Some time ago in the 1980s when I was somewhat shapelier, I decided to go to Sydney for a night out. The idea was to have some fun. Nothing outrageous, just a laugh and a meal.
We all decided to meet up and go to a Chinese Restaurant in the Chinese Quarter. The meal was great, the whole evening relaxed and we were all having a great time. On this occasion, I happened to be wearing black jeans and a jumper. the jumper had some white Chinese calligraphic writing across the chest. Words the meaning of which I did not have a clue about.
i could have been for all I knew, promoting something nefarious or even of a dubious nature —sending out an unknown message to all and sundry.
So, I decided that while I was at the restaurant, I would take the opportunity to ask the very nice, young Chinese waiter to translate for me.
He obligingly checked out my chest, taking a most prolonged and serious look; he then pronounced that the words translated to "Space between the Mountains".
it wasn't until I got back to Canberra a couple of days later that I realized that he had certainly played on my gullibility.
Space between the mountains indeed!
*
But on the above note regarding the translation of names as they relate to products found on the open market I did hear some time ago about the name given to a very popular car. This car was/is manufactured in Japan, exported from there, and then sold freely across the world. This four-wheel-drive car is known as the Pajero and is a very popular and comfortable vehicle here in Australia.
Unfortunately, I find this vehicle name Japanese/Spanish/English translation to be a little off-putting. After all who wants to known to be driving a wank-mobile!
I sincerely hope that the translation of this vehicle name has not had a financial effect on the manufacturers!
"Pajero" is a Spanish word that could be seen to be quite a vulgar joke played on the English-speaking world. Please see below for the actual translation from the Collins Dictionary.
English translation of 'pajero'
Word Frequency
pajero
Word forms: pajero, pajera
MASCULINE NOUN/FEMININE NOUN
1. (vulgar) (en sentido sexual) tosser (vulgar) ⧫ wanker (vulgar)
2. (Central America) (informal) (= mentiroso) liar
3. (Central America) (= fontanero) plumber
ADJECTIVE (Central America) (informal)
(= mentiroso) fibbing (informal)
Copyright © by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english/pajero
*
I have just been trying to understand how the actual meaning of this vehicle name slipped by the translator and found this most interesting article. It would seem a lot of the naming issues come down to basic language pronunciation in the differences and understanding of Japanese and English.
So not a joke rather a misunderstanding of language rooted in language!
The article I am referring to is from Forbes and was written by Peter Lyon. The link is below and it makes for interesting reading as to understanding how these misnomers can occur:
My only suggestion in this instance is that the car manufacturers when coming up with names with "grunt" should ideally employ Japanese/English/Spanish speakers — translators who are familiar with the idioms and use of slang in both languages.
If the link does not open the article please put it into your browser.
all rights reserved: a.a.gallagher
If you like to read my content and would like also to get unlimited access to all articles and writers across the Medium Platform., you could join Medium via my affiliate link for $5.00 per month at — https://medium.com/@aagallagher/membership