An official government Twitter account celebrated ‘Burns Night’ with the national bard’s surname ‘mistakenly’ translated
The Scottish government has drawn ridicule for an apparent translation gaffe after publishing greetings for Burns Night – an annual celebration of national poet Robert Burns – wherein officials mistakenly replaced his surname with the Gaelic word for burns caused by heat or chemicals.
The since-deleted tweet, which was shared with the nearly 5,000 followers of the government’s rural affairs department on Tuesday, featured an image of a traditional Scottish supper of haggis, neeps (turnips), and tatties (potatoes) with the words “Oidhche Losgadh Sona.”
However, social media users quickly pointed out that “Losgadh” referred to physical burn injuries, and Burns’ surname should not have been translated. Several people speculated that the staffers handling the official government account had resorted to Google Translate when putting out the tweet.
So glad the Scottish Government has a salaried Gaelic officer, who trusts Google Translate to know the difference between heat burns (losgadh) and the surname Burns (Burns). pic.twitter.com/CNHJjfohh9
— Roger Hutchinson (@RogerMiles) January 25, 2022
While some names do have Gaelic translations, Burns does not, according to Gaelic language experts consulted by The Telegraph. Scottish Conservative lawmaker Donald Cameron told the paper that the official responsible was likely “eating their haggis with a bit of a red face tonight.”
“It is just as well Burns showed more attention to detail in his works, than this official did in this tweet,” he added.
However, a number of people suggested that the official government account was simply making a “joke” by “deliberately playing on the word losgadh,” which can also mean “firing” or “shooting.”
The greeting was accompanied by a message that asked whether recipients had “managed to catch [their] haggis,” noting that some young people thought that the traditional dish was prepared using a “real wild animal living in the Highlands.”
Given the tone of the message in English, it looks to me like someone is deliberately playing on the word “losgadh”. It means “firing” and I take that to be a reference to shooting the haggis. I don’t think it’s a Google Translate mistake.
— DK MacPhee (@DKMacPhee) January 25, 2022
Other Scottish commenters took the opportunity to criticize First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s government for spending millions in public funds to promote the Gaelic language, which is now widely used alongside English on everything from road signage to emergency vehicles. In its most recent budget, it reportedly committed £25.3 million ($34 million) to Gaelic learning and an additional £3 million ($4.05 million) to a “Gaelic Capital Fund.”
source: RT
Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.
