incoherence, the universal language | 2002-08-13 - 8:42 p.m.

If they gave out awards for poor translating, I'd make sure one of them went to the guy who's been translating the comments of Iraq's information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, into English. Se�or al-Sahhaf's so-called translator has the Minister of Informaci�n delivering lines like, "This talk can be responded to and ... disproved." Eight inelegant palabras to discount the State Department's allegations that Saddam still has weapons of mass destrucci�n! Qu� gasto, I think, when a simple, heartfelt "bullshit" would be suficiente.

OK, maybe I am juzgando a Sr. Translator a little harshly in this particular instance. Even if a clunky line like "This talk can be responded to and disproved" sounds like it came straight out of a George Lucas screenplay, por lo menos the basic requirements of comunicaci�n are being filled.

But I maintain the translator has fallen down on the trabajo when he has al-Sahhaf calling certain Iraqi opposition leaders "bats ... and a bad American product." I mean, even if al-Sahhaf realmente does liken his opposition to flying rodents and chalupas (which is probablemente a huge insulto in Arabic), doesn't his translator have an ethical responsabilidad to make the insulto intelligible to us speakers of English?

You can argue that al-Sahhaf has been rendered inarticulado in his own tongue by rage, but this argumento has already been used, I think, to justificar the incoherent mumblings of a certain Presidente. And I'm just not buying rage as a disculpa for grammatical disability any more. That would be, in the palabras of al-Sahhaf's translator, "a stupid game."

I will indulge in a little fantas�a, however. Imagine this: When Sr. Bush's remarks about foreign policy get translated into Arabic and broadcast on Al-Jazeera, do they sound as incoherent to Iraqis as Sr. al-Sahhaf's comments sound to us?

Call me a bad American product, but I like to think so.

pride and prejudice - 2004-09-07
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like 9-11 all over again - 2004-06-20
enough said - 2003-02-05
tirar por la calle de en medio - 2003-01-28

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