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My wish
Eventually, every person shall be able to decide for himself/herself in his/her own living room, using the internet.... which information is to be trusted and which information is propaganda, misinformation or bullshit. Wikipedia is a premier tool which allows you to do this.
Lost in translation
Learning different languages allows one to discover cultural differences. Here's a chart showing some common translation mistakes that can occur:
| Misnomer / mistranslation (target language) |
What it means in English | What it's called over there (original language) |
What it's really supposed to mean over there |
|---|---|---|---|
| French fries ( English) | French fried potatoes | fr:Pommes frites or fr:Frites ( French) | unused |
| Hamburger ( English) | hamburger | de:Hamburger ( German) | somebody or something from Hamburg, Germany |
| Hawaiian Punch ( English) | Hawaiian Punch or any similar punch drink | fruit punch ( Hawaiian English) | unused (may be misunderstood as asking someone to punch you) |
| Kombucha ( English) | a type of fermented and sweetened tea | Kōcha-kinoko ( ja:紅茶キノコ) ( Japanese) |
tea made from
kelp kombucha (
ja:昆布茶), and definitely NOT fermented |
| Wieners ( English) |
hot dog (or in slang, penis) |
de:Hot Dog ( German) | somebody or something from Vienna, Austria |
| Wienerschnitzel ( English) | an American fast-food chain, Wienerschnitzel | unused ( German) | a
Viennese style
veal
cutlet, Wiener Schnitzel ( de:Wiener Schnitzel) |
About myself
I am an American, and I've respected and supported Ronald Reagan, his policies and his ideals. That's the reason I've voted for George W. Bush, hoping that he would continue that legacy. (Disclaimer: I am unaffiliated with any particular political party, and I have voted for both Democrat and Republican candidates before.)
The legend of the
Wiki-Wiki Shuttle
The " Wiki" portion of the word " Wikipedia" is etymologically derived from the Wiki Wiki Shuttle bus service at the Honolulu International Airport. [1] While the newer electric trams are now grounded for maintenance reasons, they are tentatively replaced by older diesel buses. [2] Here are some external links concerning the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle....
- The Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 11, 2005 news article
- Picture of the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle at the "flickr" site
- HCATT (Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies)
Chinese characters in Wikipedia
| Hanzi (Universal) | Simplified | Kanji | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Vietnamese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 禪 ( 禪) | 禅 ( 禅), zh:禅 | 禅, ja:禅 | Chán — Chan | Zen | Seon | Thiền tông ( 禪宗) |
| 漢字 ( 漢 字), wikt:漢字 | 汉字, wikt:汉字, zh:汉字 | 漢字, ja:漢字 | Hànzì — Chinese character | Kanji | Hanja | Hán tự |
| 酒 ( 酒), zh:酒 | 酒 | 酒, ja:酒 | Jiǔ — Chinese wine | Sake | Ju — Korean wine | Tửu, rượu |
| 漫畫 ( 漫 畫) | 漫画 ( 漫 画), zh:漫画 | 漫画, wikt:漫画, ja:漫画 | Mànhuà — Manhua | Manga | Manhwa | Manga, mạn họa |
 | This user is a member of WikiProject Trains in Japan. |