As with cricket reporters, the North Koreans have come up with interesting variations of language use that may not be immediately clear to the novice. After long and patient hours of study and extensive research, I have educated myself to the point where I can translate these expressions into common English for the average person.
As a professional language teacher, I know that the best place to start in any language lesson is with its easiest components, so let's begin with some of the simpler expressions that spring from the mouths of North Korean spokesmen. I will put the expression here (from North Korea's 100th Anniversary of Juche New Year's greeting) and will give examples of inaccurate translations as well as the correct answer.
1. "This year's general offensive is a continuation of the grand onward march for improving the people's standard of living, and its new, higher stage." (from the New Year Report)
Translation A: We will continue to work towards improving the lives of the average North Korean citizen.
This translation is incorrect. If you understand that the words "the people" actually mean "Kim Jong Il and his cronies", then you will understand the true meaning of the expression. Translation A did leave out "its new higher stage", which is accurate. This is only filler and has no real meaning.
2. "Light industry is the major front in the general offensive of this year."
Translation B: We will develop light industry as never before.
This is an almost accurate translation. It would be better if the words "as never before" were omitted and "one of these days" put in their place.
3. "The present grand onward march for the improvement of the people's standard of living demands that a full-scale offensive be launched in the overall economic front."
Translation C: Hmm.... something about improving Kim Jong Il and his cronies' standard of living, but I don't get the rest of it.
Yes, this one seems easy but is more complicated than it looks. You got part of it right though! Quick learner.
A correct translation would be, "We will continue to work hard to improve the standard of living of Kim Jong Il and his cronies by making a serious effort to get around the sanctions imposed on us."
4. "A revolution in light industry is just a revolution in chemical industry."
Translation D: Huh?
Exactly. Sometimes even the North Koreans do not know what they are saying.
5. "An important way to accelerate the speed of the onward march for a great upsurge in the whole of economic construction is to continue to intensify the drive of breaking through the cutting edge."
Translation E: Wow, these are really getting hard! I am completely perplexed.
Once again, you are correct. This is actually just a stringing together of "buzz words" without thinking about whether they actually make a hive.
6. "Greater efforts should be made to spruce up the overall looks of the country as appropriate to a thriving nation."
Translation F: I got this one, I think! "We will try to make our country more attractive"?
No. Completely wrong. This is better translated as "We will control the movements of tourists and other visitors even more, so that they can't see what our country really looks like". Actually "sprucing up the overall looks of the country" would require taking money from "the people", if you get my drift.
7. "At present the Juche-oriented cause of army building is making dynamic progress on a new, high stage."
Translation G: Let's see... "new, high stage" is filler, so I can ignore that, so how about, "We are building our army"?
Very good. Simplicity of expression is not one of their strong suits, but you just about covered it.
8. "Last year our nation's movement for the country's reunification made dynamic progress even in the face of the vicious challenges of the separatist forces inside and outside."
Translation H: How about, "We made progress in our relations with South Korea despite troubles from inside and outside"?
Close, but you are not reading between the lines. A better translation would be, "We tried very hard through sinking a South Korean naval vessel and shelling one of their islands to show that they need to cave in to our pressure, but they didn't and the US didn't either."
9: "Confrontation between north and south should be defused as early as possible."
Translation I: Surely this means what it says?
No. The correct translation is, "We will continue to subvert the south by every means possible and fritter away time at the negotiating table in order to keep our government afloat".
Finally, I challenge any of my readers to read through the message from North Korea upon the 100th anniversary year of Juche, or another example of their messages here.
Showing posts with label cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cricket. Show all posts
Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
Cricket 101
Today we are going to take a fascinating look at cricket. I am sure that all of you are aware of this stimulating game and are eager to find out more about it, so you can make sense of the news reports as I do on a regular, even daily basis! (Yes, I am actually THAT cool.)
A good place to start – for those of you who do not regularly read the cricket news – is to quote from the Daily Yomiuri newspaper, an English-language paper published by a major Japanese news organization. This is from the Saturday, December 4th edition. I will explain everything later in "layman's terms".
(these are actual quotes)
First the headline:
Australia Dismissed for Dreary 245 to Start 2nd Test
Then some key points:
Play started in an incredible fashion when Jonathon Trott threw down the stumps from mid-wicket to run out Katich, who did not face a ball.
The excitement builds:
Hussey and Marcus North then made comfortable, if unspectacular, progress before the latter was dismissed for 26 when he nicked a Steven Finn delivery behind while attempting to guide the ball to third man.
Later in the game:
Swan bowled 23 overs in an uninterrupted session either side of tea before making the key breakthrough later in the third session, prompting Hussey to edge to Paul Collingwood at slip.
The explanation:
Now I know that all of you want to be able to read the above as I do and completely understand what it is they are writing about. There are some key things to be aware of that will help you to understand cricket reports.
1. They are written in English. Yes. This may seem doubtful as you read the sentences above, but apparently this is English.
