Lost in Translation

The Art of Money (Multilingual Quarters)

2011-09-24T10:15:00.001-04:00

Commemorative quarters for Hawaii, DC, and other US territories, photo taken mid-2009.

Early in 2009 some media outlets were reporting on the release of new quarters commemorating Puerto Rico; these coins contained the words "Isla del Encanto" (Island of Enchantment) in Spanish on one side. As a follow up to the 50 State Quarters Program, the US Mint launched the DC and US Territories Quarters Program in 2009, with Puerto Rico receiving its own quarter. To see a diagram of the Puero Rico quarter (not in the above photo), see this website.

Many reports were treating the use of Spanish on US coins as novelty, but the presence of non-English inscriptions on US coins isn't a really a "new" thing. First of all, every US quarter bears the unofficial Latin motto E pluribus unum ("out of many, one"). Second, the state of Hawaii had already used Hawaiian in addition to the standard Latin motto on its quarter in 2008 (read more about the Hawaii quarter here). UA MAU KE EA O KA 'AINA I KA PONO = "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

As you can see above (click to enlarge), DC and the US Virgin Islands have mottos in English (DC = "Justice for All" and Virgin Islands = "United in Pride and Hope"). The Northern Mariana Islands have no additional motto aside from the standard Latin. American Samoa has a motto in Samoan: SAMOA MUAMUA LE ATUA ("Samoa, God is First"). Guam has a motto in Chamorro: "Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro" ("Guam: Land of the Chamorro").

(For the US quarter that includes a Braille inscription, see the previous posting.)

The Art of Money (Braille on Quarter)

2011-09-22T19:50:00.002-04:00

The US Mint began its State Quarters Program in 1999, issuing commemorative coins in the order in which each state entered the Union. The state quarter of Alabama (released March 2003) depicts Helen Keller, and above her name is the equivalent "translation" in Braille dots. I wonder if a blind person is able to read this inscription at this size?

I think it's interesting that Helen Keller is depicted in the act of reading itself. She runs fingers over a book in her lap, presumably one with Braille dots or raised letters.

By the way, this quarter -- like all quarters -- contains some Latin: the unofficial motto of the United States, E pluribus unum ("out of many, one.")

(For more on the use of the motto E pluribus unum, see here and here. For more on Helen Keller, see my earlier posting about her statue in the Capitol Visitor Center; see also here and here.)

Helen Keller (Capitol Visitor Center)

2011-09-15T17:33:00.003-04:00

I've already posted about the National Statuary Hall Collection, but I thought I should follow up with one more statue. Helen Keller, whose statue is now in the Capitol Visitor Center, is one of two statues representing Alabama. Keller was deaf and blind at an early age, and this statue depicts a linguistic epiphany at a water spout: "Her expression of astonishment shows the moment when she and [her childhood teacher and lifelong companion] Annie Sullivan first communicated, by touch, the word 'water.'" (This episode has been made famous by the play The Miracle Worker.)

The base contains a relief sculpture of Keller's Alabama home with English and Braille inscriptions - and an inspiring quotation from Helen Keller herself: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart."

For more on Helen Keller, see this plaque (here) and the tomb of Keller and Sullivan (here).

Capitalization is WUNDERBAR

2011-08-01T21:43:00.002-04:00

Georgetown, July 2011 [click image to enlarge].

These cheerful green buses can be found all around DC as part of Germany's "do Deutsch" campaign: it seeks to promote the joys of learning the German language and pique interest in German culture more broadly.The website promoted on the bus (www.Germany.info) has some interesting links, include a German "word of the week" blog.

The bus itself strewn with various German nouns that have entered everyday English speech. In German, all nouns should be capitalized - but things are pretty erratic here (some words are in all caps, some in lowercase). "Wunderbar" [wonderful] is an adjective, not a noun, but - strangely enough - it's capitalized. Oh those wacky Germans, being so playful with their capital letters!

Chinese Silkweaving, Multiple Scripts

2011-03-08T10:53:00.001-05:00

During a visit to the Freer Gallery of Art last year, I came across this 13th-century scroll painting that depicts the art of Chinese silkweaving. The scroll links together 24 sheets of paper unfurling from left to right, and its visual content is fascinating (the scenes represent all the stages of silk production). Its verbal content is interesting as well. Each scene is accompanied by a poem that is written out in a formal style of calligraphy called "seal script." Next to each character of text in the poem there's a tiny gloss "translating" the character into standard script. There are also various inscriptions in "running script" throughout the scroll, in addition to the seals of multiple owners that have accrued over time.

To see more images of the scroll and download detailed documentation about its contents, see this website.

DC's Letter-Named Streets (I and Absent J)

2011-03-03T09:38:00.001-05:00

DC's system for naming its streets is distinctive. Streets running east-west take letter names (A, B, C, etc.) and streets running north-south are numbered (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on). In addition, diagonal avenues are named after US states (for a guide to navigating DC streets, see here). Above, two ways of rendering I (Eye) Street in Foggy Bottom. I've seen many people write addresses referring to "Eye Street" rather than "I Street" - I suppose order to avoid any confusion with the numeral 1 (one).

Why is there no "J Street" in DC, you ask? I've heard people say it's because the I/J distinction was difficult to discern (or non-existent) in 18th-century typography. Others claim that DC lacks a "J Street" because Pierre L'Enfant (the Frenchman who planned the city) disliked Chief Justice John Jay - but this is apparently an urban legend.

Vintage Globe (Air and Space Museum)

2011-03-01T22:00:00.002-05:00

View of the North Atlantic in an antique globe, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, September 2010. This artifact is part of the "America by Air" exhibition. Juan Trippe, president of Pan Am Airlines, was accustomed to using this globe to calculate flight distances (using string!) and often posed with it in publicity photos (see here for more).

It's interesting to see how much borders and place-names have changed over time. Here, the Hawaiian Islands are called the "Sandwich Islands" (Cook named the islands in honor of the John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich -- who, contrary to popular belief, did not actually invent sandwiches).

Take a look at North America! Canada is called "British North America." And Alaska is "Russian America." And much of what's now the Western part of the US lacks any borders or writing.

"Children at Play" (Chinese Art)

2011-01-27T12:30:00.002-05:00

"Children at Play" Exhibition, Freer Gallery of Art, April 2010. Last year I saw this exhibition and I thought these paintings 齊白石 (Qi Baishi) were just so charming I had to post about them on this blog. The painting on the left (c. 1930) is called 夜讀圖 ("Studying at Night"), and the one on the right (also c. 1930) is 送子師從 ("Taking the Son to School"). The paintings seem quite sympathetic toward the child's plight.

Incidentally, the name 齊白石 is a pseudonym. The self-taught artist was known for landscape painting (among other things), and 白石 literally means "White Stone," suggesting snow-covered mountains.

For more about the artist and his legacy, see here.

Guide to Arabic Calligraphy

2011-01-27T12:03:00.000-05:00

Guide to the Arabic alphabet, "Calligraphy of the Islamic World," Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art, 2007. This pamphlet offers a chart providing information on the letters of the Arabic alphabet and it also allows you to trace the proper strokes in order to write السلام عليكم (As-Salāmu `Alaykum = "Peace be with you"). I'm not exactly sure if the chart of letter forms is all that useful, since Arabic letters (as I understand it) must change their shape depending on where they appear in a given word.

(For more on calligraphy in Muslim cultures, see this online exhibition. To see another chart of the Arabic alphabet with cute animal pictures, see this earlier post.)

Jibberish Scripts (Hebrew? Greek?)

2011-01-23T18:40:00.001-05:00

A holy child writes in a book in this detail from Bernhard Strigel's Saint Mary Salome and Her Family in the National Gallery of Art (click image to enlarge). I was intrigued by the appearance of the writing in this book, which looks to me like jibberish script. At first I thought these letter-forms were approximating Hebrew, but if that's so then the writing is going in the wrong direction (i.e., the pen is moving left to right, as one does when writing Latin and other languages; Hebrew should go from right to left).

When I took another look at the entire painting online (see image and description here), I realized this child actually identified as SANCTV. IOHANES EWAN. (Saint John the Evangelist) - and his Gospel was actually written in Greek. But the writing doesn't look very much like Greek either.

I guess it doesn't really matter whether the writing is "supposed" to be Greek or Hebrew. It looks like the artist was much more interested in representing the "idea" of a holy writer rather than conveying the accuracy of any particular script. (For another creative use of script in a religious painting, see this earlier posting about upside-down Latin.)

I'm sure I could find other examples of jibberish script throughout the NGA if I really looked around, but here's a similar example from a painting I saw in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo during a visit to Siena:

I don't remember who this figure is or even the name of the artist, but it's another intriguing example of visually stylized script that lends an aura of authority. Whether it's meant to represent Hebrew or Greek, the symbols here look to me a lot like a older form of Arabic numerals.

Chocolate-Covered Fortune Cookies?!

2011-01-19T17:37:00.001-05:00

I saw this quality Valentine's Day themed product for sale today: chocolate-covered fortune cookies, complete with red "Chinese takeout" shaped box. Each fortune apparently has a romantic theme. The character 愛 (love) is written on the box in reasonably legible traditional script, but for some reason it has been rotated counter-clockwise by 45 degrees.

At least this company knows better than to use a stereotypically pointy "Chinese take-out menu" font (for some examples of this, see here). That being said, I do think it's rather odd that the white tear-drop shaped portion of the yin/yang symbol becomes the "dot" in the letter "I" as well as the apostrophe.

P.S. The origin of the fortune cookie is disputed (see here), but as far as I know it is not actually a Chinese invention.

P.P.S. I have not purchased, nor have I tasted, these cookies.

Muse of Poetry (National Gallery of Art)

2011-01-18T22:30:00.004-05:00

Calliope (muse of heroic poetry), as sculpted Austin Pajou (c. 1763), in the French Neoclassical style. The name for Calliope comes from the Greek Καλλιόπη (Kalliope, or "beautiful-voiced"), and she is conventionally depicted holding a book or tablet.

In this detail, we see that the sculptor has chosen to show her holding an open book. On these pages are a Latin inscription. The first 3 lines on the left-hand page read CALLIOPE REGI/NA HOMINVM / DIVVMQVE (Calliope, Queen of Humans and Gods). The "queen" form of address is an allusion to Horace, whose Latin poetry refers to Calliope as regina, or queen (Carminae, III.iv.2). National Gallery of Art, West Wing.

To read more about this sculpture (including a full transcript of the Latin inscription), see here.

