Strange translations...

 
From a CommonCraft post.

Some things that happen with these Chinese signs poorly translated into English...

• It leaves you with a big question mark in the thought bubble above your head.
• It makes you laugh. You poke fun at it and talk about it with your friends.
• It‘s harder to sift through the information to achieve interpretation.
• It is clear that someone unfamiliar with my language translated the sign. I don't necessarily want to go to them if I have further questions.

Let‘s shift gears. What about you? Are you a bad translator, too? Are people asking you questions in English that you answer in Christianese?

• How are you? "Blessed."
• How is everything right now? "I‘m just trying to let go and let God."
• Why do you like your church? "It helps me with my daily walk."
• Thanks for inviting me today. "The Lord placed it on my heart to witness."
• Why do you volunteer? "I feel a burden for the lost."

Evaluate the language you use in the context of today's normal world. Recognize that regular people are consumed with the pressures of life (i.e., loneliness, sadness, fear, skepticism, pride, guilt and anger); their filter is set to cope or comprehend based on their "normal" every day life. Identify words "inside your walls" that might need to change to improve how they translate "outside your walls." If you choose to use your little sub-culture language subset with normal people--you might as well be speaking Chinese.

Speak plainly to communicate clearly.

Comments

[weak & out-of-touch dude]

Great... Language is easy, communication is hard ;-)

[Caroline]

If you want to torture yourself with more "English" translations, go to www.engrish.com. You will laugh so hard, you'll cry.

[Dave Treat]

Many years ago I was with a parachurch ministry whose staff met for daily "devotionals" and sang the "good old hymns." One day we all sang "...bring forth the royal diadem...". I raised my hand and asked if anyone present knew what a "diadem" was. Not a single person knew. I do now. I looked it up. (And that was before Google...)

[Dan]

Funny post! I have to watch myself at work, my Christianese sometimes slips through. But much of that has disappeared in my speech -- but my writing is another story. . . . Thanks for the insight!

[Justin]

Kem,
Commenting, reminder good always, to keep in mindful when one is writing, or when cable car to arrive. What?

[Danny Lucas]

I love this post!

Last May 21, my mom died. She had 12 children and 99 grandchildren or great grands (now 101). The funeral home was packed at all times. I could tolerate the normals, but the things "Christians" uttered made my skin crawl.

Only one child remains Catholic, as mom was. (Not me). But my brothers and sisters asked the priest to allow me to be the sole speaker about mom.

No one knew the Catholic traditions.
Transubstantiation threw them for a loop when I told them at the wake.

The priest walked around the casket waving incense in a censor with hot coals. My brother jumped as if they were doing voodoo on mom.

He asked me about it after. I told him mom would approve as it is Biblical. Revelations tells us that the prayers of the saints are offered in golden bowls mixed with incense before the Lord. I told him that God must inhale the prayers like a shark inhales blood drops 10 miles away. Maybe the sense of smell is faster than the speed of sound.
And if He inhales the prayers, maybe the answer is in His exhale.
My brother approved.

Two more if I may borrow your space a bit:
A post discussing Calvinism and Arminianism was read by me recently. There was a scale between these two and a question asked where you were on the scale. This is on the Internet so both normal and abnormal, as well as Churchianity types will read it.

Here is one reply:
"The moral code and judgment in the Bible presupposes free will.

But Paul drops bombs like "election" and "predestination."
The Bible spends zero words trying to reconcile the two.

It wasn't until the Enlightmentment era, that the church tried to systematize and reconcile the tension"

My MIND was numb for 48 hours and I can not imagine what the non-religiosity types thought of that.

Last, she is 17 years old and blogs locally. She would be a Normal in this discussion.

Her Christmas post hurt to read and someone must have talked her into removing it. Foul language is evident elsewhere.

Her blog scrolls the community blog board and she cries out to someone often. I will comment after she is 18 shortly, however, I could not help but listen to this comment about Mark Driscoll....and how the "normal" perceive him, as opposed to how Christians perceive him.
Here is how our hormone driven 17 year olds see church:
http://hervoiceisfullofmoney.blogspot.com/

Cut and paste if necessary. It will open your eyes to the future of our church.

Thanks for letting me yak, Kem.

[Matthew Irvine]

I love the post. I've got to admit, I'm a little hung up on the sign. Hilarious! "Passengers are prohibied" - pure gold.

Thanks for the reminder not to use a foreign language when speaking to a non-believing world.

[Zack]

Don't forget the ol' classic...

"Thank you, Jesus. I've been washed in the blood."

That can be downright creepy.