| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Off topic: BOLLOCKS TO BREXIT: How would you say that in your language? Thread poster: philgoddard
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Dave Bindon 
Greece
Local time: 03:18
Greek to English
In memoriam | Taking it too seriously? | Jul 7, 2019 |
DZiW - I'm not sure if you were referring to me when you said "You didn't answer my question", because you mentioned me by name but then quoted something posted by someone else. Whatever, I shall reply in a way...
"Bollocks to..." is part of British slang and I certainly don't find it very crude. My grandmother (born in 1913) used to say it. It does need to be used with some caution, I guess, but I'd class it alongside "shit" as being a fairly innocuous word which is very widely use... See more DZiW - I'm not sure if you were referring to me when you said "You didn't answer my question", because you mentioned me by name but then quoted something posted by someone else. Whatever, I shall reply in a way...
"Bollocks to..." is part of British slang and I certainly don't find it very crude. My grandmother (born in 1913) used to say it. It does need to be used with some caution, I guess, but I'd class it alongside "shit" as being a fairly innocuous word which is very widely used outside of formal situations.
"Bollocks to Brexit" emerged soon after the 2016 referendum (if not before). A marketing/merchandise company (which I won't name in case that breaches Proz rules) seems to be credited with using this as a slogan on stickers etc. by 2016. I imagine that "Mr Stop Brexit" (Steve Bray) might have disseminated it. But it had "humble beginnings" with no team specifically assessing the audience and the effect, simply some savvy marketing people realising that they could commercialise "Bollocks to Brexit" which was a pre-existing term with a pre-existing audience.
The Liberal Democrat party recently adopted the slogan, and I'm sure they thought long and hard about it. They did not, however, invent it. They could see its popularity and decided to capitalise on that. It worked: their election results were great and polls suggest that "voting intention" for a General Election has also swung in their favour. They had very little time to prepare for the EU Parliament elections so they would have been forced to choose a slogan without detailed "cost-benefit analysis". They had to take a gamble, and they seem to have won.
Even if you think "bollox" is crude, the LibDems judged the mood in the British electorate, and seem to have been right to judge that British people mainly see this as something lighthearted which also expresses the mood of many people in society.
I think I should now stop commenting (unless in direct reply to something else). I don't want to be chastised by Proz so I don't want to refer to parties other than the LibDems (who used this slogan) or any political audience other than those who appreciated or tolerated this slogan. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Francisco Chagas
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:18
Member (2019)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| State of affairs / Portuguese (EU) | Jul 8, 2019 |
Dear Dave,
I am rather disheartened by >your< reluctance to share >your< thoughts--which have seemed to blossom ever eloquently throughout your comments--to their fullest extent (apparently, or superficially) for fear of digital prosecution. I am not an avid ProZ Forums/fora frequenter and thus, I may perhaps be the least adequate person to ask you so, but please, for the sake of information, do "let it go"!
Now, in hopes of tracing back the topic at hand:
... See more Dear Dave,
I am rather disheartened by >your< reluctance to share >your< thoughts--which have seemed to blossom ever eloquently throughout your comments--to their fullest extent (apparently, or superficially) for fear of digital prosecution. I am not an avid ProZ Forums/fora frequenter and thus, I may perhaps be the least adequate person to ask you so, but please, for the sake of information, do "let it go"!
Now, in hopes of tracing back the topic at hand:
Portuguese (Portugal):
- Bolas "prò" Bréxit [boughlash praw BREXIT] (Bolas = Balls ~ Bollocks; "prò" acts as a colloquial contraction of "para/pra o", which may stand for... "for"!)
- Porra "prò" BREXIT [pohrruh (hard 'r') praw BREXIT] (swapping out "Bolas" for their "byproduct" ensures a more aggressive connotation to the expression, whilst not necessarily morphing it into sheer, outright profanity.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Lin
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:18
Member (2013)
English to Chinese
+ ...
MODERATOR
Let me try. How about
退歐，戆狗！
| | | | philgoddard
United States
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
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Dave Bindon
Greece
Local time: 03:18
Greek to English
In memoriam
Francisco Chagas wrote:
Dear Dave, may perhaps be the least adequate person to ask you so, but please, for the sake of information, do "let it go"!
[/quote]
Sorry, Francisco, but I won't make further comments at this stage. I've already strayed off the original topic (to which I cannot reply directly since English is my native language).
This is a forum for translators. I do have very strong sociopolitical views, but they do not belong here unless I'm responding to a comment written here. Please do not deliberately ask me political questions because I don't think that's appropriate. I think the fact that I have not criticised the LibDems says enough!