Trans-Atlantic Poetry (Navy Memorial Metro)

2011-01-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

Two poems are inscribed all the wall in part of Ocean Piece, an artwork by Jorge Martin (1995). As far as I can tell, the artwork honors trans-Atlantic navigation and exploration. On the left (Western?) side of the artwork is an excerpt from Walt Whitman's poem "The Prayer of Columbus." The lines read:

All my emprises have been fill’d with Thee, 
My speculations, plans, begun and carried on in thoughts of Thee, 
Sailing the deep, or journeying the land for Thee; 
Intentions, purports, aspirations mine—leaving results to Thee.
  
O I am sure they really come from Thee! 
The urge, the ardor, the unconquerable will, 
The potent, felt, interior command, stronger than words, 
A message from the Heavens, whispering to me even in sleep, 
These sped me on.
  
By me, and these, the work so far accomplish’d (for what has been, has been); 
By me Earth’s elder, cloy’d and stifled lands, uncloy’d, unloos’d; 
By me the hemispheres rounded and tied—the unknown to the known.

On the right (Eastern?) side of the sculpture - across a gentle bulge, which seems to me to evoke an ocean wave - is an excerpt from "Occident," a work by the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. These lines read:

With two hands - Deed and Fate
We have unveiled in the same gesture, one
Raises the flickering and divine torch
While the other draws the veil aside.

Whether the hour was ripe or it owned
The hand that tore the Western veil,
Science was the soul and Audacity the body
Of the hand that unveiled it.

Whether the hand rose the glittering torch
Out of Fortune, Will or Tempest,
God was the soul and Portugal the body
Of the hand that bore it.

This artwork was a gift from the Lisbon Subway to the DC Metro (see this website for more). The oceanic and transportation-themed artwork is indeed fitting for its location: the Navy Memorial metro station.

Pocahontas Portrait

2010-11-30T09:30:00.001-05:00

Painting of Pocahontas, after a Dutch engraving, National Portrait Gallery. Known by many names, this Native American woman supposedly saved the life of English colonist John Smith; she later converted to Christianity and moved to England, assuming the name Rebecca Rolfe. The inscription states this is how she appeared at age 21 in the year 1616, and the Latin inscription around the border reads "MATOAKA ALS REBECCA FILIA POTENTISS. PRINC. POWHATANI IMP. VIRGINIAE ("Matoaka, alias Rebecca, daughter of the most powerful prince of the Powhatan Empire of Virginia").

To find out more about Pocahontas and this painting, see this US Senate website. For more on the original 1616 engraving upon which this painting is based, see this Smithsonian site. For more on Pocahontas and her perception on both sides of the Atlantic, see here.

For more about iconic Native Americans with multiple names, see here and here.

Translating Names (National Statuary Hall Collection)

2010-11-20T12:50:00.001-05:00

One of the most interesting features of the US Capitol is the National Statuary Hall Collection, which consists of 100 statues (2 from each state in the union). A particularly diverse group of statues populates the Capitol Visitor Center, reflecting the multicultural heritage of the nation.

On the left (above) is King Kamehameha, who (according to this official description) "united all the inhabited islands of Hawai'i under his rule." The pedestal of the statue reads KAMEHAMEHA I (i.e., King Kamehameha the First), but his full Hawaiian name is apparently much longer. On the right (above) is the Native American woman most commonly known as Sakagawea (or Sacajawea). In selecting this statue, the North Dakota legislature honored the woman they called Sakakawea as a "traveler and guide, translator, a diplomat, and a wife of mother" who was so crucial in the expeditions of Lewis and Clark.

Another figure worth mentioning here is Sequoyah, a Native American who represents the state of Oklahoma. The official description refers to him the "inventor of the Cherokee alphabet," but the writing system he developed is technically a syllabary.

(For more on Sequoyah, see my previous posting.)

Other statues in the collection depict figures from far-flung points of origin: e.g., Spanish missionaries Eusebio Francisco Kino (AZ) and Junipero Serra (CA); Quebec-born settlers Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin (OR), Jason Lee (OR), and Mother Joseph, née Esther Pariseau (WA); a French missionary, Father Jacques Marquette (WI); a Dutch-speaking Belgian known as Father Damien, born Joseph de Veuster (HI); and more Native Americans: Sarah Winnemucca (NV-Paiute), Po'pay (NM-Tiwa), and Washakie (WY-Shoshone).

Sequoyah, Inventor of Cherokee Writing System

2010-11-17T09:13:00.001-05:00

This painting by Henry Inman at the National Portrait Gallery depicts the Sequoyah (d. 1843), the inventor of the Cherokee writing system. The script in Inman's painting doesn't look as well-executed as it could be; perhaps this is because Inman's work based upon a lost painting by Charles Bird King (King's painting was destroyed in a fire at the Smithsonian Castle).

This engraving, also based upon the lost King painting, seems to do a better job re-creating the Cherokee script. Sequoyah himself signed his name as ᏍᏏᏉᏯ (Ssiquoya), but you can see here that he was also known by the English name of George Giss or Guess.

This postcard, which erroneously calls the syllabic writing system an "alphabet," at least gives you a good sense of the sounds that the signs represent. For more about the Cherokee syllabary and language, see this page.

To read (or hear) more about this painting, see this NPG blog posting. You can also read about the statue of Sequoyah in the National Statuary Hall Collection (see the next posting for more).

FDR's Minimalist Monument (National Archives)

2010-11-12T00:53:00.002-05:00

It's very easy to miss this simple monument on the north side of the National Archives. This memorial is dedicated to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and for a presidential monument this one is not very grand or informative.

As it turns out, that's exactly what FDR wanted. Note the second "explanatory" plaque that has been erected in front of this memorial (click to enlarge and read the text).

It seems funny that this plaque both honors and disrespects his wishes. FDR did get his modest form of commemoration - but the plaque itself goes beyond FDR's instructions, turning the president's humility into something worth of commemoration in its own right.

There is, of course, a huge and complex FDR Memorial on the National Mall - which, I suppose, adds to the irony (see here and here for more).

Obamamania (DC Flashback)

2010-11-02T00:14:00.001-04:00

It has now been two years since Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. There was much euphoria in DC at the time: above, international newspapers (from Brazil and Saudi Arabia) announce Obama's victory in the election (Newseum, the day after Election Day, November 5, 2009). You can view front pages from newspapers around the world on this day at this Newseum website.

Other museums around DC fed into "Obamamania" in their own ways. Above, "Hongera Barack Obama," a kanga (dyed cotton cloth, used for many purposes), produced in east Africa in 2008, hangs on display at the National Museum of African Art. Obama's father was from Kenya, and the Swahili inscription expresses the hope many felt upon Obama's election: Upendo Na Amani Ametujalia Mungu ("God has blessed us with peace and love").

At the gift shop of the National Museum of American History, this children's book recognizes Obama's connections to Hawaii, the state where he was born. Note the use of the backwards apostrophe [ʻ] in the word Hawaiʻi. This punctuation mark, called the ʻokina, represents the glottal stop, a sound that does not exist in English.

The National Museum of the American Indian also got involved in the celebrations. Here, dancers perform a traditional Hawaiian mele inoa (name chant) for Obama as part of the Smithsonian's "Out of Many" Festival, January 17, 2009. You can read the Hawaiian text (with English translation) and even watch a recording of the performance on this website.

Native Boats, Indigenous Languages

2010-11-01T09:32:00.000-04:00

November is officially Native American Heritage Month - so I'll be including a few postings throughout the month to honor this.

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) employs "American" in the broadest sense, encompassing in its scope diverse indigenous cultures across the Americas. Prominently displayed on the entrance level are 3 boats representing different cultures: a Hawaiian boat, an Inuit kayak, and a reed canoe constructed by Aymara people (see this website and gallery for more). Above, descriptions of the boats in the Inuit language (which uses a syllabary) and the Hawaiian language (which uses Roman letters). [Click the image to see a larger version.]

Note the use of the backwards apostrophe [ʻ] in the word Hawaiʻi. This punctuation mark, called the ʻokina, represents the glottal stop, a sound that does not exist in English.

The description of the reed canoe is written in Aymara, an indigenous (and co-official) language of Bolivia and Peru.

The English translations of these texts are written on the reverse of these signs - sorry I didn't include them here!

GOTV (Get Out The Vote) Posters [Election 2008 Flashback]

2010-11-01T01:04:00.001-04:00

These election posters (placed in spots were windows once were) encourage people to get out and vote in the 2008 elections. These were on the wall of an abandoned school building in the SE Quadrant, Inauguration Day 2009. Above (center), a poster featuring an adorable little girl encourages Spanish-speaking voters to take part in the election: Ella confia en ti para tomar la decisión correcta ... Tu país también. ¡Voto! ("She trusts you to make the right choices...so does your country.") On the left, a week-long pill box organizer has 4 compartments raised to read VOTE (a plea to elderly voters perhaps?).

Above, posters targeting African Americans (right) and Asian Americans (left). The whole "Wok + Dutch Oven = Asian American" thing is a bit silly, but it's an attractive poster nonetheless.

Hope

2010-10-30T22:38:00.000-04:00

Despite what they're reporting in the news these days, hope is not dead. Reverse side of a tombstone, Arlington National Cemetery, July 2009. (For more Arlington tombstones, click the "Arlington" tag below or on the right side of this page.)

Dry Cleaning Sign

2010-10-27T19:29:00.000-04:00

Sigh. Someone told me about this sign before, but I didn't actually believe it existed before I saw it in person last night. Dupont Circle.

Justice Inscription

2010-10-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

"LEGE ATQVE ORDINE OMNIA FIVNT" (Let all things be done according to law and order). Latin inscription above entrance, Department of Justice.

Disorienting Braille Maps

2010-10-21T18:13:00.000-04:00

Braille maps feature prominently in "America on the Move," an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of American History). This map depicting streetcar paths in DC circa 1900 provides inscriptions in raised letters along with Braille dots. You can also use your fingers to trace the contours of the city and discern the routes streetcars could take as they moved people about the city. Note the standard map orientation here, with north as as "up."

This map depicting harbor travel in New York City in the 1920s is a little more complicated. It includes inscriptions and Braille dots on either side of the map, so that side that is "up" is not based on absolute cardinal directions - instead, what is "up" depends on how you are positioned in relation to the map.

(For related posts, click the "Braille" tag below or on the right hand side of this page.)

Art of the Parking Garage (National Building Museum ad)

2010-10-18T00:30:00.000-04:00

This exhibition at the National Building Museum has now come and gone, but this ad was so clever I thought I should add it to this blog. I love the implied mathematical equation here: snail shell + parking sign = [implied result: spiral parking garage]. Read more about the photography exhibition here. Ad seen somewhere on the metro, May 2010.

