Like-Blog
Presenting you the most interesting translation solutions
Why Like-Blog? Now, first of all, this blog is a blog that you should like (and read regularly) – at least, if you are interested in translation. Then, the topic discussed here is one in which the meaningful likeness between a text and its translation in the language pair English-German plays a key role. On this page, I will take a close look at some interesting translation solutions that I have come across in the course of my work as a translator and translation scholar.
A translation solution is only as good as the arguments that support it. This means that any translation criticism, whether positive or negative, needs to be justified. The quality of a translation solution shows only when we compare it to other possible translation solutions in a given translation situation. Therefore, a translation critic should not only say why a translation solution is bad, but also demonstrate what a better solution might look like. I will try to stick to these principles of translation criticism. So if you have any questions regarding my line of argument or if you disagree, please, let me know your opinion by phone at +49 4171 6086525 or by e-mail to bittner@businessenglish-hamburg.de. So much for the introduction. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this blog!
Flying flamingos (February 2020)
Metaphors and idioms can enliven a speech, provided that they are original. Trivial metaphors and hackneyed idioms, however, seem dull and boring – one possible example being the phrase “it’s raining cats and dogs”. Using idioms in an altered but recognisable form is a good means to prevent dullness and boredom, and to engage the reader or listener.
On 10 September 2019, at the traditional proroguing ceremony to suspend Parliament, John Bercow, the then speaker of the House of Commons, said: “I couldn’t give a flying flamingo what your view is.” The addressee of this wonderful ejaculation was Graham Stuart, a Tory MP. Bercow’s utterance is based on the phrase “not give a fig”, which is used to emphasise that something is regarded as rather unimportant or of no interest. Less conspicuously, the speaker could have said by way of an alternative: “I don’t give a fig what your view is.” Ruder variants of the phrase also use the f-word.
John Bercow changed the standard phrase in two respects. On the one hand, he turned a fig into a flying flamingo and, on the other, he substituted “couldn’t” for “don’t”. These changes took place spontaneously in unprepared speech. Shortly before his utterance, Bercow had turned to Graham Stuart, calling him a “master of disorder” as the latter had drawn attention to himself by interrupting the speaker. The expression of the flying flamingo, then, provided the final flourish to a heated speech. The phrase in question looks as if it were a combination of “I couldn’t care less” and “I don’t give a fig”, with the “flying flamingo” substitute for “fig” further diminishing (or intensifying?) in a funny way the derogatory quality of the standard expression: if the alliteration of “fig” already plays down the impact of the f-word, then this downplay is significantly increased by the double alliteration of the “flying flamingo”, exposing the addressee to ridicule.
Just as there are different variants of “not give a fig” in English, so can the German equivalent take different shapes: sich keinen Deut / einen Dreck / einen Teufel / einen feuchten Kehricht um etwas scheren. In both languages, the grammatical object refers to something of little value or to something negative. While, in English, the verb is generally negated, in German, the negation occurs only in connection with one variant – all other variants featuring no negation. That means: someone who wishes to creatively change the expression in German by substituting another object of little value for the ones typically used should do so without negation.
Of course, Bercows utterance was also mentioned in the German news. Tagesschau.de translated: “Ihre Meinung schert mich keinen fliegenden Flamingo.” By contrast, the Luxemburger Wort came up with: “Ihre Meinung schert mich einen fliegenden Flamingo.” As you will guess from the above deliberations, I consider the second translation better than the first.
PS: I have no idea why, of all things, Bercow holds flying flamingos in low esteem (maybe because he had to wing it?). If it were only for the alliteration, a flickering flashlight would have been a more obvious alternative.