2. There are some vocabulary items you need to remember in order to understand cricket. As I am totally "up" on cricket AND (lucky you) an English teacher, I can list and define them below:
First the headline:
dismissed = sent to the closet for time out
dreary = actually not bad, but we want to look down on them because they are Australian
Key points:
(to) throw down the stumps = (to) throw down the stumps (duh)
mid-wicket = not the top nor the bottom part of the wicket – just the middle bit. On a cow, this would be the sirloin. (If I could draw a picture I would, believe me.)
(to) not face a ball = (to) not look at that part of the cow we call "rocky mountain oysters"... or is that sheep... something like that. :-)
Then we move to the next part of the match. This requires some serious glossing for the "lay person" to understand.
(to) nick a delivery behind = er... this ties into the condom thing with the Pope and all. If he is wearing a condom it's ok, but if not... then he must be "dismissed" (see above).
(to) guide the ball to third man = this is something we cannot talk about on a "family blog" like this. Take it from me; you don't want to know.
Later in the Game:
(to) bowl overs = this is a euphemism for other things we cannot mention on a "family blog" like this one. Maybe I can rephrase it in a more acceptable way? Let's see... you know the expression "(to) bowl (someone) over"? In cricket, it is similar in meaning except you do things that require the wearing of a condom (unless you are the Pope), if you want to score a point. I hope I have not offended you. I really do try to keep this a "family blog".
either side of tea = I actually have no idea about this. Do they get to choose which side? If it is both sides, why don't they say "both sides of tea"? And what does tea have to do with it anyway. It must be a euphemism for something; I just don't know what!
(to) edge (someone) at slip = This one is complicated. You see, some members of the team have to cross-dress. These are the ones who wear slips and who also "bowl overs" (if you get my drift). If a non-cross-dressing player edges one of their slips s/he gets a point unless it is "nicked from behind" without a condom. In that case, s/he loses a point.
And that's it!
Now that you know the basic vocabulary, you are all set to start reading the cricket news! Of course we could not cover all the items in this short lesson, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
A good place to start – for those of you who do not regularly read the cricket news – is to quote from the Daily Yomiuri newspaper, an English-language paper published by a major Japanese news organization. This is from the Saturday, December 4th edition. I will explain everything later in "layman's terms".
(these are actual quotes)
First the headline:
Australia Dismissed for Dreary 245 to Start 2nd Test
Then some key points:
Play started in an incredible fashion when Jonathon Trott threw down the stumps from mid-wicket to run out Katich, who did not face a ball.
The excitement builds:
Hussey and Marcus North then made comfortable, if unspectacular, progress before the latter was dismissed for 26 when he nicked a Steven Finn delivery behind while attempting to guide the ball to third man.
Later in the game:
Swan bowled 23 overs in an uninterrupted session either side of tea before making the key breakthrough later in the third session, prompting Hussey to edge to Paul Collingwood at slip.
The explanation:
Now I know that all of you want to be able to read the above as I do and completely understand what it is they are writing about. There are some key things to be aware of that will help you to understand cricket reports.
1. They are written in English. Yes. This may seem doubtful as you read the sentences above, but apparently this is English.
2. There are some vocabulary items you need to remember in order to understand cricket. As I am totally "up" on cricket AND (lucky you) an English teacher, I can list and define them below:
First the headline:
dismissed = sent to the closet for time out
dreary = actually not bad, but we want to look down on them because they are Australian
Key points:
(to) throw down the stumps = (to) throw down the stumps (duh)
mid-wicket = not the top nor the bottom part of the wicket – just the middle bit. On a cow, this would be the sirloin. (If I could draw a picture I would, believe me.)
(to) not face a ball = (to) not look at that part of the cow we call "rocky mountain oysters"... or is that sheep... something like that. :-)
Then we move to the next part of the match. This requires some serious glossing for the "lay person" to understand.
(to) nick a delivery behind = er... this ties into the condom thing with the Pope and all. If he is wearing a condom it's ok, but if not... then he must be "dismissed" (see above).
(to) guide the ball to third man = this is something we cannot talk about on a "family blog" like this. Take it from me; you don't want to know.
Later in the Game:
(to) bowl overs = this is a euphemism for other things we cannot mention on a "family blog" like this one. Maybe I can rephrase it in a more acceptable way? Let's see... you know the expression "(to) bowl (someone) over"? In cricket, it is similar in meaning except you do things that require the wearing of a condom (unless you are the Pope), if you want to score a point. I hope I have not offended you. I really do try to keep this a "family blog".
either side of tea = I actually have no idea about this. Do they get to choose which side? If it is both sides, why don't they say "both sides of tea"? And what does tea have to do with it anyway. It must be a euphemism for something; I just don't know what!
(to) edge (someone) at slip = This one is complicated. You see, some members of the team have to cross-dress. These are the ones who wear slips and who also "bowl overs" (if you get my drift). If a non-cross-dressing player edges one of their slips s/he gets a point unless it is "nicked from behind" without a condom. In that case, s/he loses a point.
And that's it!
Now that you know the basic vocabulary, you are all set to start reading the cricket news! Of course we could not cover all the items in this short lesson, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
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