Lost in translation

last updated 8 January 2015

Sydney

The colorful language used by Aussie diplomats often baffles foreigners, a new book says. Undiplomatic Activities, by former diplomat Richard Woolcott, chronicles the snafus created when cheerful Aussies sling slang abroad. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, for example, tried to brush off a questioner in Japan by saying, “I am not here to play funny buggers”—which in Australia means to split hairs. The translator rendered it as, “I am not here to play laughing homosexuals.” It’s worse when Aussies try to speak local languages. One diplomat tried to tell his French audience that as he looked back on his career, it was divided into two parts, boredom before he came to Paris and excitement now. Instead, he said, “When I look at my backside, I find it is divided into two parts.”