I heard something funny on a TV programme tonight. It concerned the practice of reciting Robbie Burns’ Address to a Haggis as part of the Burns Night festivities. Apparently, somebody in Germany was holding a Burns Night celebration, and a German translation of the Address was prepared. For some reason that wasn’t explained, a German translated it back into English.
The line that reads ‘Great chieftain of the pudding race’ was translated back as ‘Mighty fuehrer of the sausage people.’
And did you know that the first recorded description of haggis comes from Lancashire, in England?
2 comments:
Ha! I haven't come across this gem in the news – where did you see it? Why on earth would they have translated the poem from German back to English? It brings to mind my daughter's 9th grade history textbook which is an English translation of the publisher's original German edition. For many good reasons this does not work at all (different style of educating, a tendency to verbosity, etc.), and I have to read a paragraph three times before I can grasp it. But no, I did not know the first description of haggis came from Lancashire, I assumed it was a thoroughly Scottish food. The thing frightens me, personally :)
I got it from a TV comedy panel game show called QI. There's another one coming up - this one based on the French accent.
Haggis is a thoroughly Scottish food these days, but there's a theory that it was brought to Britain originally by Norse invaders.
Being vegetarian, I don't really have an opinion on it.
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