Comments and the Roar of the Crowd: Lost in Translation?

The perils of multi-lingual media monitoring.

From: …@gmail.com
Date: Tue, Jul 8, 2014
Subject: Re: IDNS: IDF Launches Operations Against Gaza Rocket Fire

IDF launches Operation Protective Edge

 

IN HEBREW IT IS CALLED “TZOK EITAN” — THAT REALLY MEANS “SOLID ROCK” AND NOT A LIGHT DEFENSIVE “PROTECTIVE EDGE” (SO WHY WATERDOWN THE NAME?) I THINK THE IDEA IS THAT THIS WILL/SHOULD BE A SOLID ROCK-STRONG RESPONSE — AM I WRONG?

Thanks for writing. In English, the IDF calls it Operation Protective Edge. I hear your point about the literal translation, but we’ll just confuse readers if we use a different name from everyone else.

Not long after, I received the following reply.

From: …@gmail.com
Date: Tue, July 8, 2014
Subject: Re: IDNS: IDF Launches Operations Against Gaza Rocket Fire

debkafile is using it

Image: CC BY-NC-ND flickr/Sean Munson