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Esperanto in the Huffington Post

av Alkanadi, 1 mars 2015

Meddelanden: 10

Språk: English

Alkanadi (Visa profilen) 1 mars 2015 16:08:31

This is really funny. There is a new couch surfing website or something like that called Servas. This is a quote from the article by the Huffington Post:
"Servas" is an Esperanto word that means something like "open doors." It's the best translation we have.
Are they serious. They couldn't just Google it. Doesn't the word sound kinda like the English word serve... Hint hint. Why would they say that it is the best translation that they have. Do they mean that they hired a translator?

Anyway, I have made stupider mistakes in my life.

It is good that Esperanto is getting some free publicity.

Here is the article

vikungen (Visa profilen) 1 mars 2015 16:43:59

It even says on "Servas'" page what it means.. vespiras..

vikungen (Visa profilen) 1 mars 2015 16:44:06

It even says on "Servas'" page what it means.. vespiras..

Tempodivalse (Visa profilen) 1 mars 2015 17:00:45

I was expecting to see some jibe at Esperanto's expense in the article. That didn't happen, so, I can't complain.

Christa627 (Visa profilen) 3 mars 2015 00:50:42

Alkanadi:This is really funny. There is a new couch surfing website or something like that called Servas. This is a quote from the article by the Huffington Post:
"Servas" is an Esperanto word that means something like "open doors." It's the best translation we have.
Are they serious. They couldn't just Google it. Doesn't the word sound kinda like the English word serve... Hint hint. Why would they say that it is the best translation that they have. Do they mean that they hired a translator?
And according to the website of Movado, a maker of fine Swiss watches, "movado" is Esperanto for "always in motion"; which I guess is more accurate than the above...

RiotNrrd (Visa profilen) 3 mars 2015 01:55:05

Christa627:And according to the website of Movado, a maker of fine Swiss watches, "movado" is Esperanto for "always in motion"; which I guess is more accurate than the above...
That Swiss watchmakers would value accuracy isn't terribly surprising. ridulo.gif

RiotNrrd (Visa profilen) 3 mars 2015 02:06:08

It's the best translation we have.

Which is, I'm sure, a perfectly truthful statement. They just left out the part about "...because we didn't expend any effort whatsoever to find out what it actually means".

Alkanadi (Visa profilen) 3 mars 2015 13:57:08

RiotNrrd:It's the best translation we have.

Which is, I'm sure, a perfectly truthful statement. They just left out the part about "...because we didn't expend any effort whatsoever to find out what it actually means".
Exactly. I think they left that part out.

Or maybe, they hired a team of translators who were all scratching their heads in confusion because they don't know how to translate this word. Each translator gave an educated guess about the meaning and then the Huffington Post had to choose the best one. Some of the translators suggested that the word could mean "apple pie" while others suggested that it could also mean "elephant". Luckily someone figured out that it has something to do with the noun "door" and also the verb "open". Alas, they cracked the code: it means "open doors". I think this is really what happened.

They make it seem like Esperanto is so deep, esoteric and ambiguous that it can't be translated to English.

lagtendisto (Visa profilen) 3 mars 2015 19:57:50

Alkanadi:This is really funny. There is a new couch surfing website or something like that called Servas.
New? Servas was founded in 1949.

kaŝperanto (Visa profilen) 3 mars 2015 22:52:29

vikungen:It even says on "Servas'" page what it means.. vespiras..
That would have required that they leave the home page - way too much effort okulumo.gif

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