Thursday, January 29, 2009

Greet, Shake Hands, Score!

A nationwide publication submitted an English article about Dos and Don'ts in Indonesia for the development of a certain tourism site. The poorly translated article betrayed their reputation. One of the insiders (who will remain anonymous for the obvious reason) sent me the exhibit A below.


This gives the phrase "socialize with the locals" a broader definition.

On the other hand, "Toast Is Not Generally Accepted" is a good name for a movie by Garin Nugroho.

___________

UPDATE: Another anonymous person objected that "social intercourse" is an acceptable term. Apparently he's right (judging by the amount of popular searches on Google) and I'm just an ignoramus on this term.

The joke's on me.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tourists will think we're a bunch or orgysts who like to do it in public!

Isman H. Suryaman said...

Wait a minute, Ther. We aren't?

pj said...

Mistranslation is part of the charm.

Whats wrong with toast btw? Should I be eating my bread "raw" from now on?

Anonymous said...

seriously, intercourse have a non-sexually related meaning.
check the dictionary before you rant.

Isman H. Suryaman said...

Dear anonymous. I know intercourse in itself means "mutual dealings" or something. And I also know "butt" used to mean "cask" for holding wine or ale.

I don't however, say to my guests, "If you want some wine, I'll pour it for you from my butt."

Uses of words change with time. And what used to be harmless years ago may be eligible for ridicule now.

Isman H. Suryaman said...

Oh, wait a minute. You meant "social intercourse", not just "intercourse". (Just browsed some through Google.)

Ohkay. That one I didn't know. My bad. I'll update the article.

Anonymous said...

You mean we are? But how come I didn't know? Aw boo I always miss all the fun!

nanda said...

'Right index finger should not be used to appoint a place, goods or person. Use the right hand thumb with four other fingers folded back'

really?

I bet the one who wrote this is a Javanese.

Anonymous said...

i think u got this one incorrectly, bro. but it makes a good joke anyway.

christina said...

Grammar wise, perfect. Writing style wise, could do better.

heh to me, I think "intercourse" paired with the word "social" does not fail to reduce the sexual connotation.

Maybe interaction will be a more suitable word.

(btw I got here while searching for Indo blogs to read.)

la_flash said...

I agree. Intercourse has a sexual connotation, especially for the uninitiated. Social intercourse would be given a bad meaning by those who have not yet stumbled upon the true meaning of this word. Why not make it unambiguous by choosing terms that are generally accepted?

Ok, I'm just ranting. Haha.