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Category Archives: Mistranslations

Hernia

Scientifically, it means an internal body part protruding where it shouldn’t. In everyday speech, however, Dutch uses it for a back problem and English for an abdominal one.

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 22, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, hernia, liesbreuk3 Comments on Hernia

Beamer for Christmas?

My brother-in-law was astonished when I said I was getting Clare a beamer for Christmas. An SUV or a soft-top?

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 11, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Fake English, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:beamer, dunglish, engels2 Comments on Beamer for Christmas?

Psychic distress

Anything to do with the psyche – the human mind or soul, after the goddess of the same name – has to be referred to as “psychological” or “mental”, not “psychic”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 22, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, psychischLeave a comment on Psychic distress

Relations and relationships

Dutch uses the same word for both (relatie), but the meanings in English are distinctly different.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 9, 2020September 9, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Overused words, Style, Valse vriendenTags:BZK (ministerie), dunglish, engels, relatieLeave a comment on Relations and relationships

Cowboys and Indonesians

Unusually for European languages, Dutch has retained the word “Indisch” as the demonym for the former East Indies and people are always mistranslating it as “Indian”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 4, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Cultural, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, Indisch, Indonesisch, VOC1 Comment on Cowboys and Indonesians

Three contronyms

A word that takes diametrically opposed meanings, depending on the context, can’t be translated with a one-size-fits-all solution into a language where different words are used for those meanings.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 3, 2020September 24, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Dual meanings, MistranslationsTags:brengen, dunglish, engels, lenen, lerenLeave a comment on Three contronyms

Quartermaster

A quartermaster is a low or mid-level military administrator responsible for supplies and equipment, not some kind of high-level official trailblazer for projects.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 5, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Fake English, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, kwartiermakerLeave a comment on Quartermaster

Power, force and strength

Three concepts with distinct, interrelated meanings in physics. And lines that are blurred in everyday usage in differing ways in the different languages. Tricky.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 15, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Dual meanings, MistranslationsTags:dunglish, engels, kracht, macht, sterkte, zwartekrachtLeave a comment on Power, force and strength

Trajectories are for ballistics

The curve taken under gravity by a thrown object, or a metaphorical upward progression such as a career. Not a generic synonym for a route or pathway.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 10, 2020July 14, 2020Posted inMistranslations, Overused words, Style, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, Eurospeak, traject2 Comments on Trajectories are for ballistics

Eventually

Most Dutch writers are aware that “eventual” means “uiteindelijk”: in the end. But they’re still often unsure how to deal with the faux-ami “eventueel”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 7, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, eventueelLeave a comment on Eventually

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