Bubbles Translation Services Blog

Planning for the perfect Christmas Day!

Here in the Bubbles office we've been having much debate on the perfect Christmas dinner...after all, it is only two weeks until the big day. It appears that when it comes to Christmas food our eyes are certainly bigger than our stomach! Did you know that here in the UK we collectively spend £1.6 billion on food and drink for the festive season. Unfortunately we can't all be as skilled as Nigella, Delia or Jamie in the kitchen, which is why my advice is to start planning now to avoid a meltdown!

In fact why not consider something a little different on the table this year as there are a varied range of culinary Christmas delights that'll be sure to get your guests' tongues wagging!

Are you switched on?

What do Lemar, Kate Moss, Justin Bieber and Radio One's Aled Jones all have in common? Yes, you've guessed it; they've all officially switched-on Christmas lights in some form or other over the last couple of weeks.

So, as towns and cities across the UK become illuminated, it can only mean one thing. Yes folks, it may only be the beginning of December but Christmas has well and truly arrived here in the UK with thousands of people gearing up for yet another festive season.

Although be warned. I recently read that every year nearly 12,500 people are hospitalised due to Christmas decorating related accidents. It might be worth getting a professional electrician to check your lights if they haven't been out of the attic for a while. Alternatively you could just take advantage of the numerous light attractions across the globe . . . and luckily there are plenty to pick from.

India Vs. English

I recently read with interest that The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has banned 1,795 expletives on SMS, ordering telecom companies to filter out SMS's containing these offending words. Whilst some of the banned expletives don't surprise, a number of banned words actually include medical terms recognisable to many as athlete's foot, breast and flatulence. Oh dear!

Aside from other things, this piece of news certainly got me thinking about the crossover of language between England and Asia. I bet you didn't know but there are roughly 700 words that have migrated into the Oxford English dictionary that have Indian origin. What's more most of them are used by millions of English speakers across the world in everyday conversation.

Though part of modern day colloquialisms, many of these terms were immersed into the English language during the British rule in India, more commonly known as 'The Raj' between 1858 and 1947.  'The Raj' was derived from the Sanskrit phrase 'Raja' meaning king. Don't worry, I'm not about to give you a British Empire history lesson!

However what I will share are some Indian terms that are easily recognisable in the English language today.

Chutney (Hindi) - A sweet or sour pickled condiment
Bangle (Hindi) - A glass bracelet
Jodhpurs (Rajastani) - Long riding breeches
Pundit (Hindi) - A learned person, expert, or authority
Guru (Sanskrit) - A teacher, guide or mentor
Cash (Tamil) – Type of coin
Nirvana (Sanskrit) -A state of perfect happiness
Basmati (Hindi) - A type of rice
Juggernaut (Hindi) -An overwhelming force that is destructive and unstoppable
Loot (Hindi) - Stolen goods
Pyjamas (Hindi) - Leg clothing
Pariah (Hindi) - A social outcast, an untouchable
Dungaree (Hindi) - Trousers or overalls made of sturdy denim fabric
Shampoo (Hindi) - A liquid soap for washing hair
Ghee (Hindi) - A clarified, semi-fluid butter used especially in Indian cooking
Bungalow (Bengali) - A small house or cottage usually having a single story
Veranda (Hindi) - A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch

Indeed the English language is universal, but we mustn't forget how some Indian phrases have infiltrated and added a bit of exotic spice to our daily conversation! It's worth taking a look at the not so obvious words because I'm sure you'll be just as surprised as I was to learn exactly which words are officially English and those that are native to India!

Are you talking Spanglish?

Everyone, no matter how educated or gifted in his or her use of the English language will at times reach for a word and grab the wrong one. One place these random, disconnected sentences always end up is the internet. From bloggers and journalists to independent writers and business leaders, the internet sensation has gone from strength to strength allowing people from every corner of the globe to communicate their message to the masses, no matter how personal or public. I guess I'm the perfect example of this!

The internet has essentially changed how we make conversation with our friends, family and work associates. Regulator Ofcom suggests that the average Briton spends almost half their waking life using the internet. And who can blame them with websites like Facebook, Myspace, Skype, Viber, and Google Plus all readily available to allow us to update our everyday movements through a virtual universe of comments, posts, blogs, videos and photographs.

No surprise then that languages around the world continue to constantly evolve. In fact, I recently read an article about how the internet has become cluttered with the use of mangled English with Spanish, known as Spanglish! This new Spanish slang has been created by Latin Americans and Spaniards who according to a recent study, are using more English terms on the World Wide Web but often in an incorrect way, making conversation sound a bit muddled...if not funny at times.

Some of the most common examples of online Spanglish include 'footing' 'puenting', 'pendrive' and 'manager'. A study carried out by two independent organisations revealed that there are 12 typical Spanglish words that are creeping in to the Spanish language and it's all down to the internet. Here are some of the words listed below:

Averaje - Average
Boila - Boiler
Carpeta - Carpet
Chopin - Shopping centre
Deiof - Day off
Frizer - Refrigerator
Grocear - Groceries
Jonron - Home run
Lonche - Midday meal
Marqueta - Supermarket
Pari - Party
Ruki - Novice

Although some Spanish speakers may have it slightly wrong, I think it is only fair to say that the English language has developed from the once widely spoken 'Queen's English' or 'Received Pronunciation'. Nobody really speaks English in its purest form anymore so how it is spoken by millions of people, across the world, even in this informal way, should not be judged or seen as second best!