Inuit Writing System (Canadian Embassy)

2010-10-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

Last month I spotted these signs at the Canadian Embassy advertising an exhibition of Inuit prints. According to the press release, this exhibit offers "a distinctive portrait of Inuit life and culture in the Canadian Arctic." As usual, the Canadian Embassy poster is in English and French, but it also includes some text in the Inuit language (i.e., the names of the artists). One distinctive feature of the Inuktitut syllabary is its method for representing vowels; the vowel sounds are indicated by the orientation of the symbols (it's easier to see how this works by looking at the chart on this page).

Here's another sign nearby. I don't know what the text actually means here, but the photo at least gives you a better sense of what the script looks like.

For more about this exhibition, see this NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) blog posting.

P.S. I took this photo nearly two years ago (!) but somehow never got around to blogging about it. The poster below (also taken at the Canadian Embassy) advertises "Champlain's Dream" (in French: "Le rêve de Champlain"). This exhibit focused on French exploration of North America, revealing the intertwined histories of present-day New England and Quebec:

In case you're interested, you can see the Washington Post's excellent review (with online gallery).

P.S. For earlier postings about the Canadian Embassy, see here and here.

New Car Rental Sign (Chinatown)

2010-10-11T20:25:00.000-04:00

The "Thrifty Car Rental" sign I posted about last year (see here) has since been replaced by a new one! This space is now a Hertz Rental Car, and the writing looks much better. Here, "Hertz" = 赫兹 (Hè zī), conveniently borrowing the standard transliteration of the unit of measurement (Hz) named after German scientist Heinrich Hertz. "Rental car" = 租车. This sign uses the simplified form of car (车) while the previous one used the traditional form 車. Photo taken in early 2010.

Sign(s) for Pork - Asian Supermarket

2010-10-09T23:16:00.002-04:00

Today I noticed this character 豚 indicating the pork section at an Asian supermarket in Fairfax, VA. Although it features the "pig" radical (豕), this character is actually different from what I'm accustomed to seeing in Mandarin Chinese (where "pork" is written 豬肉 - literally, "pig meat"). In Japanese, pork is written 豚肉（ぶたにく = butaniku). Evidently the same characters 豚肉 can be used in Korean too, although I don't know what the pronunciation would be.

P.S. In Chinese 豬 can mean either "pig" or "boar" (hence when you see 豬年 on one of those Chinese Zodiac charts it's sometimes translated as "Year of the Pig" or "Year of the Boar"). In Japanese, the character 豚 is reserved only for "pig" while 豬 means "boar."

The Language of Flags (Navy Memorial)

2010-10-07T20:24:00.000-04:00

Signal flags adorning a ship mast at the US Navy Memorial (across from the National Archives), September 2010. The International Code of Signals designates a flag for each letter in the Roman alphabet, plus each Arabic numeral (see here for more). Ships use such flags to communicate important messages to one another on the sea.

P.S. You can see some earlier posts for other takes on "the language of flags" - i.e., the special language that is used in order to describe flags, and the ways flags themselves can communicate symbolic meanings.

P.P.S. No, I don't know what these flags say! If anyone knows the code, let me know...

Obsolete Library Catalog Cards (Library of Congress)

2010-10-06T17:30:00.000-04:00

The emergence of the online public-access catalog has largely rendered the traditional library card catalog obsolete. At the Library of Congress, which has a searchable online catalog, this point is made especially clear: old paper catalog cards are unceremoniously stacked among blank pieces of scrap paper. Above is a sampling of old cards I picked up this afternoon (click to enlarge). Counter-clockwise from top left: records for 2 films in English, then other items in German, Spanish, Danish, Russian, and 2 in Hungarian.

For an engaging history of the library card catalog, see here. To see some creative ways of using "retired" library catalog cards, see here.

Library of Congress Logo (Banner)

2010-10-05T00:09:00.002-04:00

Just noticed today that the Library of Congress logo looks like a waving American flag, as well as an open book. Very cool.

(For more on different adaptations of the American flag, see this recent posting.)

Embrace Your Inner Geek! (Library Ad Campaign)

2010-10-03T13:11:00.001-04:00

Geeky swag from the 2010 National Book Festival. These materials are part of a promotional campaign to increase the profile of public libraries. The ads use "geek" as a verb, reminding us of the important role that libraries can play in shaping our individual desires, hobbies, goals, and obsessions. For more, see the excellent "Geek The Library" website.

(For more from the 2010 National Book Festival, see here and here. For more on the related "I [HEART] WHATEVER" construction, see my postings here and here.)

P.S. It seems to me that the lower-case font in the library campaign invokes (intentionally or not) another cultural phenomenon: the TV show "Glee." It's common for a fan of the show to identify as a "gLeek," a portmanteau combining the words "glee" and "geek." In the promotional poster (above), the "L" finger sign -- which, as all high school students know, signifies "loser" -- becomes a badge of pride. (Incidentally, that hand formation is also the ASL sign for the letter "L.") Publicity material related to the show actively encourages fans to "gleeK out," embracing their obsession with the show.

The Language of Flags (Star-Spangled Banners)

2010-10-03T10:11:00.000-04:00

The huge, tattered flag that inspired the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner" (the US National Anthem) is indeed a "star attraction" at the National Museum of American History (the screenshot above is a detail from a page on the online "Star Spangled Banner" exhibition). The huge flag on display was flown over Fort McHenry and survived the War of 1812, and it bears 15 stars and 15 stripes - representing the 13 original colonies, plus the 2 additional states (Kentucky and Vermont) that had joined the Union by that time. (The original plan was to keep adding 1 star and stripe for each new state that was admitted, but at some point this became too unwieldy and the number of stripes was "fixed" at 13.)

This website (as of September 2010) indicates that there's a Spanish translation of the anthem lyrics on display alongside the flag. (Note that this is NOT the same as the Spanish version that made the news back in 2006 - listen to the story here.)

Another intriguing version of the US flag in the NMAH is this Civil War era banner: the regimental colors of the 84th Infantry, 1866. This regiment was formed from the Corps d'Afrique of Louisiana, comprising of free black soldiers who fought for the Union. Note the French-derived place names on the red stripes (you can read more about this flag here and here). Interestingly, the writing in this flag is "backwards" - it reads left to right with the blue part (canton) on the right. As I understand it, the flag is typically flown facing the other direction (with canton on left).

A more stylized version of the "backwards" flag can be seen on this sign outside Newseum during Obama's inauguration in January 2009. (The number refers to Obama as the 44th President of the US.)

These versions of the US flag were displayed on the east façade of the Capitol when Obama was inaugurated in January 2009. The flags on the outside are the original stars and stripes (13 stars in a ring). The flag in the center is the current flag (50 stars). The other flags have 21 stars: this what the US flag looked like just after Illinois (Obama's home state) entered the Union in 1818.

As is the case with other flags, the "Star-Spangled Banner" is sometimes modified in order to make a political message. See, for instance, the protest flags here and here.

Nevada: "Official" or "Spanish" Pronunciation?

2010-10-02T17:34:00.010-04:00

One of the items I brought back from the 2010 National Book Festival (see related post here) was this tourist map of Nevada. On its front and back flaps, it features a very curious mark over the first letter "a" in the word "Nevada." The mark directs its readers to pronounce the name of the state as "Nevada," using this [æ] sound, rather than "Ne-VAH-da," using this [ɑː] sound. Earlier this summer, some Nevada legislators discussed the idea of declaring the [æ] sound as the "official" pronunciation of the state's name. The implication here is that the "other" pronunciation of the state name, using the [ɑː] sound, is perceived as the "Spanish" pronunciation. (For a more detailed discussion of this issue, see here.)

In the context of this pronunciation debate, I find it curious that this tourist map readily acknowledges that the name of the state is Spanish in origin - it flatly states that "Nevada means 'snow-capped' in Spanish." So why would you go out of your way to discourage people from pronouncing it the "Spanish" way?

National Book Festival Bookmarks

2010-10-02T17:07:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I checked out the National Book Festival (annual event on the Mall organized by the Library of Congress) and brought back some great bookmarks. On the right, a bookmark publicizing the World Digital Library, an international archive of cultural treasures maintained by UNESCO and the Library of Congress; its mission is to disseminate knowledge and increase cross-cultural understanding. The bookmark uses 5 languages: English, Arabic, Russian, French, (Mandarin) Chinese, and Spanish - these are, fittingly enough, the 5 official languages of the UN. To access this amazing digital library, go here.

My favorite bookmark is on the bottom left; the slogan states "Reading is for everyone," and superimposed on this is the equivalent text in raised Braille dots. These materials promote the National Library Service's resources for the blind.

"One Nation" Logo

2010-10-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

A timely follow-up to yesterday's posting about flags: this sign for the "One Nation Working Together" March on DC. Today, October 2, 2010, marks the progressive, social justice answer to the Glenn Beck/FOX News rally that was in town a few weeks ago. Appropriately, the logo features a stylized American flag with the numeral "1" as the basis for a stylized "N" (for "nation").

(You can learn more about the march and the coalition of groups that make up the organization at this website).

The Language of Flags - US States etc.

2010-10-01T18:05:00.001-04:00

This city abounds with flags - and not just in government buildings. In front of Union Station you can see the flags of all 50 states in the order they were admitted into the Union. Above (from L to R), the most recent states (Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii), then DC, and finally all the other US territories and commonwealths (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands).

Vexillology, the study of flags, employs an arcane lexicon that ultimately derives from medieval heraldry (see this website for some of this vocabulary). I would describe the Hawaiian flag (just right of center in the photo above) as something like "the British flag in the top-left corner with stripes on the rest of it" but the flag is officially described in these terms:

(1) The Hawaiian flag shall consist of eight horizontal stripes, alternately white, red, blue, etc., beginning at the top, having a jack cantoned in the dexter chief angle next to the point of suspension;

(2) The jack shall consist of a blue field charged with a compound saltire (crossing) of alternate tincture white and red, the white having precedence; a narrow edge of white borders each red side of the saltire;

(3) A red cross bordered with white is charged (placed) over all.
[From The Hawaii Revised Statues, Vol. 1, Ch. 5, Sec. 19 - see here]

The DC flag, above (center), is commonly understood to have heraldic origins (see my earlier posting for a fuller description).

I think that the most attractive use of flags as a decorative motif in a building is in the Kennedy Center. In the grand Hall of Nations, flags appear in alphabetical order by country name. Above, we see Australia (top left) followed by A's and B's.

In the equally-grand Hall of States, the flags are arranged chronologically according to date they were admitted into the Union. The flags begin with Delaware (in the back right) and proceed toward the front of the right-hand wall; they they start up again on the left-hand wall (front left of this photo) and proceed to the end, followed by the US "non-states."

