Nov 2, 2001 23:19
22 yrs ago
English term
more coka-kolaic and wall-streetic
Non-PRO
English
Other
In our web site (www.aktorium.com) I tried to portray how the word will be culturally more and more poor when languages die.
The translation was intended to go in English as follows:
"When a language dies, a whole mode of viewing the world that had been developed through the experiences of generations disappears from the earth. One window on reality is closed forever. And the world will be one degree more coka-colaic and wall-streetic."
The English natives said that you can not express it that way in English and now the last sentence is just blandly 'When that happens, the world becomes one degree more uniform.'
Is that true? Is the expression grammatically impossible or just strange? Does it convey the idea?
The same sentence in Finnish is (it may not be of any help for many of the readers) 'Ja maailma on taas astetta cocakolampi ja wallstreetimpi.'
The translation was intended to go in English as follows:
"When a language dies, a whole mode of viewing the world that had been developed through the experiences of generations disappears from the earth. One window on reality is closed forever. And the world will be one degree more coka-colaic and wall-streetic."
The English natives said that you can not express it that way in English and now the last sentence is just blandly 'When that happens, the world becomes one degree more uniform.'
Is that true? Is the expression grammatically impossible or just strange? Does it convey the idea?
The same sentence in Finnish is (it may not be of any help for many of the readers) 'Ja maailma on taas astetta cocakolampi ja wallstreetimpi.'
Responses
Responses
+2
35 mins
Selected
yes you can, in a variety of ways
And the world will be that much more coca-colonized and wall-street-jacketed
would be one way (coca-colonization is a known concept, wall-street-jacketing is new [cf. strait jacket]).
Or to return to your own concept:
cocacola-ized cocacolified cocacola'd
wallstreetized, wallstreetified
The hyphens complicate matters, as does the final vowel of coca-cola.
And I'm sure the prozifiers will have other thoughts. Your version was awkward, but comprehensible and not far from the sort of thing we natives do (starting with Time Magazine).
would be one way (coca-colonization is a known concept, wall-street-jacketing is new [cf. strait jacket]).
Or to return to your own concept:
cocacola-ized cocacolified cocacola'd
wallstreetized, wallstreetified
The hyphens complicate matters, as does the final vowel of coca-cola.
And I'm sure the prozifiers will have other thoughts. Your version was awkward, but comprehensible and not far from the sort of thing we natives do (starting with Time Magazine).
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Then you for your help.
My misspellings clearly show that I am obviously very severely handicapped with undercoca-colaization :()
The future Finnish generation will not be any more. I just took part into some university cources. They were in Finnish and the young professors were Finnish, but there were difficulties every now and then as the lecturer did not know how this or that should be said in Finnish. In many disciplines the teaching in Finland is conducted only in English these days. I could help the boys, but soon there will be nobody fostering Finnish scientific language.
Timo Lehtilä
CEO. Aktorium ltd
www.aktorium.fi
"
26 mins
Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
&
English
United Kingdom
Translator since 1953
Native in: English
Works in: Russian to English, German to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
4190
...more to the standards of Coca-Cola and Wall Street
Your native English speakers are right,the sentence as it stands seems too strange, adjectives cannot be formed in this way. A pity, really, as I see what you mean and the rest of the paragraph is very well expressed.
I would suggest:
"The world will conform one degree more to the standards of Coca-Cola and Wall Street". Not so succinct as the original but reads more like English. Maybe someone else will come up with something better.
I would suggest:
"The world will conform one degree more to the standards of Coca-Cola and Wall Street". Not so succinct as the original but reads more like English. Maybe someone else will come up with something better.
1 hr
coca-col(a)ism and wall-streetism OR coca-col(a)ic and wall-streetic
I think your idea is great as it is with maybe just a few minor changes.
The world was indeed, at least until September 11, in the process of becoming more and more uniform (read Americanized). Your text goes one step further than the phrase:
"When that happens, the world becomes one degree more uniform."
Your text says:
"When that happens, the world becomes one degree more uniform and Americanized."
Possible changes:
1. Nouns might go down a little more easily:
"When a language dies, a whole mode of viewing the world that had been developed through the experiences of generations disappears from the earth. One window on reality is closed forever, and the world comes one step closer to coca-col(a)ism and wall-streetism."
2. However, if you prefer the adjective forms:
"When a language dies, a whole mode of viewing the world that had been developed through the experiences of generations disappears from the earth. One window on reality is closed forever, and the world becomes just a bit more to coca-col(a)ic and wall-streetic."
Personally, I like number 2 and don't mind the hyphens or the (a). The words without hyphens are a bit hard to recognize for what they are. You are coining words here so you can do what you want.
HTH
Dan
The world was indeed, at least until September 11, in the process of becoming more and more uniform (read Americanized). Your text goes one step further than the phrase:
"When that happens, the world becomes one degree more uniform."
Your text says:
"When that happens, the world becomes one degree more uniform and Americanized."
Possible changes:
1. Nouns might go down a little more easily:
"When a language dies, a whole mode of viewing the world that had been developed through the experiences of generations disappears from the earth. One window on reality is closed forever, and the world comes one step closer to coca-col(a)ism and wall-streetism."
2. However, if you prefer the adjective forms:
"When a language dies, a whole mode of viewing the world that had been developed through the experiences of generations disappears from the earth. One window on reality is closed forever, and the world becomes just a bit more to coca-col(a)ic and wall-streetic."
Personally, I like number 2 and don't mind the hyphens or the (a). The words without hyphens are a bit hard to recognize for what they are. You are coining words here so you can do what you want.
HTH
Dan
+1
1 hr
Well, sort of yes and sort of no. How about:
And the world will be one step closer to
marching to the uniform linguistic drumbeat of Coca Cola and Wall Street.
Your English natives are right: your original is understandable but really strange. And it doesn't quite work, which detracts from your otherwise very eloquent statement and even makes us pay less attention to it. Abu's ideas are very, very clever but I'm not sure that either would quite work out here, beyond causing many of us to groan, which also is not the point... (As he noted, though, they aren't too, too far from the things that Time and ilk feed us already...) It's a pity, as the phrases you both coined are very descriptive, both in terms of imagery and sonority.
Just FYI, the spelling in English is coca cola or coke.
Hope it helps :)
marching to the uniform linguistic drumbeat of Coca Cola and Wall Street.
Your English natives are right: your original is understandable but really strange. And it doesn't quite work, which detracts from your otherwise very eloquent statement and even makes us pay less attention to it. Abu's ideas are very, very clever but I'm not sure that either would quite work out here, beyond causing many of us to groan, which also is not the point... (As he noted, though, they aren't too, too far from the things that Time and ilk feed us already...) It's a pity, as the phrases you both coined are very descriptive, both in terms of imagery and sonority.
Just FYI, the spelling in English is coca cola or coke.
Hope it helps :)
Something went wrong...