Today
I show you another example of translation problem that I saw in a
chapter of The Simpsons because it has some interesting components.
I
put you in situation: it is Valentine's Day and the students of Lisa's
class write each other letters and cards. Ralph is the only one who
don't receive any card, so Lisa gives him one that says “I
choo-choo-choose you” with the drawing of a train. In Spanish, this
sentence has been translated in “eres muy chu-chu-chuli”.
Where
is the problem? The verb choose in English has been chosen for
this card because it is appropiate due to the drawing of the train.
When we read it, the sound of this vehicle it can be reproduced.
However, choose in Spanish means elegir, escoger, and if it
had been translated literaly, we would have lost the joke of the
drawing and its sound. The solution was to find a word in Spanish
that could reproduce that sound. The chosen word was “chuli”
(something like nice, beautiful, funny): we have the sound according
to the drawing and it is appropiate to this Valentines card.
Happy Valentine!
