Under the headline Dolphin ‘superpod’ seen by wildlife spotters off Skye, the BBC start a story with this slightly disconcerting lede:
A group of wildlife spotters have encountered a massive pod of dolphins on a boat trip off the north coast of Skye.
I guess even dolphins must get tired of swimming sometimes.
In the post Sound Reasoning, I talked about how in Spanish each letter corresponds to a single sound. This must make it hard for a Spaniard to visualise the spelling of a word when he hears it spoken in English, and therefore must make comprehension more difficult.
It does, however, add to the pleasure of watching films in English with amateur Spanish subtitles. I admire the guys who attempt what is clearly a task beyond their capabilities. They gather up their inadequate grammar and try and create meaning from sound alone.
Continue reading “sound and sense”
Yesterday, I signed off an email to a colleague with the Spanish phrase que te sea leve. It seemed appropriate, knowing that the summer is upon us, compañeros de trabajo are off on holiday and teams that are stretched at the best of times are now at snapping point.
I like the phrase, but had no idea of its derivation.
Fortunately, despite the absence of colleagues, there is usually time for an exchange of ideas and information, and he pointed out that this is more or less what the Romans put on the tombstones of loved ones:
Sic tibi terra levis. ~ Let the earth lie light upon you.
What a lovely phrase.
Still, that’s all rather incidental to this post, which was prompted by the actual physical act of typing que te sea leve, rather than by its meaning.
Continue reading “automatic writing”
Apparently not, if the title of this web page is anything to go by:
Yes, it is a page from the BBC website and it is entitled:
BBC News – Hysterical, deluded and thoroughly English.
I have had plenty of trouble with my own surname over the years, so I don’t have a lot to say about this.
But I guess it does make me think of the (mostly apocryphal) stories of brand names that don’t travel between languages and cultures.
I wonder if “Mr Perdedor” drives a Chevrolet Nova when he isn’t driving his truck. (They say they didn’t sell well in países hispanohablantes as no one wanted un coche que no va.)
don't confuse the narrator 