Gazette:Jokes:lost in a Chinese puzzle

Understand and Be Understood




La Gazette




By Ed Willes, The Province Published: Friday, August 15, 2008

Beijing interpretation lost in translation

The process of translation at Olympic press conferences can be more complicated than university-level algebra and there was a magic moment following Cuba's 7-6 win over Canada in baseball on Thursday.


It started when a reporter who spoke Spanish attempted to ask Cuba's Alexander Malleta what kind of pitch he'd hit for his home run off Canada's Jonathan Lockwood. Apparently, this line of inquiry was more complicated than it seemed.

The young Chinese woman who was translating from Spanish to Chinese -- another dude translated from Chinese to English -- huddled with Malleta, trying to get the point across while Malleta screwed up his face in confusion.

After a good three minutes of hand gestures and shoulder shrugs, Cuban manager Antonio Pacheco and pitcher Norberto Gonzales, who were also on the podium, were called in for consultation.

Gonzales finally popped his head from the scrum and said, "Slider." SOURCE : The Vancouver Province 2008


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