For more on each of the 50 state flags, see this website.

The Language of Flags - DC

2010-09-29T19:33:00.004-04:00

Above, the distinctive flag of the District of Columbia. Its stars and stripes evoke the US (federal) flag, but most descriptions say the DC flag design derives from the coat of arms of George Washington's family (see here for more on the flag's origins).

Here's the Washington family shield as it appears in 14th-century stained glass on a window in Selby Abbey, Yorkshire (England). In proper heraldic vocabulary, these design motifs should be designated as "mullets and bars" and not "stars and stripes" (see the last section of this page). For more about the Washington Window at Selby Abbey, see here. For an extensive website exploring the rich legacy of Washington's arms in American culture, see here.

I was trying to find out more about the symbolism of the DC flag but the website on DC symbols wasn't that informative. For what it's worth, I have heard somewhere (was it on a Capitol tour?) that the three stars represent the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) and bars symbolize equality. This could be an urban legend or even some sort of ironic political commentary - since DC residents lack equal legislative representation in Congress (i.e., DC has no voting representative). For more on the DC voting rights issue and how the flag is used on both sides of the issue, see this alternate version of the DC flag and this DC license plate).

Creative Logo (Department of Transportation)

2010-09-29T12:30:00.004-04:00

Today I spotted this logo on a construction vehicle as workers were repaving part of the street. The logo bears the DC flag, and below a lower-case "d" and a punctuation mark (period). District Department of Transportation = D-DOT. Get it? (This logo also appears on the D-DOT website.) Capitol Hill.

(For another use of the DC flag, see this license plate.)

[Added Oct 1, 2010] Just noticed this brand new solar trash compactor (yes, this is what DC tax dollars pay for!) at Eastern Market. A snazzier version of the D-DOT logo superimposed upon a DC flag (colors reversed) and a map indicating the shape of the District.

As the Old Sing, So the Young Twitter

2010-09-28T23:24:00.000-04:00

I was mildly disappointed when I walked into the Library of Congress to discover that this exhibition is NOT about social media. Instead, "As the Old Sing, So the Young Twitter" explores the long-standing relationship between human music-making (via flute instruments) and birdsong. If you happen to be walking by the LOC Madison Building, it's worth a look. Exhibition ends October 30, 2010.

German, American, and Chinese Poems (Community)

2010-09-28T22:14:00.001-04:00

I've walked passed the Goethe-Institut in Chinatown many times (see an earlier post), but usually I keep on walking. A few days ago, something caught my eye: these posters displaying German, American, and Chinese poems. These posters are part of "Time Shadows," an annual competition that features poems from each culture. The theme for 2010 is "Community."

This Chinese poem by a poet from Taiwan is entitled 望夫石 ("Husband-Gazing Stone"). The German translation states that this poem concerns "die Legende von der Ehefrau, die so lange nach ihrem verschollenen Ehemann Ausschau hielt, bis sie sich in einen Stein verwandelte" [the legend of a wife who kept watch for her missing husband for so long that she transformed into a stone]. You can read the poem and its English and German translations at this website.

I found this excerpt from the work of an American poet particularly interesting. This poem, entitled "Locals," reminds us that all of our ancestors ultimately come from "somewhere else," displacing whoever was there before. The poem offers an insightful commentary on the ever-shifting nature of community and the constant migration of people over time and space. The final 2 stanzas in the original English text read as follows:

Bedouin-Brython-Algonquins; always there
before you; the original prior claim
that made your being anywhere intrusive.
There, doubtless, in Eden before Adam
wiped them out and settled in with Eve.

Whether at home or away, whether kids
playing or saying what they wanted,
or adults chatting, waiting for a bus,
or, in their well-tended graves, the contented dead,
there were always locals, and they were never us.

See this website for the entire poem in English, plus translations in Chinese and German.

For a poem from the "Time Shadows 2009" competition (the theme was "City Life"), see this earlier post or this website.

"Formosa Betrayed" Poster

2010-09-27T19:17:00.000-04:00

Poster for the political thriller "Formosa Betrayed" = 出賣的台灣. The verb 出賣 (chū mài) = to sell out or betray. Although the Chinese text uses the name "Taiwan" (台灣 in traditional script), the name in the English movie title is "Formosa," from the Portuguese name given to the island ("Ilha Formosa" = beautiful island). February 2010, Foggy Bottom.

Logic (Chinatown)

2010-09-27T19:16:00.000-04:00

Logik = 邏輯 ("luó ji," which means "logic"). Very logical. November 2009.

Synagogue to Church (Judeo-Christian Palimpsest)

2010-09-27T19:15:00.002-04:00

The building now known as the Tried Stone Church of Christ was once a synagogue. The Southeast Hebrew Congregation was founded on Capitol Hill by Orthodox immigrants from Eastern Europe in 1909, and after World War II this house of worship was built. The congregation relocated to Silver Spring, MD in 1971. When the church acquired this property, the new congregation changed the name of the building but retained the Ten Commandments (inscribed in Hebrew) which were part of the original entrance façade.

Above, a photo from early in 2008 before the entrance sign was changed. How fitting that different periods in the building's history are visible in the layers of stone and brick.

P.S. For a more famous appearance of the Ten Commandments in DC, see this post. See also this torah ark.

Dog Poop Gallery (Passive Aggressive Signs)

2010-09-26T22:08:00.003-04:00

Throughout Capitol Hill, one can find many signs gently reminding dog owners to clean up after their pets. Here's a treasury some of the best ones I've seen, ranked from least to most favorite:

7. This is a classic example of passive-aggressive signage. A cute dog-shaped sign in a calm shade of green subtly guilt-trips the owner who allows his or her dog "let loose" on this lawn.

6. This little "house" goes a step further to induce guilt. We see a pleasant sign, plus a little container that actually contains little dog poop bags. Note that one is NOT supposed to deposit filled bags in here. (Find out more about these pet waste containers and other products on this lovely website!)

5. This attention-grabbing signpost (note the CAPITALIZED RED LETTERS) admonishes unruly dogs -- or rather, their negligent owners.

4. This sign at Lincoln Park serves two purposes: to encourage poop-scooping AND discourage public drinking. For the record, I have never actually witnessed anyone drinking a martini while sitting outdoors in this park.

3. Another attempt at being "friendly" and cute, this time with a cartoon dog holding a pooper scooper. Note the passive-aggressive strategy of reminding the reader of the potential fines (plus penalty, in parentheses - nice touch!) that one could face for not scooping.

2. I like this sign very much.

1. My favorite dog poop sign stands right in front of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Appropriately enough, there's quite a "literary" flair to this sign: not only do we get some unusually authoritative word choice here ("police your dog," rather than a more colloquial "scoop the poop"), but the sequence of verbs also provides an elegant litany of actions: leash, curb, and clean.

Read to your baby

2010-09-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

Read to your baby...in whatever language you choose. National Book Festival, September 25, 2010.

Txt ad nt so gr8

2010-09-25T12:39:00.002-04:00

Shouldn't an ad for graduate study at least use proper grammar and punctuation? Somehow this attempt to appear "cool" via texting lingo doesn't really inspire much confidence. On the metro, September 2010.

London: Sundry Items

2010-09-25T09:19:00.001-04:00

Continuing my blog entries beyond DC, I include some things from another capital city: London.

Welcome sign at Gatwick Airport. Unusual choice of languages, among them Swedish, English, and (simplified) Mandarin Chinese. Not sure what those other two languages are.

A selection of newspapers in Bloomsbury. I see papers in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Norwegian, and (perhaps) Arabic.

Elsewhere in London, some silly ethnic stereotyping. Posters on the walls of various tube stations feature celebrity chef Jaime Oliver promoting different "exotic" cuisines (French, Spanish, Italian).

In Southwark, a warning sign on one of the entrances into a mid-day RSC performance of "the Scottish play" (Macbeth) at the Globe. I don't know if this was intentional, but the adjective "gruesome" has been associated with the Scots origins (the Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, cites Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott as some of the earliest quotations). For what it's worth, the verb gruwe(n) does exist in Middle English and the word has even older Germanic origins.

On a side street near the British Library, I spotted this storefront sign. Nice choice for the business name - it signals how the establishment caters to "transvestites, transsexuals, and transgendered" clients (see the website).

This park sign provides many examples supporting the idea that the US and Britain are divided by a common language (click to see larger image). "Whilst" strikes me as a distinctly British usage. Note also "lead" (leash), [trash] "bins" [cans], and "busking" [performing in public places seeking for money - I don't see this term much in the US]. Of course the red "do not X" icons are universal - they work in any language.

I end with this photo I took on the tube (again, click to see larger image). I don't have much to say about it, other than saying I like this poem.

London: Churches and Museums

2010-09-25T09:07:00.001-04:00

Various items from churches and museums in London.

This sign for the Chinese Church in London features a nicely stylized form of the Chinese word 華 (huá), which means "China" or "Chinese" in most contexts. Here, a "cross" (or Star of Bethlehem) motif is incorporated into the center of the character.

Near the church, in Chinatown, I saw this poster that teaches children the Pinyin romanization scheme for Chinese. Each sound in Mandarin is assigned a corresponding Roman letter. Most of the words chosen are simple, everyday ideas or objects: 大 (dà) = big, large; 土 (tǔ) = earth, dust. I'm confused by the image for for 你 (nǐ) - I always thought it just mean "you."

St. Dunstan in the West is a church that caters to the demographics of its congregation in a variety of ways. Here, an entrance sign asks visitors to pray for peace (in English, French, German, Russian, Greek, and Romanian). Although the church is Anglican, I noticed many (Greek and Romanian) Orthodox icons and motifs inside. The praying hands are, I suppose, German in origin, after Betende Hände by Albrecht Dürer (c. 1508).

All Hallows by the Tower isn't one of London's most famous churches but it's worth a visit (check out the crypt and the brass rubbing center). Some notable people associated with the church include William Penn (baptized here, 1644) John Quincy Adams (married here, 1797), and Thomas More (beheaded near here, 1535).

The crypt underneath the church allows you to view centuries of treasures. The medieval livery companies of London contributed funds to develop this space to display valued artifacts and documents. Appropriately, a French inscription reads "Conservez ce qu'ont vu vos peres" [Safeguard those things upon which your fathers have looked]. Why French? It's the language medieval guilds used in most of their administrative and civic documents.

