Hello, Frolicking Forest Dweller,
Being Dutch, I've been riding bicycles from a very young age. From a tricycle to the purple racing bike from my teens (still my favourite), to the electric one I ride now. So, it's only logical that I've grown up with a wealth of bike idioms.
But despite thirty-plus years of writing in English, these idioms often get lost in translation.
Let's take a phrase that fit the first, (unfinished) story I wrote in English in the late-90s so well: Op een oude fiets moet je het leren. (literal translation: You have to learn it on an old bike.)
It means that the best way to learn something (usually sex or romance) is from someone older and more experienced, and is a playful, cheeky way of teasing a younger person dating someone older.
That older person is not the village bike.
This British slang for a promiscuous woman (everyone's had a go) shames her availability, where the Dutch saying credits her experience (and is no longer solely used for women).
So, what do I do when the English equivalent just doesn't cut it? I either ditch the idiom, stick to the Dutch version, or adapt it.
Writing SFF gives me a lot of leeway, and over the years, I've made making up (or adapting) idioms that fit my worlds and characters part of my world-building routine.
Back then, however, I was just starting out. The direct translation fell flat completely. Learning the ropes from an old hand came close, but it still missed the playfulness, or my fond memories of old bikes (broken in, forgiving, reliable, loved).
This is how I solved it: "Well, you know what they say. You learn riding best on an OLD bike," Craig said, and burst out laughing.
Is it perfect? No. But between adding the riding, emphasising the old, and Craig laughing, it did what I meant it to do.
🙋🏻 Question of the week:
What phrases in your language are difficult to translate into English? Alternatively, tell me about made-up idiom you read recently. Feel free to hit reply. I love learning about language.
Here are two podcasts I love that continue to teach me new facts about language: https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled and https://www.youtube.com/@RobWords
Until next week,
Blaine
Three Days Left!
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[A man lifts a child at sunset. MM Romance Single Dad Books is written, with a book cover for Tech Prince Troubles by Blaine D. Arden. Text reads, Ends 30 September.]
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