I was reading an article about Obama and the Spanish speakers in the States and I found that the journalist translated, the “YES WE CAN” campaign slogan as “si se puede” (if we can), instead of “Sí, se puede!” (Yes we can!). What a difference an accent mark can make!
The funniest thing about this was that the title of the Article was “Obama’s Message Lost in Translation” and it turned out that the Journalist was lost in translation too.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080714/OPINION12/807140316/1002/OPINION
Of course, it would have been good for the journalist to have done a little homework on this or asked someone.
Tags: democrat campaign, democrats, elections, elections 2008, hispanic, hispanic voters, mistranslation, Obama, obama campaign, Obama hispanic, obama slogan, Obama Spanish, sí se puede, spanish speakers, yes we can
Anyway I think that “Sí, se puede” is not the best translation for “Yes, we can”. I like “¡Sí, podemos!” more.
Interesting point you make there, and extraordinarily well written! Kudos to you.
Thanks for your comment James, we hope you continue to enjoy the blog!