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philgoddard wrote:
What does that mean?
"Bollocks to Brexit", presumably
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:18
English to Latvian
+ ...
| this is the most important question to ask | Jul 9, 2019 |
DZiW wrote:
(That's why I asked about the supposed purpose, reason, client, and audience, but nevermind.)
[/quote]
I like this because that reminds me that we don't translate words but the meaning behind those words and that the meaning is always dependant on the audience.
Dave has now explained that the slogan's purpose in part was to induce people to vote for LibDems. Clearly, it cannot be the case in other languages (except Welsh) because those people don't vote in the UK elections. If the translation was something like Brexit Shmexit and people would find it funny and because of that would tend to like the person, translation would be success despite in change of purpose.
| | | | philgoddard
United States
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Lighten up, people! | Jul 9, 2019 |
This was meant as a fun contribution, which is why it appears under "The lighter side of translation/interpreting". It sounds like some people haven't bothered to read my original post.
I'd still be interested to know how you'd render this in your language. We have suggestions in Danish, Dutch, and Cantonese.
[Edited at 2019-07-09 12:44 GMT]
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David Lin
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:18
Member (2013)
English to Chinese
+ ...
MODERATOR | Cantonese meaning | Jul 10, 2019 |
philgoddard wrote:
What does that mean?
退歐 or 脫歐 is Cantonese for Brexit. 退 = withdrawn from or 脫 = leave or exit, and 歐 = Europe.
戆狗 means literally "idiotic dog" in Cantonese to sound not swearing, because it is phonetically twisted from the original "idiotic dick", a very common Cantonese swear word when sb wants to disagree with sthg.
As Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary defines “Bollocks" as "non-sense" and "a man's testicles, used as a swear word when sb. is disagreeing with sthg. or when they are angry about sth., I think 脫歐 戆狗, with the mix of anger and swearing, is a close match to "Bollocks to Brexit".
In addition, "狗" (dog) also rhymes with "歐". It's similar to the source term "Bo" to "Bre" -- "Bollocks to Brexit".
Enjoy the linguistic and transcreation discussion!
| | | | Adam Warren
France
Local time: 02:18
Member (2005)
French to English
| Potentially ambiguous | Jul 11, 2019 |
Francisco Chagas wrote:
"BREXIT TO BREXIT" would do just fine.
"May Brexit wither," perhaps, for the squeamish? Even so, the straightforward deprecation (I use the word advisedly) of the original slogan is sufficiently expressive of the dismay and disgust felt by Brits - and others - with a mature European outlook.
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 21:18
Portuguese to English
+ ...
In Brazilian Portuguese, 'Bollocks ao Bréxite' (Bréxite will probably soon become the Portuguese version as we don't have nouns ending in T which have spelling changes: pivot > pivô, pierrot > pierrô, Bridget > Brigit(t)e ou Brígida, etc).
By the way, I hate Brexit and feel England should debrexitise.
Debrexitise is another of the words I have created, another is 'to nigelfarage' meaning to insult other people or groups, shouting and raving: 'He got nigelfaraged at so much that ... See more In Brazilian Portuguese, 'Bollocks ao Bréxite' (Bréxite will probably soon become the Portuguese version as we don't have nouns ending in T which have spelling changes: pivot > pivô, pierrot > pierrô, Bridget > Brigit(t)e ou Brígida, etc).
By the way, I hate Brexit and feel England should debrexitise.
Debrexitise is another of the words I have created, another is 'to nigelfarage' meaning to insult other people or groups, shouting and raving: 'He got nigelfaraged at so much that he decided to meghanmarkle from his home'. (Meghan Markle has become a verb) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I wouldn't say it. | Feb 7, 2020 |
philgoddard wrote:
The Guardian reports that Britain's Liberal Democrat MEPs yesterday entered the parliament wearing t-shirts inscribed BOLLOCKS TO BREXIT.
"[MEP Chris Davies] denied the crude slogan was unparliamentary. He said that, when he met MEP colleagues who told him he would only stay a few months, “I say no. ‘I am here for five years. Bollocks to Brexit.’ And I get the same reaction every time: a big smile. It’s amazing how well Bollocks to Brexit translates into 24 different languages.”
Your suggestions, please!
I wouldn't say it. It's a slogan for idiots. Alliterative (Bollocks...Brexit) so that it's fun for them to say. OK I'm going to get on with the rest of my life now.
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