There are maritime motifs all throughout the church itself (among other things, there's a Mariners Chapel). This heraldic device is the emblem of the old Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, which bore the Latin motto "Per Mare Ubique" [Everywhere By Sea]. What I find most curious is the use of sea horses as supporters for the shield device! Apparently sea horses do appear elsewhere in heraldic insignia but in more imaginative and stylized forms; see this website (scroll to "sea-horse") for other examples.

I end with this curious detail from a medieval comic strip (or "graphic novel") version of the Book of Revelations. This panel depicts Rev. 16:13-16, when the text describes "three unclean spirits like frogs" coming out of the mouth of the False Prophet, Dragon, and Beast. Read (and hear) more about this artwork, with larger image, at this Victoria and Albert Museum website.

Paris: English vs. French

2010-09-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer I saw an exhibit in the Musée de l'Armée about the work of Jean Froissart, a medieval historian who wrote extensively about the Hundred Years' War between England and France (a misnomer, since the war actually lasted over 100 years).

Here's the poster for the exhibition. The title translates as "JOHN FROISSART chronicler of the Hundred Years' War." Note the use of red in the title - this follows the medieval practice of rubrication in manuscripts (i.e., using red letters to signal important textual features like titles or section headings). Colors - particularly red and blue - were used in some interesting ways throughout the exhibit as well.

This medieval manuscript shows the King of England (L, dressed in red, with lions) speaking with the King of France (R, dressed in blue, with fleur-de-lis motif). These are traditional heraldic devices/colors associated with the two nations.

The family tree near the start of the exhibit actually uses these heraldic motifs to mark royal family lines (England red, France blue). But look what happens when Henry V of England and French princess Catherine de Valois bear a child: Henry VI is rendered in alternating red and blue. Reminds me of a line in Shakespeare when the English king woos Catherine and suggests that "thou and I" shall bear a "compound...boy, half French, half English" (Henry V, Act 5.2).

The color-coding gets more complicated in the war chronology: events in English history are listed in blue, events in French history are in red, and events in the shared history of the nations are in green.

This little panel describes pieces of armor worn by soldiers during the period. In the center, a nice little riddle about a chain-mail garment (in parallel translation). Not quite sure why they "re-translated" the word "haubergon" in the French but not in the English.

Insofar as English/French relations are concerned, there seems to be a love/hate dynamic throughout the museum as a whole. The displays often stress solidarity between the Allies during World War II (in this context, the English are clearly friends and supporters of the French), but other materials openly mock the English. This satirical poster mocks "les English" on their way to Transvaal (in South Africa). Above, they cry for glory and victory shouting AO YES! Below, they disembark the ships onto the land, seasick and full of "wisky."

P.S. Just noticed in the royal pedigree that "Edouard" is not anglicized to Edward, but Henry is spelled in the English way (in French it would be spelled "Henri"). Weird.

Paris: Landmarks, Monuments, Museums

2010-09-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

More linguistically-interesting things I saw in Paris.

A monument to peace within view of the Eiffel Tower. I can't tell how well the word "peace" is rendered in all these languages but the Chinese (和平) is at least legible. Not the best execution but well-intentioned. (By the way, I didn't see English anywhere among these languages! Hmmm...)

Louis Braille, inventor of the raised system of dots for the blind, is entombed beneath the Panthéon. This is one of the rare monuments that actively encourages visitors to touch and interact with it: a bust, electronically illuminated Braille inscriptions, and audio recordings.

A similar installment for the blind can be found in the Pompidou Center. Here the Braille inscription and a textured pattern allow the visitor to appreciate a work of visual art.

Inside the Louvre Museum there's a series of signs that lay down "les règles de l'art" [the rules of art], i.e. what you're forbidden to do inside (e.g. no touching artworks, no flash photography etc.). I like the humorous and non-verbal aspect of these signs:

And, finally, a trilingual notice in the Palace of Versailles:

Paris: Neighborhoods (Jewish, Japanese, Latin)

2010-09-22T23:54:00.000-04:00

This blog entry goes through a few distinctive neighborhoods in Paris: le Marais (the old Jewish Quarter), le quarter japonais (Japanese Quarter, around la Rue Sainte-Anne), and le quartier latin (Latin Quarter, near the Sorbonne - so called because university scholars used to speak Latin).

Here's a typical storefront in the Marais advertising merchandise in Hebrew and French. Incidentally, the word "Librarie" doesn't mean "library" - it means "bookshop" (the French word for library is "bibliotheque").

This excellent restaurant, "l'As du Fallafel," advertises its signature attractions in Hebrew: falafel (פלפל) and shwarma (השאוורמה). It's worth noting that the origin of falafel is disputed; some would claim it is Arab in origin. Whatever its origin, the food is delicious.

A closer view of the take-out order window reveals playing card aces (the word "As" in the restaurant name means "ace") and the motto of the establishment is "Toujour Imité Jamais Égalé" (Always Imitated, Never Equaled) - a nice jab at all the rival restaurants that have opened up nearby.

Along the Rue Sainte-Anne there's a stretch of Japanese restaurants - here's the menu for Naniwa-Ya, which probably has the best Japanese noodle soup I've ever eaten. The Japanese menu reads in the traditional manner, up-down and left-to-right. Oddly, the menu uses the letters YA rather than the kanji (character) 屋 or や (ya).

On one of the walls inside the Sorbonne I saw this sign advertising a photo competition for an international language study program. "No entiendo" is Spanish for "I don't understand," and the French translation ("Je ne comprends pas") is the URL for the website. I find it ironic that the acronym ESL (English as a Second Language) doesn't need any translation.

Inside one of the bathrooms in the university, some pedantic graffiti. One person demands that the maintenance staff replace the hand towels, and another person corrects the first person's grammatical error, correcting "essuies-main" to the proper French form "essuie-mains" (hand-towels).

Florence: Strange Stuff

2010-09-22T23:16:00.000-04:00

This is my final entry about Florence - saving some of the best stuff for last!

Sign outside a door on the train into Italy. This looks to me like a really bad case of inter-linguistic "telephone" - the Italian was first translated into French, and then the French was used as the basis for the (pretty unintelligible) English translation.

A trilingual sign (Italian, English, Spanish) warns people not to buy counterfeit goods. The Italian and Spanish say "it's forbidden to buy fake merchandise or knock-offs (imitation items) from unlicensed vendors" but the English truncates things a bit. Note that "abusivi" doesn't mean "abusive" but rather "unauthorized."

An old clock inside the Duomo. It's a 24-hour clock in with hours as Roman numerals, plus the one (I) is in the 6 position and the hand moves counter-clockwise.

Hotel sign says "breakfast" in Italian, English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Japanese. A few diacritical marks are missing in the European languages (e.g. should read Frühstück, petit déjeuner and pequeno almoço) and the sign gives the romanized pronunciation of the Japanese characters 朝食 but overall this one is pretty good.

Lovely museum across the street. "Serial Killer" needs no translation, but "Jack lo Squartatore" [Jack the Ripper] does. (Why not "Giacomo lo Squartatore," I wonder?)

Florence: Churches and Museums

2010-09-08T22:58:00.000-04:00

Now for some more signs from Florence - these all come from churches or museums.

Ascending to the dome of the Duomo. I like the graffiti "conversations" that have ensued around this sign. Note someone has crossed out the name HUGO from the Spanish "Hugo y [and] Laura" and replaced it with LAURA ERIC underneath.

Some writing on the top of the dome of the Duomo. For some reason a lot of Korean and Chinese inscriptions. Nice little acrostic involving the names Alex and Andrew (center).

Writing on walls is, of course, an old practice. Here's a 17th century inscription on the way down.

Ten Commandments motif on the doors exiting the Duomo. You can just make out (most of) the Hebrew text of the first 5 commandments.

The translations inside the crypt of the Medici Chapel are mostly unremarkable - but it did strike me as odd how certain words were in bold. I suppose if you were in a hurry or something this could help you scan the text more efficiently.

Lastly, an idiosyncratic sign in the garden of the Franciscan monastery in Fiesole. The Latin NON EST TOTO SANCTIOR MONS (and Italian equivalent, underneath) mean "in the whole world there is no mountain more holy"). Curiously, the word "welcome" (benvenuto / benvenuta) is grammatically inflected in both its masculine and feminine forms (welcoming the male and female reader equally?). The icons for all the forbidden activities are cute.

Florence Edition: Dante

2010-09-07T23:33:00.003-04:00

It's been months since I posted anything new here - much of the summer was spent away from DC. Just for fun, I'll be blogging about a few of the places I visited. I start with Florence.

The theme for this blog entry about Florence is Dante: signs of this renowned poet (d. 1321) can be found all throughout the city.

In the Duomo, this spectacular painting (Domenico di Michelino, 1465) depicts the poet gazing longingly at the city of Florence (he wrote The Divine Comedy while in exile from his beloved home). On the left you see the Inferno and center is Mount Purgatory (as described in the Purgatorio). The celestial spheres of Paradiso are above. This painting beautifully transforms (translates, if you will) the grand scope of the poet's allegory into a clear visual format - although it depicts a city with architecture that Dante would not have known (the dome did not exist as such in his day).

A detail of Dante's book reveals the opening lines of his poem. A little hard to read, since 1. the text appears in all capital letters with no word separations and 2. the spelling differs from most modern editions. The first page (left) reads: "Nel mezzo del chamino di nostra vita / Mi ritrova per una selva scura che la diritta via era smarita" [In the middle of our life's journey / I found myself in a dark wood, for the straight path was lost].

Many other signs evoking the works of Dante are strategically placed around the city; e.g., at one point along the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) crossing the Arno River, we see "in sul passo d'Arno" [at the crossing of the Arno]. Mildly interesting sign, I guess - but without any real context for the quote it seems pretty random. I wonder if most people even notice it.

One place of particular interest for Dante readers is the Casa di Dante, where the poet (most likely) once resided. There's much to love about this wall display - not only does it have a nice diagram of all of Dante's circles of hell, but it also manages to squeeze in the entire text of The Divine Comedy on a single panel in tiny font! And how did those footprints get on the wall?

A Florence location that has become a curious site of pilgrimage is the Chiesa di Santa Margherita de' Cerchi, which is allegedly near the place where Dante first met his beloved Beatrice Portinari (i.e., the subject of his early poetry and, later, his guide in the Paradiso). The entrance sign informs visitors that the church dates from 1032 and Beatrice was buried here.

Inside the church, a painting: "Dante meets Beatrice P., accompanied by her mother Cilia de' Caponsacchi and Monna Tessa" [i.e., nurse in the Portinari household]. In the Vita Nuova, Dante claims he met Beatrice walking down the street with two ladies and this encounter inspired him to write poetry about her. This painting seems to take some liberties here, as Dante claims he was 18 at the time of that meeting (this Dante looks much older).

