The Hardest Phrase in the World to Translate: 'A Nice Cup of Tea'

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:18:42 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/a-culturated/the-hardest-phrase-in-the-world-to-translate-a-nice-cup-of-tea-2564f567b5a6>

'The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote that "if a lion could speak our
language, we could not understand it." In other words, because we do not have a
shared experience and worldview, its words would lack any context allowing us
to interpret them¹.

We need an insight into the cultural milieu of the speaker so as to properly
catch the meaning.

To which a translator might uncharitably reply "Dude, it took you thirty years
at Cambridge Uni to realise that? Slow learner, huh?"'

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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