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At a loss for words...
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Edwige Thomas
France
Local time: 17:15
Membre (2014)
anglais vers français
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Where do you need help? I don't see "at a loss for words" in the text from the article.
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I don't need help! The article was published (Feb 13th 2021 edition) in "The Economist" under the headline "At a loss for words"...
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Edwige Thomas
France
Local time: 17:15
Membre (2014)
anglais vers français
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| Thank you for your input | Feb 24, 2021 |
How embarrassing! I didn't see it was in the "Translation news" section. Very interesting indeed, to bad I can't read the whole article without subscription.
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They have a free subscription that gives you access to a limited number of articles per month...
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Tom in London
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 16:15
Membre (2008)
italien vers anglais
Example of a stupid sentence from a stupid article:
"The Italians wish each other “buon lavoro”—basically “have a good workday”—though their culture is not known to be especially work-focused".
Idiotic racist remarks like this do not encourage belief in the reader.
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Samuel Murray 
Pays-Bas
Local time: 17:15
Membre (2006)
anglais vers afrikaans
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| Do we truly not say "congrats" in English for anniversaries? | Feb 25, 2021 |
Special occasions are another way in which pleasantries differ. English-speakers wish each other a happy birthday, but speakers of many other languages say “congratulations”, as if (to the English ear) the birthday girl had done something impressive merely by surviving another year.
Really? Is it truly faux pas in English to say "congrats" to the birthday girl? If so, which types of anniversaries get "congratulations" and which d... See more Special occasions are another way in which pleasantries differ. English-speakers wish each other a happy birthday, but speakers of many other languages say “congratulations”, as if (to the English ear) the birthday girl had done something impressive merely by surviving another year.
Really? Is it truly faux pas in English to say "congrats" to the birthday girl? If so, which types of anniversaries get "congratulations" and which don't? ▲ Collapse
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| Congratulations | Feb 25, 2021 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Special occasions are another way in which pleasantries differ. English-speakers wish each other a happy birthday, but speakers of many other languages say “congratulations”, as if (to the English ear) the birthday girl had done something impressive merely by surviving another year.
Really? Is it truly faux pas in English to say "congrats" to the birthday girl? If so, which types of anniversaries get "congratulations" and which don't?
Used for babies mainly
And winning stuff, promotions
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Samuel Murray
Pays-Bas
Local time: 17:15
Membre (2006)
anglais vers afrikaans
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
"The Italians wish each other “buon lavoro”—basically “have a good workday”—though their culture is not known to be especially work-focused".
Idiotic racist remarks like this do not encourage belief in the reader.
One has to take into account the culture of the author. In the author's culture, "family-focused" and "unpunctual" is considered the opposite of "work-focused". The article is as much about oddities in other cultures as it is about the author's assumptions.
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Tom in London
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 16:15
Membre (2008)
italien vers anglais
Samuel Murray wrote:
Tom in London wrote:
"The Italians wish each other “buon lavoro”—basically “have a good workday”—though their culture is not known to be especially work-focused".
Idiotic racist remarks like this do not encourage belief in the reader.
One has to take into account the culture of the author. In the author's culture, "family-focused" and "unpunctual" is considered the opposite of "work-focused". The article is as much about oddities in other cultures as it is about the author's assumptions.
In this case, the author's "culture" is white anglosaxon Protestant work ethic.
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neilmac
Espagne
Local time: 17:15
espagnol vers anglais
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| Long time no agree | Feb 27, 2021 |
There could be a couple of potential bones of contention in that squib. For example, I'd say that the meaning of the Swedish “tack for senast” is pretty much covered by "long time no see". And "have a good weekend" is quite a common expression among co-workers.
I suppose it's along the lines of the plethora of articles that appeared in the UK press a few years ago claiming that English was simply unable to express the Danish notion of "hygge". (eyeroll)
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Dan Lucas
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 16:15
Membre (2014)
japonais vers anglais
| Sloppy use of English, Tom | Feb 27, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
Idiotic racist remarks like this do not encourage belief in the reader.
And your slipshod use of "racist" does not inspire confidence in the reader either. I think you'll find that Italians are mainly Caucasian. What you meant to say was "Idiotic, bigoted remarks like this". For somebody who is happy to snipe at others for their perceived poor use of English, that's an amateurish mistake. Precision, Tom, that's the key.
Dan
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Dan Lucas wrote:
And your slipshod use of "racist" does not inspire confidence in the reader either. I think you'll find that Italians are mainly Caucasian. What you meant to say was "Idiotic, bigoted remarks like this". For somebody who is happy to snipe at others for their perceived poor use of English, that's an amateurish mistake. Precision, Tom, that's the key.
Dan
I don't see how most Italians being Caucasian is relevant to what Tom said. He quoted this passage: "[Italian] culture is not known to be especially work-focused." As an Italian, I find this definitely racist.
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| Do we truly not say "congrats" in English for anniversaries? | Mar 9, 2021 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Special occasions are another way in which pleasantries differ. English-speakers wish each other a happy birthday, but speakers of many other languages say “congratulations”, as if (to the English ear) the birthday girl had done something impressive merely by surviving another year.
Really? Is it truly faux pas in English to say "congrats" to the birthday girl? If so, which types of anniversaries get "congratulations" and which don't?
In the UK, common pairings of good wishes and occasions:
- happy birthday
- congratulations for events that have a hint of achievement (engagements, wedding anniversaries, obtaining a diploma or a qualification, passing adriving test, getting a job, etc).
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Dan Lucas
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 16:15
Membre (2014)
japonais vers anglais
Marina Taffetani wrote:
I don't see how most Italians being Caucasian is relevant to what Tom said. He quoted this passage: "[Italian] culture is not known to be especially work-focused." As an Italian, I find this definitely racist.
That's because you don't understand the definition of "racism".
Merriam Webster:
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
Oxford:
The unfair treatment of people who belong to a different race
Collins
Racism is the belief that people of some races are inferior to others, and the behaviour which is the result of this belief.
You (like many other people) are confusing bigotry and prejudice with racism, which is a specific instance of the former two that is driven by ethnicity [EDIT: specifically, the colour of one's skin, not one's nationality]. Speaking as somebody with a non-Caucasian spouse, and two children of mixed ethnicity, I believe this is an important point.
If we spray the word "racist" about when race (as opposed to nationality) is not a factor, it dilutes what should be a shocking accusation. If my children are taunted by English kids because they are from Wales, that's not racism. If they are bullied because they are half-Japanese, that is racism.
Regards,
Dan
[Edited at 2021-03-10 08:24 GMT]
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