At the tomb of Beatrice, visitors from around the world leave handwritten letters to her (most of these are written by women who are seeking love and asking Beatrice to intercede). I can't make out all the text here, but the one on the right is in Korean; the one of the left (with lipstick) reads "Dear Beatrice."

The "letters for Beatrice" phenomenon is mysterious and surprisingly recent in origin. For more on Dante's life and work (emphasis on The Divine Comedy), see this excellent website.

P.S. There is a Florence-DC connection I should note! In Meridian Park, you can see a statue of Dante clearly based on the painting in the Duomo (or something very much like it):

This portrayal of Dante looks pretty familiar. I see one major difference between this sculpture and the Duomo painting, though. The Dante in the Duomo holds an open book, but this Dante has his book closed.

Paris: Randomness

2010-09-07T23:19:00.021-04:00

Last blog entry about Paris.

Displayed in a storefront window, this T-shirt offers a ironic, snooty twist on the "I [HEART] PARIS" cliché: "J' [aime] rein: Je suis Parisien" [I love nothing: I'm a Parisian].

Variation on the theme: I [SPACE INVADER] PARIS. Who knows what this is about? Strange thing is, there were lots of these signs all over the city.

In a little park, a bunch of cursive vowels and random vocalic word balloons. I got the sense this was supposed to represent the childlike joy one gets from playing outdoors, but I could totally be making that up.

On the Métro, I spotted this ad targeting people who want to learn English. The name and American flag/tongue thing strike me as incredibly cheesy. I'm also not sure "Wall Street" English is the best name - yes it conveys the idea of "practical" real-world English, but Wall Street doesn't have the best reputation as of late.

Another weird French take on American culture: this graphic novel (?) for sale in a storefront window reads I.R.$. (dollar sign replacing S). Sort of makes tax collection look glamorous and exciting!

P.S. I've just learned that there is Wikipedia about the "Space Invader" artist, who has "invaded" many cities - but Paris remains the most saturated.

P.P.S. For more on the "I [HEART] WHATEVER" motif, see this posting.

Bar Mitzvah at Temple Micah

2010-04-28T00:56:00.002-04:00

About a week ago, I attended the bar mitzvah of the son of one of my colleagues. Here are some images and (language-related) reflections! [Click any image to enlarge.]

Above: scriptural texts, commentaries, and prayerbooks on the shelves in the sanctuary of Temple Micah. The wood panels on the walls are inscribed with sayings from the Tanakh.

Here, excerpts from this day's designated portion of the Torah. The boy (man) of honor read aloud some lovely passages from Leviticus 14 concerning leprosy and bodily fluids. Note the direction of reading in the Hebrew text goes from left to right (see the page numbers at the bottom).

The layout of text in the scriptural commentary books is more complex that just two columns of text (see above). The Hebrew reads right to left, and English left to right, and in the notes you sometimes have to switch directions mid-sentence.

Some of us in attendance were mildly horrified by the glosses on the left hand page of the reading from the Haftarah.

The actual service was quite lengthy - and I have to say I never quite "caught on" trying to follow along in the prayer book. Temple Micah uses the Reform Siddur, and as you can see in the above each page includes the Hebrew text (#2), a phonetic transliteration in Roman letters (#6), an English translation (#7), and accompanying prayers (items on left-hand page). Looking at all theses glosses, finding aids, and text moving in different directions made me feel like I was navigating a complex website! For an informative blog posting on this prayerbook's layout, see this online user's guide (the image above comes from that website).

This was a fantastic experience, and I'm glad I was able to take part in the day's celebrations.

P.S. I was very intrigued by the way the Divine Name appears in the prayerbook. Apparently there are many different practices here, but I noticed that during the services everyone was pronouncing the abbreviated name (written יי ) as "Adonai" (= Lord). For more on the pronunciation and writing of the Divine Name, see this entry in this online Jewish Encyclopedia.

P.P.S. For more on the Divine Name in Hebrew, you might also consult this detailed explanation (strangely enough, from a website for Christians).

Chaucer in DC (Modern English Translation)

2010-04-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I popped into the DC Public Library, SE Branch and noticed an intriguing decorative motif: April-themed lines from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales adorned the bookshelves (original Middle English along one set of bookcases, and a modern English translation on the other). Above, a snippet from the original text. Let's take a closer look at the translation, shall we?

"What that Aprille with his shoures soote/The droght of March hath perced to the roote" = When in April the SWEET SHOWERS FALL/And pierce the drought of March to the root, & all [I don't know why random words are in italics or capital letters. Overall it's pretty good; interesting that "the sweet showers" are now the grammatical subject, not April itself (himself)].

"And bathed every veyne in swich licour/Of which vertu engendred is the flour" = The veins are BATHED IN LIQUOR of such power/As brings about the engendering of the flower [seems pretty good - nice translation of "vertu" as "power" in order to make the lines rhyme].

"Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth/Inspired hath in every holt and heeth" = When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath/Exhales AN AIR IN EVERY GROVE and heath [the words "breath" and "heath" don't rhyme in modern English, but otherwise this works].

"The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne/Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne" = UPON THE TENDER SHOOTS, and the young sun/His HALF-COURSE IN THE SIGN of the Ram HAS RUN [the "in the sign of the Ram" clarifies things for modern readers but the capital letters have gone crazy!].

"And smale foweles maken melodye,/That slepen al the nyght with open ye" = And the small fowl are making melody/That SLEEP AWAY THE NIGHT with open eye [here "melody" and "eye" no longer rhyme - not quite sure why "fowls" or "birds" wasn't used].

"(So priketh hem Nature in hir courages)/Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages" = (So nature pricks them AND THEIR HEART ENGAGES)/Then PEOPLE LONG TO GO ON pilgrimages [creative translation here; "engages" works relatively well to set up the word "pilgrimages"].

"And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,/To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondy londes" = And PALMERS LONG TO SEEK the stranger strands/Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands [the phrase "stranger strands" and insertion of "saints" here is slightly odd, but I like the reincorporation of longing in this couplet].

"And specially from every shires ende/Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende" = And specially, from every shire's end/Of England, down to Canterbury THEY WEND [I think it would have made more sense to translate "specially" as "especially" or "particularly"].

Overall, quite good - some awkward moments, but the modernization does attempt to preserve the original rhyme pattern.

P.S. Note that the final couplet to the opening lines has been omitted: "The hooly bilsful martir for to seke,/That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke" [To seek the holy blissful martyr, who has helped them (pilgrims/palmers) whenever they were sick]. Not quite sure why these last two lines have been left out. Did the library simply run out of shelves? This is a public library, and I wonder (this being DC) if the lines were left out in order to preserve a more secular, nonsectarian theme and avoid the appearance of endorsing any particular religion.

Chinese in Civil War Teaser Ad

2010-04-21T22:43:00.001-04:00

On the metro today, I saw this intriguing ad promoting an upcoming exhibit on the Civil War at that will go on display at the National Archives. The Chinese document pictured here certainly got my attention - I'll be curious to see what it's doing in the exhibit!

I can't make out everything in this text, but I do notice the words 大清 (Dà Qīng) at the top of a few of the lines, referring (I suppose) to the Great Qing Empire (last ruling dynasty of China). I guess this exhibit will reveal some connection between Qing China and the US Civil War?

For more on the upcoming "Discovering the Civil War" exhibit, see the official website (with teaser video).

P.S. (added September 2010) - Just noticed a new teaser ad on the metro:

It reads: "Emma or Frank? Women could not enlist, but hundreds of women served." Certainly an intriguing image and caption. Part II of the Civil War exhibit begins in November 2010.

Bewildering DC License Plate

2010-04-20T21:47:00.000-04:00

Apparently this District resident likes not having a voting representative in Congress? Go figure.
Capitol Hill, a few days ago.

(Note that you can just make out the words TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION on the bottom this license plate.)

Library of Congress: Inventors of Writing (Odin)

2010-04-08T00:18:00.000-04:00

Here's one last figure from the bronze doors to the Adams Building (Library of Congress). Here we see Odin (Óðinn in Old Norse), the Germanic god; I assume he's on this wall because he's believed to have invented runes or something...but don't know much about Norse mythology.

To read about some of the other figures on these doors, see here and here.

Library of Congress: Inventors of Writing (Cadmus)

2010-04-08T00:03:00.001-04:00

Here's another figure from the bronze doors on the Adams Building (Library of Congress). Here we see Cadmus (Κάδμος), the man who - according to the historian Herodotus - introduced the alphabet (Phoenician script) to the ancient Greeks. Interesting that the sculptor here (Lee Lawrie, 1939) made no attempt to replicate Greek letters (i.e., the name "CADMUS" is written in Roman capitals).

For more images from the bronze doors, see the previous post.

For more Greek stuff from the Library of Congress, see this posting.

Library of Congress: Inventors of Writing (Cang Jie)

2010-04-07T23:56:00.003-04:00

The bronze doors on the west side of the Adams Building of the Library Congress depict mythological and historical figures who are (for some reason or another) closely associated with writing. Above, a figure representing 倉頡 (Cāng Jié), the legendary four-eyed inventor of Chinese characters.

There are two different systems for writing Mandarin Chinese characters, including traditional and simplified; in simplified script the name is written 仓颉. Note that there are (at least) two systems of Romanization for Chinese. The spelling "Ts'ang Chieh" (used in this inscription) is the antiquated Wide-Giles system which has since fallen out of use; it's generally considered standard procedure to use Pinyin Romanization.

P.S. The bronze doors were sculpted by Lee Lawrie in 1939.

For more figures from these bronze doors, see the following post.

Garden Store

2010-04-07T23:36:00.001-04:00

Spring is here. Who is this guy Herb, and why is he in the backyard? Capitol Hill.

Latino Culture Night Poster

2010-03-21T23:02:00.002-04:00

A few days ago I noticed this poster for an event celebrating the Latin American cultures. I find it interesting that the title of the event ("Noche de Cultura") is in Spanish, even if not all Latin American countries use Spanish. Perhaps there's some irony in the fact that an event with the theme "transcending borders" uses a visual motif that relies upon borders and national flags...or maybe the little red ribbons (mountains? hills?) are reaching across borders? I tend to over-read these things.

Census 2010 Awareness Campaigns (Federal and DC)

2010-03-20T22:08:00.003-04:00

For a while now US Census Bureau has been running a campaign to remind people to fill out their census forms. Above, a sign in Metro Center adopts the appearance of a handwritten census form: "When you answer 10 simple questions, you can help our community for the next 10 years."

