Monday, November 9, 2009

Translation For Translation's Sake (Glatt Kosher)

Today we made our third and final day trip to Disney World for this visit. At about noon we stopped for a quick lunch at 'Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe,' which sells hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken nuggets to the masses. The entire menu board hung above the sales counter was translated into Spanish, I noticed, albeit in a slightly smaller font just below each item. And fair enough, that's probably to be expected.

But can that go too far, into the realm of the nonsensical? At the very bottom of the menu board there was a note that read, "Glatt Kosher items available upon request." And even that, too, had then been translated into Spanish. How many visitors to Disney World who keep kosher would be drawn to a burger and hotdog stand in the first place (hoping against hope, apparently, that 'Cosmic Ray's' might have glatt kosher items for sale)? And how many of those people would not be able to speak or read any English at all, but would be able to read Spanish fluently?("Gracias a dios! Glatt kosher nuggets de pollo!")

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