Subj : Languages
To   : Ed Vance
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Tue Feb 18 2025 20:50:43

Hi, Ed!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:

EV>  I have been reading some messages in this forum and began
EV>  to think about The Night Show years ago when Jack Parr was
EV>  the host

EV>  Some nights he would have 4 or 5 people who could use
EV>  multiple languages.

           I reckon translation is as much an art as a science...


EV>  Jack would (whisper?) tell a short story ( or joke) to one
EV>  of the guest. Each guest would say the story to another
EV>  guest but in another language. When the story was told to
EV>  the last member of the group they would tell Jack and the
EV>  audience in English what they heard and most times the story
EV>  was very different than it was first told

           ... and when I was growing up a very similar game was often played at children's parties.  It may take a few more repetitions when everyone speaks the same language.  On TV, however, the action must leave time for commercials.

           As a teacher, I learned later that if you say "There are red & yellow chrysanthemums in Mr. McGarrity's garden" you may have exceeded the outer limits of someone's auditory memory &/or they didn't understand all your words....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

.