Here, a similar sign in Spanish (McPherson Square metro stop). The message is slightly different, though: "Tómese 10 minutos para ayudar a nuestra comunidad durante los próximos 10 años" [take 10 minutes to help our community for the next 10 years].

Other ads are judiciously placed at bus stops (this one near Farragut North metro).

Here's a similar ad on a bus stop (somewhere along K Street, NW).

For more about the census, see the previous post.

P.S. [added April 28, 2010] The campaign to encourage DC census participation has its own posters as well. These posters (below) combine elements from the English and Spanish posters discussed above, compressing "10 questions, 10 minutes" into a single slogan. Eastern Market metro.

The Census is Coming!

2010-03-15T21:59:00.002-04:00

Just received this notification from the US Census Bureau that the census 2010 forms are coming soon! The letter directs readers to the census website, where you can find directions in a bazillion languages. The languages on this form are English, Spanish, Chinese (simplified characters), Vietnamese, and Russian.

I wonder how they decide which languages to include on this letter? And does the same letter go out to all regions of the US?

It seems a bit inefficient to send out forms to everyone to them know that another form is going to arrive - but I suppose anything to increase awareness is a good thing.

(For more on the census campaign, see the next post).

More Bilingual Signage (Canadian Embassy)

2010-03-01T18:43:00.002-05:00

Some time ago I posted about bilingual inscriptions at the Canadian Embassy. I've been meaning to post something related to Canada or English/French bilingualism since the beginning of the Vancouver Winter Olympics but somehow I never got around to it...

Above, English and French banners encourage businesses to invest in Canada. The design of these posters is clearly in line with the Vancouver Olympics material (below).

Here's a screenshot of the top corner of the English and French versions of the official Vancouver Olympics website. Note that the slogans (English: "With glowing hearts" and French: "Des plus brillants exploits") are phrases from the English and French lyrics of the national anthem, "O Canada." The differences between the English and French versions of the song are intriguing as well.

Above, another sign I saw at the Canadian Embassy earlier today. Isn't calling the Secret Service to round up skateboarders just a bit hostile and unwelcoming? Seems very un-Canadian to me.

Used Book Store Signage (SPOILER ALERT)

2010-02-22T00:02:00.001-05:00

I visited a certain used book store near Eastern Market today and was entertained by its ample signage. Here are some examples of the signs posted throughout the store:

The entrance to the store. One sign instructs patrons to leave all bags/packages at the front desk, two signs specify the limited hours in which certain transactions can be made, and two other signs tell patrons not to use their cell phones inside (click the image to make it larger).

Apparently poetry readers aren't very good about keeping books in alphabetical order.

SPOILER ALERT?

An intimidating sign wishes patrons farewell as they descend the stairs.

Upside-Down Fortune (Chinese New Year)

2010-02-15T16:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year! A red paper lantern bears the character 福 (fu = "good luck, fortune") upside-down. This is a common practice in Chinese restaurants and storefronts around the start of the lunar new year, as "fu dao le" (meaning "fu is upside-down") sounds like 福到了 (fu dao le = "luck/fortune has arrived").

For a (rather unfortunate) 福-related image in Chinatown, see this posting.

Jaded Hearts

2010-02-15T16:43:00.001-05:00

Happy Singles Awareness Day! Chinatown/Gallery Place Metro, Feb 14, 2010.

Unfortunate Name Placement

2010-02-07T20:03:00.003-05:00

Very unfortunate name placement in Chinatown.

P.S. For those who might not know, the decorative square motif below is a stylized version of the character 福 (meaning "good luck, fortune") - hence the title for this blog posting.

P.P.S. For another image involving 福, see this posting.

Snowmageddon 2010

2010-02-07T13:38:00.002-05:00

This weekend's huge blizzard (aka "Snowmageddon") has turned this town topsy-turvy.

Since this is a blog about linguistic matters: some media outlets have attributed the widely-used name for this meteorological event to a semi-ironic comment by Obama, but the term "Snowmageddon" (or related terms like "Snowpocalypse 2.0" etc.) were in use in local media - and the blogopshere - for quite some time prior to his usage.

P.S. For more on the Greek/Hebrew origin of the word "Armageddon" itself, see here.

Mixed Messages

2010-01-30T21:54:00.003-05:00

Capitol Hill, January 2010. There are certain magical spaces within the realm of DC where parking is both permitted and forbidden at the same time.

Eastern Market, February 2010. Another case of mixed messages - go pay for your inability to park!

Multilingual Map: Territorial Waters?

2010-01-30T12:09:00.001-05:00

One last detail of this multilingual map. Here we see Florida and the Bahamas (with place-names in English, since the US and UK lay claim to these lands respectively) and Cuba's place-names are in Spanish. When it comes to the sea, English is used right up to the north coast of Cuba; everything south of Cuba is in Spanish.

The use of English or Spanish demarcates different parts of the sea, conceptually it dividing this contiguous body of water into distinct cultural/linguistic zones. The tidy distinction does break down, though; for instance, Jamaica's territory bears English place-names yet the water immediately around the island (presumably within Jamaica's jurisdiction) bears Spanish text. As a whole, the map really visualizes (for me) how arbitrary and paradoxical the notion of "territorial waters" is in the first place. In order to define "territorial water," one must first conceive of water as if it were land (Latin etymology: terra = earth, land).

For more on this map, see here and here.

Multilingual Map: Language and Territory

2010-01-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

Another detail of an intriguing multilingual map. All the place-names on this map are written in the official language of the nation-state that lays claim to that land. I'm intrigued here by what happens to the sea. Could the Spanish-language "Golfo de México" imply that this entire body of water "belongs" to Mexico? I would assume that the US (or individual coastal states) must lay claim to jurisdiction over some of the part of the sea before it becomes "international waters" but I'm no expert in maritime law...

For more on this map, see here and here.

Multilingual Caribbean Map: Language and Place

2010-01-30T11:54:00.002-05:00

This detail of a multilingual map (in the building where I work) shows two locations very much in the news: Cuba and Haiti. On the left, note "Guantánamo" (with diacritical mark over the A, since all of the Cuban place-names are rendered in Spanish). On the right, HAÏTI (with marks over the I, since all the Haitian place-names are in French). Curiously, the water "in between" these lands is marked neither in Spanish nor French. Instead, it gets an English name: "Windward Passage."

Not quite sure how to interpret the use of English for this particular body of water, but the map as a whole has an interesting way of visualizing the relationship between language and place.

For a larger view of the Caribbean Sea and (here designated in Spanish as "Mar Caribe"), click below.

For more on this map, see here and here.

Taiwan Consulate Visit

2010-01-27T23:00:00.000-05:00

For a variety of complex reasons, Taiwan does not have an official "embassy" in DC; instead, there's something called the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO). Today, I visited the Consulate Division today to do some business. Above, the entrance sign (note the American U. sign reflection in the background) - don't really have much to say other than I think this image looks cool.

A little bit about languages on US and Taiwan passports. It used to be the case that only English and French (for a long time the international language of diplomacy) were used on US passports, but a Bill Clinton-era decision added Spanish to the mix. The Taiwan passport uses Chinese and the the more recent global "lingua franca," English.

Here's a selection of the various US- and Taiwan-based publications in the waiting area (some in English, some bilingual, and Mandarin Chinese only).

One fun thing about Taiwanese visual media (newspapers, TV) is that a reader/viewer may be forced to scan text in many directions simultaneously; here, the text on left was in motion scrolling "up" (i.e., to be read from up to down); at bottom, static yellow test reads left to right, and the white text below was in motion scrolling right to left. Meanwhile, Arabic numerals and Roman letters read left to right.

One last item of interest on the wall: a poster bearing a poem about city life in Taipei (originally written in Chinese) is rendered into German and English translations, each by a local translator. As far as I could tell, the translations were perfectly fine (the poem itself didn't strike me as too complex).

Old Treasury Department Seal

2010-01-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

I walked by the Treasury Department building this afternoon and noticed this old Latin seal. It struck my eye because of its heavily abbreviated text: THESAUR. AMER. SEPTENT. SIGIL. = Thesaur[i] Ameri[icae] Septent[rionalis] Sigil[um], or "Seal of the Treasury of North America." The designation of "North America" intrigues me. Did the US originally think it would claim all of North America (including Canada?).

Why is the text so abbreviated? The skeptic in me imagines two possible explanations: 1. It's the treasury department, so they are simply being cheapskates and saving money/space by abbreviating; 2. It cuts down the possibility of linguistic errors - if you just leave off the end of the words you (conveniently) don't have to worry about all the tricky Latin declensions.

For more on this seal (which was apparently replaced in 1968), see this website.

Nellies Sports Bar Men's Room

2010-01-24T16:15:00.001-05:00

The men's room in Nellie's Sports Bar contains a lot of humorous Braille signage.

P.S. For another (older) photo of more Braille signage at Nellie's, see here.

Virtual Medieval Media (Interactive Gutenberg Bible)

2010-01-23T13:11:00.001-05:00

Library of Congress, November 2009. I must say the interactive display accompanying the LOC's Gutenberg Bible is really cool. The Gutenberg Bible is of course one of the first texts in Western Europe to be produced using movable print technology. This touch-screen display allows you to navigate the text "virtually" (here, "hot spots" on the screen allow you to see chapter headings, rubrics, Latin abbreviations, etc.).

Another image from a different page in this bible. I find it interesting that so many of the terms we use to describe how we navigate digital media are simply imported from previous technologies: e.g., (web)page, scroll, tab, bookmark. There's something uncanny - familiar and yet strange - about navigating the "virtual" text in such a dynamic way while the original physical text remains inert in a stuffy display case just a few feet away.

Extraneoüs üse of ümlaüts

2010-01-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, near McPherson Square Metro. Extraneoüs üse of ümlaüts in poster for "Yogen Früz" (frozen yogurt establishment). Here, the umlaut mark (i.e., double-dot above a letter) evokes certain vowels in Germanic languages, perhaps along the lines of "Häagen-Dazs" ice cream?

(Little bit of trivia: "Häagen-Dazs" is an invented name that does not actually exist in any Germanic language).

Collapsing Bank (Sign of the Times)

2010-01-15T19:07:00.000-05:00

Today in Chinatown. Looks like there are a few strokes missing in the Chinese characters for "bank" (銀行); two missing on the top left of 銀 and one missing at the top right of 銀行. Perhaps this "bank" inscription is falling apart, or maybe it wasn't written correctly to begin with...

Peace Pole Project (Multilingual Obelisks)

2010-01-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've noticed these multilingual obelisks around town for a while but yesterday was the first time I actually stopped to take a close look at a few of them. Each pole bears a different message of peace on each side (typically "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in various languages).

