Just Knowing Your Nouns and Verbs Makes you no Translator

Yesterday I came across a friend of mine who`s really funny when he speaks English. You see, he knows lots of nouns, verbs, and the English grammar, too, but no Englishman (or American) can ever understand him, and that frustrates him a lot. The reason has nothing to do with his accent, or if he pronounces words in an impossible to decipher way, the reason is that he actually speaks Italian when he speaks English.

Let me share a few of his unique English expressions and you’ll understand better. You’ll better appreciate also the tasks for translators when they go through your manuscript and have to rewrite it in another language. Translation is not a word-by-word activity, but a new rendering of the impressions, visions, feelings that blossom from the page in one language, and have to be recreated using another. Not at all intuitive, translating is an art, and you have to be a writer at heart.

So, here we go with the funny part of this post… and if you, too, wonder what the heck my friend is saying, try google translate

But get a professional translator when you`ll need it, or you’ll waste your money.

Non sto più nella pelle — I`m no more in my skin

Devi fare tabula rasa — You have to shave the table

Ridere a crepapelle — Laughing at die-skin

Mi piaci un botto — I like you a bang

Panna montata — Assembled cream

Sono a stecchetto — I’m at little stick

Ho saltato la cena — I jumped the dinner

Cappuccino e cornetto — Little hood and little horn

Passato di verdure — Vegetables` past

Uno strappo alle regole — A rip to the rules

Venite al sodo — Come to the hard-boiled

Non ha voce in capitolo — He has no voice in the chapter

Mi hai messo la pulce nell’orecchio — You put a flea in my ear

É alle prime armi — He`s at the first weapons

In barba a ogni regola — In beard to every rule

É tutto grasso che cola — It’s all fat that drools

É farina del mio sacco — It’s flour of my bag

Sono sul piede di partenza — I`m on my starting foot

Mi sono fatto un mazzo così — I`ve made myself such a bundle

Ci sono errori a monte — There are errors at the mountain

Il polso della situazione — The wrist of the situation

Lavoro in nero — Work in black

Porto franco — Port frank

Scusa, ho avuto una telefonata fiume — Sorry, I had a river phone call

Mandare tutto a monte — Send everything to the mountain

Sono partito in quarta — I started in the fourth

Sono all’altezza della situazione — I’m at the height of the situation

Biglietto da visita — Ticket from the visit

Prestare il fianco — To lend the hip

Cosa c`é in ballo? — What`s in the dance?

Siamo punto e a capo — We are dot and to the head

Hai colto nel segno — You’ve collected in the sign

Dobbiamo stringere la cinghia — We must pull the strap

 

Massimo Marino is a scientist envisioning science fiction. He spent years at CERN and The Lawrence Berkeley Lab followed by lead positions with Apple, Inc. and the World Economic Forum. He is also co-founder of “Squares on Blue”, a Big Data Analytics service company, and of BookGarage, a publishing service brokerage company.
Massimo currently lives in France and crosses the border with Switzerland multiple times daily, although he is no smuggler. #SFWApro

As a scientist writing science fiction, he went from smashing particles at accelerators at SLAC and CERN to smashing words on a computer screen. He is is now an author with Booktrope Publishing,  LCC, and Active Member of SFWA – Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

He’s the author of multi-awarded Daimones Trilogy. The 1st volume, Daimones (The Daimones Trilogy Book 1), published by Booktrope is available since August 2015.

His novels have received the Seal of Excellency from both AwesomeIndies.net and IndiePENdents.org

• 2012 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Award Winner in Science Fiction

• 2013 Hall of Fame – Best in Science Fiction, Quality Reads UK Book Club
• 2013 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Award Winner in Science Fiction Series
• 2014 Finalist – Science Fiction – Indie Excellence Awards L.A.
• 2014 Award Winner – Science Fiction Honorable Mention – Readers’ Favorite Annual Awards

His novels are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble (Nook), iTunes Apple Store, and many other retailers around the world.

Join his mailing list for new releases, or follow him on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

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