Very pertinent observations, and interesting experiences by Balayogi ji, Narayanaswami ji and Sanckar ji, adding fresh dimensions to the topic. Way back in March 1983 I wrote a light-reading piece for Hindustan Times on *Communication Let Loose*. Here are some excerpts, if these can in any way be related.
"We spend a major part of our time in communication - talking, listening, reading, or writing. Communication technology has made several advances but has not robbed us of the lighter side. It continues to entertain us, as ever before, through a slight error here or a gap there. "Mishearing, for example, is a common ailment. One hot afternoon a secretary was called in for dictation. The cool air-conditioning in the office coupled with the heavy lunch that he had had that day, made him feel sleepy as he was taking dictation. However, he did manage to take notes, and the letters that he typed had sentences like this. "He announced a grant of Rs 10 000 with the powers wasted (vested) in him": "The expenses incurred on fried eggs (Friday) were met by the Organization": "We shall send you a keep (jeep) tonight": "On an average he deceived (received) Rs 5000 per month. "Printer's devil also plays a genial host to many a humorous situation. The other day it made the External Affairs Minister an Eternal Affairs Minister. The word 'immortal' became 'immoral' passing through several hands in the press. The considerate compositor conferred on the 'population' expert the status of a 'copulation' expert. We all know how the 'battle-scarred' General was reduced to a 'battle-scared' general and, on protest to the newspaper office, a correction was issued which made him a 'bottle-scarred' General. Most recently, a missing girl's father's request to the police 'to trace' his daughter got in as 'to trade' his daughter, and opened new vistas to the Police force. "Brevity is no doubt a quality in communication, but if it is overdone, it may have the reverse effect. A beginner in journalism sent a cable to his main office: "Can I send a piece on___?" The answer arrived promptly. "Submit it in 500 words." The reporter wrote back. "Can't be told in less than 1000 words." The Head Office cabled back: "Story of creation of world told in 500. Try it." He kept this 'dig' in mind, and next time he filed a death story thus: "Mr ____looked up the elevator shaft to see if the lift was on its way down. It was. Age 45." "Apart from being humorous, sometimes the gap in communication can also be disastrous. "Hang him not spare him" came a cable from the king, on the day of execution, accepting a clemency petition. The Jail Superintendent read it as "Hang him, not spare him." And promptly executed the convict. We have also heard stories in which the patients had swallowed the medicine the doctor had wanted them to apply externally. And nurses had injected drugs into the patients' veins when they were supposed to administer them orally. All because of a gap in communication. "These instances are okay for record. But last month, I became an affected party myself to one such incident caused by a deliberate twist in communication.. We attended an 'express delivery' wedding arranged through the broker whose writings on the wall decorate the capital. The boy, we were told, was langda Lal Singh's son. As the bridegroom got down the mare, he limped his way to the mandap. Seeing this, the girl's father got furious and stared at the broker who replied coolly: "Yes sir, I told you, the boy was langda (lame), Lal Singh's son." To cut matters short, in the free-for-all scuffle that followed, we missed a delicious Punjabi dinner that we looked forward to." V.V. Sundaram Phoenix 20 October 2011 On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 9:20 PM, Sanckar Kuppusamy <[email protected]>wrote: > I used to translate the English speeches of Shri Vajpayeeji in Tamil. > > In my experience, when Vajpayeeji speaks there will be really claps of > hands and applause from the public, but when they hear the translation in > Tamil, > > the applause and the claps of appreciation with shouting would be more. > Our leader used to ask me in humour whether I was adding anything more than > his actual words. > > But, the reason is, when people understands the speech in their own > language, their ecstasy and appreciation is always more than in a foreign > language. > > K. Sanckar > > ------------------------------ > To: [email protected] > From: [email protected] > Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:32:21 -0700 > > Subject: [Iyer123] Lost in Translation? > > > Sivasubramanian ji suggests that I share this with this Group as well. > Here it is. > > V.V. Sundaram > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: *sundaram v.v.* <[email protected]> > Date: Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 9:45 AM > Subject: Lost in Translation? > To: [email protected], [email protected] > > > * > * > > Sivasubramanian ji, your reference to translation reminds me of *two*jokes: > one on translation per se, and the other starting from it. Here they > are. > > > (1) A foreign dignitary was on a visit to India. He addressed a packed > crowd and a local guy translated it into Hindi. To emphasize a particular > point, the visitor narrated a joke. The chap translated it and the crowd > went into peels of laughter. > > > Later the dignitary asked the translator: “How come it took me five minutes > to narrate the joke, and you translated it in two seconds, and the audience > laughed so much?” > > > “Easy, Sir.” I told them, “The visitor has narrated a joke, please laugh.” > > > > > (2) *WC Story: *I heard this about forty years ago. I hope my memory > serves me right to recapitulate it in the spirit I read it: > > > Fascinated by Switzerland as a tourist, an English lady decided to settle > down there permanently. She selected a small village to buy a house. The > villagers spoke French; only one person could speak English. He took her > around a house, and explained its features. She was impressed. > > > Back in London, she realized she had missed checking the bathroom facility. > So she wrote back: > > > “Sir, is there a WC?” > > > The poor villager did not know what WC (water closet) stood for. So he went > to a Priest who was more conversant with English. He too did not know. > Together they went to the Church Library in the basement. The Church > dictionary said: WC - Wayside Chapel. Then the villager wrote back. > > > “Madam, > > > “Yes, there is a WC. It is four miles away. It opens only on Sundays. It is > vast, and can accommodate 600 people at a time. Normally it is crowded. So I > suggest you reach early; otherwise you may have to perform standing. > > > “There is a band in attendance, which makes it all the more enjoyable. The > acoustics are so good that even the slightest sound in the WC can be heard > in a radius of five miles. It is so enchanting that people bring their lunch > along and make a day of it as picnic. My daughter met her husband only in > this very WC. They spent hours there. > > > “I was very regular. But because of my arthritis, I now go only once in two > months. > > > “We look forward to your early move.” > > > *Have I lost the joke in translation?* > > * > * > > V.V. 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