuming this is turn aroundable.
If not, I'll buy a shefel and driwer it around.
Posted by The Lounsbury at September 29, 2005 02:39 PM
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Perso Biz Notes
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Comments
Oh, how I feel your pain on the Anglicisms.
Circa 1994, political asylum hearing, Eva Luna as the intrepid interpreter. Respondent in deportation proceedings is an illiterate Guatemalan highland peasant, whose first language is likely some Mayan dialect. Judge asks him how he got from Guatemala to Chicago, and his response is, “Llegué a pie a la frontera con México, y entonces me dieron un [phonetic] rai.” (I got to the border with Mexico on foot, and then they gave me a …WTF is a rai?)
Then it hits me…a RIDE! He hitch-hiked! The guy barely speaks Spanish, and he’s already learning Spanglish!
Think of it this way – at least you weren’t in a courtroom full of people, being taped, and had the luxury of pondering such things.
Posted by: Eva Luna at September 29, 2005 04:09 PM
I do too. I'm still studying Japanese, which probably leads the world in mangled Anglicisms. Without much context, it's nearly impossible to find out whether or not the latest word or phrase you heard is derived from an English word or not. God forbid you accidentily pronounce it properly -- nobody will understand you.
Posted by: Netbrian at September 29, 2005 06:02 PM
that is truely brilliant.
made me laugh anyway.
Posted by: drdougfir at September 29, 2005 06:04 PM
Japanese and Korean seem to be particularly bad at this--they like to make up words that sound English, but not English--which they assume to be English.....
But, then, having gone to lonche a few times instead of almorzar, it seems common enough in most languages.
Posted by: kao_hsien_chih at September 29, 2005 10:25 PM
But, then, having gone to lonche a few times instead of almorzar
Do you usually go to janguear after your lonche?
Posted by: Eva Luna at September 30, 2005 04:57 PM
KHC:
Sure, it's called borrowing and it very natural in any language that's spoken by real human beings.... English does it rather prolifically as well.
Posted by: The Lounsbury at October 1, 2005 04:32 PM
