April
Fools Day: A Cross-Cultural Analysis
The current
festivities differ from the Bible story that bore the legend- the date marks
the death of all the children under the age of two in Bethlehem; a death which
was ordered by King Herod in order to kill the newborn Jesus of Nazareth. In
Latin America and Spain it is celebrated on December 28. In most Anglo-Saxon
and Asian influenced societies it is celebrated on April 1.
A dilemma could
arise if we are translating something, from Spanish to English for example, as
to where the date should be put. Where should the date be put? That of the
source language or the target language?
Generally, whether it is on one date or the
other, the type of celebration is similar, since the way of celebrating is to
make all kinds of jokes. The media often distorts its content so that the
information looks real. It is customary for newspapers to publish funny news
pages, which may vary from the comically obvious to serious fake news.
In New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia
and South Africa, the jokes only last until midday, and anyone who forgets and
makes a joke after midday receives the nickname “April Fool.”
In other countries, jokes run throughout the
day, for example in France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia,
Netherlands, Germany, Canada and the United States.
For Spanish speaking countries, the day is
called “El Día de los Santos Inocentes” and is celebrated on December 28.
In Spain you can have a coffee and be
surprised by its extremely salty taste… because the sugar bowl was filled with
salt. Or someone may change the time on all the clocks in the house, and so you
might get up two hours later or earlier than you think!
In Mexico, this date has also become a
festive tradition. You must remember not to give anything borrowed: money,
jewelry, books… because the joke is that the person who falls for the joke,
loses the item to the person who made the joke.
In Peru it has a pagan meaning. One of the
most popular jokes is “mazas”, that are usually paper dolls that are pinned to
someone’s back so that they are the target of mockery. It is also customary for
the media to publish false and implausible news that the readers have to
discover. The next day, the media reveals which of the news was wrong.
As we have seen in previous articles, many
times the cultural factor outweighs the purely linguistic. It is not enough to
know a language to be able to interpret it and transmit it effectively.
Translating and interpreting from one language to another involves an even greater
knowledge – a capacity for communication that surpasses words and cultural
barriers.
-Drew
http://www.dragonanswers.com/where-does-april-fools-day-come-from/
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