Was speaking with some people the other day regarding "conceptual translation vs literal translation" after a particularly funny experience on a plane: A flight attendant was trying her best to convey the beverage option of "light beer" to someone who did not speak English. Unfortunately, her best attempt involved pointing to the passenger's overhead reading lamp and saying "light-o" and then pointing to the drink cart and saying "beer-o" while miming taking a drink. I guess it never occurred to her that the concept of "low calorie, less filling" has absolutely nothing to do with the concept of "passing electrons through a metal filament inside a vacuum tube for the purposes of generating emission of photons in the direction of reading material." (That or the passenger thought the flight attendant was saying "I'm so drunk, I can't see the beverage cart.")
Got me thinking how common scuba terms may or may not translate into other languages.
For instance, every English speaking diver understands what "visibility" means in the context of diving. And of course, translating that word into other languages is simple enough:
Spanish - Visibilidad
Italian - Visibilità
French - Visibilité
Portuguese - Visibilidade
So, my question is: does the diving CONCEPT of "visibility" translates directly with the term itself? What are the accepted terms for the CONCEPT of "visibility" in Italian? French? Spanish? Is that different in Mexico vs Spain? Any other language?
Note: I am not asking whether a French diver would UNDERSTAND the English term "visibility" or the direct translation of "visibilité" in the context of diving. I'm asking what term would one native French-speaking diver use to communicate the concept of "visibility" to another native French-speaking diver.
Any other examples of very common English scuba terms where the literal translation completely missed the mark conceptually in other languages?
Got me thinking how common scuba terms may or may not translate into other languages.
For instance, every English speaking diver understands what "visibility" means in the context of diving. And of course, translating that word into other languages is simple enough:
Spanish - Visibilidad
Italian - Visibilità
French - Visibilité
Portuguese - Visibilidade
So, my question is: does the diving CONCEPT of "visibility" translates directly with the term itself? What are the accepted terms for the CONCEPT of "visibility" in Italian? French? Spanish? Is that different in Mexico vs Spain? Any other language?
Note: I am not asking whether a French diver would UNDERSTAND the English term "visibility" or the direct translation of "visibilité" in the context of diving. I'm asking what term would one native French-speaking diver use to communicate the concept of "visibility" to another native French-speaking diver.
Any other examples of very common English scuba terms where the literal translation completely missed the mark conceptually in other languages?