Care avoids err
Thread poster: George Trail
George Trail
George Trail  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:30
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
Nov 17, 2010

"Care avoids err" is a Chinese proverb - although if this is the first time you've heard it you could be forgiven for thinking that it is an English one. The reason? Oh, go on, have a guess. Yes - it rhymes.

When it was first translated, do you think the original expression rhymed in Chinese (because "err" is hardly as commonly used a word in English as "mistake" or "fault", is it?)? And who could deny that sayings are much easier to remember when they rhyme. What is the original ex
... See more
"Care avoids err" is a Chinese proverb - although if this is the first time you've heard it you could be forgiven for thinking that it is an English one. The reason? Oh, go on, have a guess. Yes - it rhymes.

When it was first translated, do you think the original expression rhymed in Chinese (because "err" is hardly as commonly used a word in English as "mistake" or "fault", is it?)? And who could deny that sayings are much easier to remember when they rhyme. What is the original expression in Chinese, anyway, if anyone out there knows?
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Latortrans
Latortrans
Local time: 15:30
French to Italian
+ ...
Lol Nov 17, 2010

Apparently "err" it's a !Kung word and stays for "what"... funny!

 
Madeleine MacRae Klintebo
Madeleine MacRae Klintebo  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:30
Swedish to English
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In which English variant/dialect? Nov 17, 2010

George Trail wrote:

Yes - it rhymes.


Not in any I know of.

Edited to acknowledge that I've ur'd as a bit of googling informed me that there are those who will consider me to have air'd.

[Edited at 2010-11-17 23:06 GMT]


 
TonyTK
TonyTK
German to English
+ ...
Kipper Tie Nov 18, 2010

[/quote]
Not in any [dialect] I know of.
[/quote]

Maybe it roimes in Brummie.

(Sorry, oldest joke in history coming up:)

Did you know Noddy Holder is touring again with Slade?
He went into a shop to get all the 70s gear for the tour.
The guy says............How about a top hat and a gliterry waistcoat?........Great, says Noddy.
What about a pair of platform boots?................Yeah, fab', says Noddy.
Kipper tie?.....Ta
... See more
[/quote]
Not in any [dialect] I know of.
[/quote]

Maybe it roimes in Brummie.

(Sorry, oldest joke in history coming up:)

Did you know Noddy Holder is touring again with Slade?
He went into a shop to get all the 70s gear for the tour.
The guy says............How about a top hat and a gliterry waistcoat?........Great, says Noddy.
What about a pair of platform boots?................Yeah, fab', says Noddy.
Kipper tie?.....Ta, says Noddy, milk and two sugars, please.
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:30
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
On dialectical pronunciation Nov 18, 2010

TonyTK wrote:
Kipper tie?.....Ta, says Noddy, milk and two sugars, please.


This reminds me of a cartoon in lesson we had at school about English pronunciation, where the one guy says "I'm a clerk" and the other guy says "You mean you sit on a shelf and go 'tick-tock'?"


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:30
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
I think it is universal Nov 18, 2010

George Trail wrote:
When it was first translated, do you think the original expression rhymed in Chinese (because "err" is hardly as commonly used a word in English as "mistake" or "fault", is it?)? And who could deny that sayings are much easier to remember when they rhyme. What is the original expression in Chinese, anyway, if anyone out there knows?


I think the sentiment that being careful helps to avoid problems is universal, and not specifically Chinese.

I also think that when sayings are translated in a text, the translator is free (or even required) to come up with something that is catchy in the target language too. It is therefore quite possible, IMO, that the original Chinese expression did not rhyme but that the translator decided to be creative enough to make it rhyme in English.

As you point out, the fact that this expression rhymes in English can make some people think that the expression wasn't translated from Chinese at all, so some translators may choose to take this into accocunt and deliberate choose a translation that does not rhyme, to avoid readers from jumping to conclusions.

As for pronunciation of "err", I find it interesting that although I say "ur" when I say the expression "to err is human", my initial pronunciation of "err" in your phrase was "er" (or "air", as Madeleine wrote it), because it lends itself to the rhyme so nicely.


 
William [Bill] Gray
William [Bill] Gray  Identity Verified
Norway
Local time: 15:30
Member (2006)
English
+ ...
Ditto.... Nov 18, 2010

Samuel Murray wrote:

As for pronunciation of "err", I find it interesting that although I say "ur" when I say the expression "to err is human", my initial pronunciation of "err" in your phrase was "er" (or "air", as Madeleine wrote it), because it lends itself to the rhyme so nicely.



I did just the same.... and must admit that I was initially a bit taken aback at the first response from Madeleine! How easilly we can forget certain things when we live away from the mother-land/tongue


 
Steve Booth
Steve Booth  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:30
English to Arabic
+ ...
it rhymes where i come from Nov 18, 2010

Samuel Murray wrote:

As for pronunciation of "err", I find it interesting that although I say "ur" when I say the expression "to err is human", my initial pronunciation of "err" in your phrase was "er" (or "air", as Madeleine wrote it), because it lends itself to the rhyme so nicely.


Interestingly i didn't have to think about it as it just rhymes. however now having read what you have put you say your pronunciation was 'er' or 'air' as it rhymes with 'care'

well I didn't think of it like that my pronunciation of 'care' is more like cur so it rhymes with err pronounced 'ur'

a bit like how furry and fairy sound the same.

what a wonderful language we have (especially with the varied accents) it would be even more difficult if we all still spoke in our local dialect rather than all speaking English just with regional accents


 
Rachel Fell
Rachel Fell  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:30
French to English
+ ...
Liverpool area(s)? Nov 18, 2010

Madeleine MacRae Klintebo wrote:



Yes - it rhymes.


Not in any I know of.
.

[Edited at 2010-11-17 23:06 GMT]


[Edited at 2010-11-18 22:33 GMT]


 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:30
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Cockney Nov 19, 2010

In the Cockney dialect, "care avoids err" would mean "Care keeps you out of the lady's way".

 


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Care avoids err






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