Based on the shape of these objects, I had just assumed the poles were some sort of "DC thing" until I learned (online) that these are actually part of the Peace Pole Project, a larger movement to erect monuments like these worldwide.

From left to right: 1 = Monolingual pole, Foggy Bottom; 2 - 4 = Octolingual pole, William Penn House, Capitol Hill. In alphabetical order, the languages on the William Penn House pole are Arabic, Cherokee, Chinese (simplified), English, French, Hopi, Spanish (I'll leave it up to you to sort out which is which).

It's possible to custom order a peace pole on this website (including hexagonal ones!). See this website for more on the history of the peace pole project.

Chinese Characters, Early Modern Readers

2010-01-11T18:48:00.000-05:00

I stopped by the Folger Shakespeare Library's "Imagining China" exhibit today one more time today (wanted to make sure to see it again before it closes). This display case shows how Early Modern readers (mis)understood Chinese writing. You can't make out all the text in this photo but you at least get a sense of how Early Modern printers in the West (attempted to) reproduce(d) the characters.

For more on this particular issue, see this section of the Folger website (not sure how long it will remain active); see also this previous posting.

Asian Spice

2010-01-10T12:00:00.001-05:00

Chinatown, December 2009. The translation of "Asian Spice" (亞洲之味) looks correct to me. I overheard a couple deliberating as I took this photo: "Well, this looks OK...but the name of the place sounds too much like an X-rated film." They decided to eat there anyway.

Multilingual Monkeys

2010-01-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

Sackler Gallery, National Mall, Fall 2009. This hanging sculpture entitled "Monkeys Grasping for the Moon" (by Chinese artist Xu Bing) is one of my favorites; the word for "monkey" in various languages/scripts form a linked chain hanging from the ceiling.

Below, another view of the sculpture (lower in the building):

Read more about this sculpture on this page of the Sackler website or read the story that inspired the artwork.

Subtle Terra Cotta Warriors Ad

2010-01-07T18:25:00.001-05:00

National Geographic Society, December 2009. Very subtle use of Chinese in this ad for the terra cotta warriors exhibition. You can just make out the Chinese character 兵 ("soldier, warrior") inside the letter "O" in WARRIORS.

I've also seen these related sidewalk ads (this photo taken earlier this week in Dupont Circle):

I HEART NERDS

2010-01-06T01:23:00.004-05:00

Dupont Circle. I think this Hello Kitty lunchbox is supposed to read "I [HEART] NERDS" but instead it reads "I [APPLE] NERDS." Huh?

(For more on the storefront window display in which this appeared, see the following post.)

Japanese Lucky Cats

2010-01-06T01:23:00.003-05:00

Dupont Circle, January 2010. The waving (or welcoming) cat, often understood to invite good fortune and prosperity, is a common sight in Japanese (and other Asian) restaurants and shop windows. On the right, a golden maneki neko (招き猫) in gold bears the kanji or Chinese character 福 ("luck, good fortune") on its belly.

The handwritten Japanese text attached to the gold cat reads あけましておめでとう (akemashite omedetou) = "happy new year."

For more on the cultural significance of the "maneki neko," see this online taxonomy of lucky cat styles and colors.

For more on the Hello Kitty lunchbox in this image, see my previous posting.

P.S. I've been told another way to say "happy new year" in Japanese is 新年おめでとうございます (shin-nen omedetou gozaimasu).

Multilingual Christmas Wishes

2010-01-05T23:14:00.002-05:00

Eastern Market, January 2010. It's several days into the new year, but this tree still bears the Christmas wishes of local residents. English: "Peace to Leslie" (top) and "Peace in the world, joy to the EM community" (bottom). Spanish: "Amor, Paz y Amistad" = Peace, Love and Friendship and "seguir igual de bien que en el 2009" = continue to be just as good as 2009 (top and bottom, in orange). Nonverbal: three peace signs (left, in green). The other inscriptions, apparently written by children: "ALESHA HAPPY" and "I Wish for happness [sic]."

P.S. Quite a few of the decorations (not pictured here) were written by people wishing for Senate to pass the Health Care Bill. It looks like those people got their wish!

Michelle Obama Translated (Czech and Chinese)

2010-01-05T09:04:00.003-05:00

Prague, Czech Republic, December 2009. I saw this image of First Lady (and cultural icon) Michelle Obama during my holiday travels abroad. Here, her surname is rendered in Czech as Obamová.

This name transformation follows the Czech practice of rendering female surnames as grammatically feminine adjectives (often a modified form of the husband's name). This practice seems to work well with Obama, as her name already ends in a vowel. Other names like, say, Hillary Rodhamová Clintonová seem to me quite awkward.

Above, an example of how the First Lady's name can take different forms even in the US (here, a promotional book cover seen in DC Chinatown, November 2009). The translation of "Obama" as 奥巴馬 (here, 奥巴马 = ào bā mǎ) has become standard in Chinese-language media; "Michelle" is somewhat malleable but is most often rendered as 米歇爾 (here, 米歇尔 = mǐ xiē ěr).

January in Almanac and Book of Hours

2010-01-01T09:05:00.003-05:00

January 1, 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

I start the year with images from the Library of Congress copy of "Poor Richard's Almanack" (printed by Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, 1733). A "best seller" for decades in the American colonies, Franklin's annual "Almanack" included not only a calendar but astronomical and weather forecasts, witty maxims and puzzles, and practical advice.

The page for January (above) shows the astrological sign Aquarius and a domestic scene.

Each month's illustration is preceded by a calendar listing important days (religious festivals) and astronomical events.

Above, a detail of an anatomical man along with Zodiac signs.

Both the structure and layout of the "Almanack" owe much to the medieval book of hours (see this informative website for more). Compare the humble "Almanack" to the exquisite calendar and anatomical man in this 15th-century book, the "Tres Riches Heures" of Jean, Duc de Berry:

While the print "Almanack" is in English and the manuscript "Heures" in French/Latin, these books clearly participate in a shared visual tradition.

For more on the "Almanack" in the context of Franklin's work, see this Library of Congress website.

You can also view high-resolution images of each page of the LOC copy of the "Alamack" as well as a medieval book of hours.

For more information on the "Tres Riches Heures," see here and here.

German Chinese Restaurant

2009-12-31T15:53:00.000-05:00

December 31, 2009. I haven't posted anything in a while because of holiday travels (spent a few weeks in Europe). Before I resume my regular postings, I thought I'd share a particularly memorable experience: eating dinner in a Chinese restaurant in a small German village.

Here's a picture of what was on the table when we arrived: each setting included a quintessential German beer coaster and a napkin teaching Germans various Chinese phrases. Left hand column: "Guten Appetit" = 請您慢用 (qǐng nín màn yòng) - more literally, "please eat slowly." Note the German orthography here: "jon" = "yòng" since J = Y sound.

Our fortune cookies came with fortunes in 4 languages (English and German on one side, Dutch and French on the other).

Here's a picture of the spread. The duck, in foreground, was eine Haus-Spezialität (house specialty). Yum!

Lambda Departing

2009-12-10T18:51:00.000-05:00

Dupont Circle, December 2009. Lambda Rising (the only LGBT bookstore in DC) has just announced it is closing at the month's end. The Greek letter "lambda" (λ) has long been associated with the gay rights movement and is often used as a symbol for the LGBT community. Incidentally, this stylized lambda logo vaguely resembles the Chinese character 入 (ru) = "to enter" (a place), "to join" (a group).

For more on the closure of Lambda Rising, see the coverage in the DC Agenda (the LGBT publication that recently rose from the ashes of the abruptly-closed Washington Blade).

P.S. For some speculation on how "lambda" came to be associated with the LGBT movement, see this website.

(Photo courtesy of Suite101).

Sneaky Typo Corrections

2009-12-08T00:26:00.003-05:00

Eastern Market. Today I noticed that the misspelled manhole covers (which I mentioned in a recent posting) have now been replaced with new ones! I love that the replacement covers have a "fake rust" paint-job to make it look as if these are actually the original "old" ones.

~~I wonder if my blog had anything to do with these things being replaced?~~
Turns out the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee is responsible for replacing these and even sold off the old ones as collector's items (see comment section below).

Below, one of the old (misspelled) manhole covers.

Upside-Down Latin

2009-12-02T21:10:00.001-05:00

It's the season of Advent for many folks I suppose a 15th-century Annunciation image is appropriate. Jan van Eyck adapts Luke 1:26-38 (Archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary she'll bear the Son of God). An inscription (left) bears Gabriel's words: AVE GRA[TIA] PLENA = "Hail, full of grace." Mary responds (right): ECCE ANCILLA D[OMI]NI = "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord."

Mary's words are upside-down. Is this so God can "see" (hear) her words?

A full picture of the image is below. National Gallery of Art, November 2009.

P.S. See this post for a different example of Latin speech in medieval art.

Blind Rothko Viewers?

2009-11-29T22:20:00.001-05:00

Today I saw this sign outside the Rothko Room in the Phillips Collection. The sign says PLEASE LIMIT VISITORS TO THE ROTHKO ROOM TO EIGHT, followed by a Braille translation underneath. A few questions arise. How is a blind person even supposed to view these paintings? Is this some type of modernist joke?

Below, a wider view of the sign reveals the (non-informative, entirely color-based) titles of the paintings inside. No Braille translations underneath.

P.S. The "extra" dot before each Braille word indicates capital letters.

Twisty Voice of God

2009-11-29T12:32:00.000-05:00

What does the voice of God look like? "The Baptism of Christ" (late 15th century, by the Master of the St. Bartholomew Altar) depicts God's words using a banderole (speech scroll), the medieval equivalent of the comic book "speech balloon."

At this moment in Scripture, the Latin text (Vulgate Bible) describes a mysterious voice from the clouds ("ecce vox de nube, dicens" = lo! a voice out of the clouds, speaking). The painting transcribes the words of this voice on a curvy scroll unfurling from the sky: HIC EST FILIVS MEVS DILECTV[S] IN QUO MIHI BENE COMPLACVI = "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 17:5).

I'm intrigued by the curvy word scroll here; its shape forces you to read the twisting words "out of order." Does the sinuous scroll actually evoke the shape of nimbus clouds? Or do the twists and turns of the scroll evoke the ethereal sound of a cloudy voice from the heavens?

National Gallery of Art, November 2009.

Dégustation de Tripes

2009-11-26T10:59:00.000-05:00

More from Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian (NMAH), November 2009. Vintage French restaurant signs like these (exotic and quirky to American audiences at the time) were used as props for Julia Child's TV show. For more on tripe in French cuisine, try searching Larousse Gastronomique online.