Foreign phrases that don’t compute in English
February 25, 2011 at 8:00 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 1 comment
Although it’s based in Kansas City, CFCA is a global organization with more than 4,000 employees around the world.
Though many of our international colleagues speak English, we occasionally encounter the odd phrase or sentence that makes us wonder, “How come we’re speaking the same language but not always understanding one another?”
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1) “He was promoted into glory.”
Means: He died.
Context: An elderly widow is awaiting sponsorship in Kenya, and three members of our communications staff encountered this strange phrase on the description the project sent us: ” … after her husband was promoted into glory.” Only one of us knew what that meant; the other two had no idea.
2) Which “DUI” is it?
Can mean: “Documento Unico de Identidad,” or unique identity document in El Salvador
Context: In the U.S., a DUI means “driving under the influence.” On the other hand, the national ID card in El Salvador lists a DUI, or unique identity document, for every citizen. Very different …
3) “I’m fighting to help my children.”
Means: “I’m struggling to provide for my children.”
Context: That pesky English language strikes again! Our child services department routinely gets descriptions of parents “fighting” to provide for their children who are living in poverty. We change it to “struggling” lest readers think these parents are champion boxers or prizefighters.
4) Help yourself … ?
Can mean: I need to use the restroom.
Context: In the U.S., we routinely say “Help yourself” when offering something to someone. For example, if there’s a cake on the table, we might invite guests to “help themselves.” In Kenya, that phrase is often a polite excuse to use the restroom – “I would like to go and help myself.”
For our sponsors who have been on mission awareness trips or perhaps seen a funny phrase in your sponsored friend’s letters, was there anything that ever puzzled you? Feel free to share with us in the comments below!
Entry filed under: Around the World with CFCA, cfca, charities, christian foundation for children and aging, poverty, sponsor. Tags: cfca, Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, English, foreign, funny, humor, language, phrases, poverty, sponsor, translation.
1. Suzanna | February 25, 2011 at 5:02 pm
When we went on our MAT trip to Nicaragua in February of 2009 our MAT handbook said “Do not eat food everywhere”. They were referring to purchasing food from street vendors and such. It made us smile and the whole trip we would joke when it was time for a meal “do not eat food everywhere!”.