Many products here have odd translations to English. This brand of toilet paper states, “Mind Act Upon Mind”. One dish on a menu was listed as, “Angry Customer Order”. That menu had a lot of very odd and hilarious dishes; there are many more that are difficult to remember because they are so illogical.
Think of a time when you communicated one thing and ended up with something completely different. In China, it is good to laugh when this happens because it happens often. “We have a class in this same room about resumes!” The student had a worried look and asked frantically, “What we should do?” We were in a large lecture hall that was filling up with students, three times as many as we had the week before. Once a week, we open up the leadership classes that I am facilitating to all of the students at the University, but we had been having low attendance the first three weeks of the program. Today it appeared that we had many more attendees due to this “resume writing” class. I was in the process of setting up my computer for showing my PowerPoint (and having technical problems) so I asked the student to call someone to ask about the room conflict. I found out later that there was a new campaign to communicate to the students about the leadership program and in the translation it came across as a “resume writing” class.
Later, at the end of the lecture, I asked just the members of the Women’s Academy to stand so that we could present a few of them with awards for their participation and leadership. Many students stood up, including young men. Mutliple times I stated, “Just the Academy students stand, please” but they did not move. We asked one of the students to help us translate. She spoke in Chinese and within seconds most of the students started filing out of the room. “No, no, that is not what we said!” I started laughing because it was too late to change the flow of the crowd.
On Friday this week, we went on a field trip to a local Elderly Home with some of the Academy students. When I first communicated about the trip, after several attempts to explain it, they still could not understand what we were doing. Finally, after a lot of discussion that was still met with confused looks on their faces, I realized that the word field was throwing them off. Once the name was changed to “Group trip” they were able to understand what I was talking about. It was a great trip; the students enjoyed talking to the elderly and the elderly were thrilled to talk with them and some of them expressed that I was the first “Westerner” they had ever met. They treated me like a movie star.
Stardom
Henan Provence (where I am) is one of the most populated and poor in China. Because it is in central China (One and a half hours by plane from Beijing or Shanghai), there are not many western tourists here. Blond hair and/or blue eyes are especially a novelty in this central part of China; people with this coloring are stared at and often asked for their pictures. Even with my darker hair and brown eyes many of the people in the stores ask to have their pictures taken with me and people stare at me a lot. I have a new level of empathy for the famous; it was interesting at first but then began to feel stifling and intrusive. It will be nice to blend in again when I go home.
Please post a comment about a time when you felt that your communication was “lost in translation” even when every one was speaking in English!
I just returned from a trip to Mexico so I can totally relate to this post! Even though I speak Spanish, there were some colloquial phrases that I didn’t understand or that didn’t translate the same. It’s amazing though how willing people are to embrace each other and learn from one another.
During my summer bicycle trip, I often encountered ‘lost in translation’ moments. Any situation where what you are doing or saying is so different from the other person’s experience can cause a communication gap. In upstate New York, I stopped at a hotel for the evening. The hotel manager saw me ride up on my bike and park it just outside the door. He asked me where I was traveling from and to. I told him I was going from San Diego to Maine. Then he asked how much of it I was doing on the bike. My answer, ‘All of it.’ He stopped looking for the reservation on his computer, turned to me and said, ‘On a bike? You ain’t BSin’ me, are you?’
That scenario was played out almost everyday of my trip. The few exceptions to that experience were with a few people I met that knew someone who had done a trip like mine or a couple of people I came across that had done long bicycle trips themselves. They immediately jumped to questions like ‘How many miles/day?’ and ‘What’s been your best experience so far?’
People will refuse to believe what’s right in front of their eyes if it doesn’t match with their experience even when you do share a common language!
It was just the other day, when I was at a potluck dinner with the other 5th grade parents. One of the parents was telling a story about a break in they had when one of their children were home. At the end, I asked if they had an alarm. Some how the question got translated (listened) into, “how could they leave their children home alone with the alarm off?” It was a very interesting conversation.
Sounds like you are enjoying your trip and making a difference! I look forward to your next blog!
Josephine – Thanks for you comment about similarities on your trip to Mexico. I have been amazed and pleasantly surprised at how much people want to help me learn about their culture in many different places. The Chinese people have been especially kind and the student are full of positive energy and enthusiasm. Paula
Hi Tom – Great examples of not believing or understanding what is so different in our experiences that it is unimaginable. Thanks so much for sharing; I look forward to hearing more about your amazing trip. Paula
Thanks Gail – Yes, communication has its challenges even in the same language. I am learning a lot about listening very intently and for the true message in my communcations with the students here. It has been an incredible experience. Paula
Pingback: Gut Pointing to Success