SpOn hat sich, nicht zum ersten Mal, dem Thema mißverstandener Claims gewidmet. Werbesprüche auf Englisch treffen halt nicht immer ins Schwarze, aber wenn Konsumenten bei der Ford-Werbung „Feel the Difference“ auf „Fühle das Differential“ tippen, liegen sie zumindest im Automobilbereich richtig. Weitere potentielle Stolpersteine fremdsprachiger Werbesprüche sind ungewollte Bedeutungsnuancen – besonders wenn man keine Muttersprachler zu Rate zieht. Was sich die Werbeleute in Leinfelden-Echterdingen da wohl gedacht haben?

The German translator and interpreter association BDÜ offers an on-line resource for Christmas wishes in more than 50 languages. The German-language website gives you the equivalent of “Merry Christmas” in languages from Afrikaans to Urdu. Each translation can be downloaded as an image in case you do not have the necessary character set to print it out correctly.

The website interface is in German, but it should be easy to navigate it even if you don’t speak the language. You have to agree to a liability exclusion before you can access the translations. So there is no excuse this year not to localize your Christmas cards.

The headline editor of the Columbia Tribune, who thinks (s)he’s funny, has done it again – on the cover page this time. The subject: the Open Records Laws, often referred to as Sunshine Laws. The trustees of a local hospital are trying to keep certain discussions from becoming public.

Hospital trustees test Sunshine Law
Ex-CEO discusses openness in closed session.

Another icon of the 70s is no more. Robert Altman died last Monday in Los Angeles. I was a great fan of his movies and admired his skill in handling large casts and multiple strands of action. When I saw Nashville at the end of the summer of ‘75 in Modesto, CA, it sent chills down my spine. Of all the really great movies of that decade (and there were many), his were exceptional.

Bob Altman was a Missouri native and graduated from MU here in Columbia. The local Columbia Tribune mentioned his death in a tiny article straight from the AP ticker. Altman’s connection to the university or the state were not mentioned – so much for journalism in a town that claims to have the best journalism school in the nation.

The last post of openbrackets has been written. Gail Armstrong has thrown in the towel after five years of blogging. While they are still up, go and browse the truely magnificient entries, starting with April 27, 2001. One that never gets old: Snow Job in July.

After moving to Missouri, I came across people using “on yesterday” when they simply meant “yesterday.” Not most people, but many. Perhaps a regional peculiarity, I thought, but it jarred whenever I heard it. Then I saw it in a mainstream publication. In an AP article in Saturday’s paper I read:

Jones did not immediately return calls from the Associated Press on yesterday.

This could have been, of course, the handwriting of the local editor, but thanks to Google I was able find the construction in several other, geographically diverse sources as well: here, here, here, and here. This is a small sample, but I am beginning to wonder if “on yesterday” is AP house style?

It is rare to see free on-line translation programs criticized by people other than translators. But Mitch Ratcliffe, a ZDNet blogger, is a serious baseball fan, and the Google translation of a Japanese source text offendes his sports sensibilities.

With garbled information, we’re more likely to become confused and misunderstand one another. Google translation plays the role not of interpreter but comic. Google’s playing the role of a kind of Borat making fun of how little we want to understand others. Calling this “translation” is like believing Borat is a serious journalist.

He suggests that Google remove the service until it shows some reasonable results and doesn’t leave people “gesturing dumbly, like a Star Fleet crew whose universal translator is broken.”

It just has become safer to travel to Detroit – and more dangerous to visit the restaurant I mentioned below: St. Louis has taken the top spot as most dangerous city in the United States. Questions remain about the methodology of the study, but for now, downtown St. Louis after hours will probably be even more deserted – if that’s possible.