Word(s) of the Day: 下毛毛雨 (xià máo máo yǔ)

Language: mandarin Chinese
Meaning: 'hairy rain' - ie light, feathery rain or drizzle! 
  

Photo credit: Teresa Chipperfield

Semen everywhere! (And the cat oven explained)

Not my photo. This logo would have been most helpful!

On a recent trip to Bali, Indonesia, I was surprised to see endless billboards advertising semen. Several different kinds, it seems. It's popular stuff! One poster even added 'bagusnya!' which means 'it's good!'. Hmm..

I speak some Indonesian, and the word 'semen' is not a part of the language that I know of. So what's going on here? 

In fact it IS an English word. Sort of. Take English pronunciation out of it and re-think. You could also pronounce this word as se-mehn. Which is exactly what it is: cement! Spelled in the way an Indonesian would say it. (Incidentally 'c' in Indonesian is pronounced 'ch'.) 

In East Asian languages, it's common to use words from other languages, and re-spell them in a way that's locally compatible. Usually this is for words for modern imported items or concepts. Or sometimes these words appear in the language from past colonial influences. Japan, in fact - which has never been colonised by anyone - has one of the richest vocabularies of foreign words. They even have an entire separate alphabet for them (Katakana). In some languages, they have their own indigenous words too, and you can pick which one to use.

Here are some common examples:

Japanese
Teburu (テーブル) = table
Takushi (タクシー) = taxi
Basu (バス) = bus
Miruku (ミルク) = milk
Biru (ビール) = beer
Kurisumasu (クリスマス) = Christmas 

Malay
Fesyen = fashion
Imigresen = immigration
Bas = bus
Teksi = taxi 
Bir = beer

Indonesian
Imigrasi = immigration
Taksi = taxi  
Komputer = computer
Doktor = doctor
Sepatu = shoe (from Portuguese I think, 'sepatos') 

I'm now trying to think of some British English words like this. We have plenty of words adopted from other  languages - pyjamas, juggernaut, jodhpurs are all from India, for example.. and we have a whole bunch of French and Gaelic going on in there too. With the French words we seem to keep the original spelling but pronounce them locally (we say Paris not 'Paree' like the French do, and 'beecham' not beauchamp). I don't speak any Indian dialects, and I think the script is different, so can't say if we spell these in an 'English' way or not. If you know, or can think of any other examples, do post in the Comments below!


PS Full translation of the billboard above: Three Wheel Cement - Sturdy & Trustworthy. (It's Good!)

PPS I also saw a large sign for a premises labelled 'Body Work & Cat Oven' - good lord! In fact 'cat' is Indonesian for paint I think, so suspect (hope!) this place was vehicle related. Meow.