These may not be the direct translations, but are what is more commonly used for the same thing - I find it funny when a language uses a loanword from another language, that the latter doesn't actually use for that thing:
English: smorgasbord (from Swedish smörgåsbord)
Swedish: buffé
American: foosball (from German Fußball)
German: Kicker
@sarajw Japanese has loads of these, including a whole class of wasei-eigo words that sound English but are Japanese-made, often with obscure meanings.
My favourite not-quite-right loan word though, is アルバイト [arubaito]. It's taken from the German Arbeit, except in Japanese it specifically means a part-time job
@yatil@phillip you know I had to go look it up. I wonder if 'public viewing' means that more in American parlance than British, or if I'm just ignorant (often the case)!
The Queen was 'lying in state'. I guess people called it a public viewing too, but I wouldn't have noticed. A similar ritual held at a more familiar level, I would call a 'wake'.
@sarajw@yatil@phillip Are you saying that a “public viewing” can be used to describe watching a sports game in the US? If so, that might be a regional thing as I’ve never used that phrase to describe a sporting event here!
I have used “public viewing” as a synonym for “wake” here, though.
Noo, I mean that as a British English speaking person, I hadn't experienced that phrase to be specifically death related. So it's apparently more common in American English!
@sarajw@starshaped@phillip Conversely I think I have seen “public viewing (football/soccer)” used in the UK, too. Probably due to international/European influence, or at events that expect a lot of international visitors.
Add comment