m_a_a_
Well-known member
I rarely talk cars, let alone with English speakers, and on the few occasions that I do, the adjectives I might use include affordable, safe, reliable, or, at a stretch, forgiving, smooth, or fun, possibly. Think of this as a disclaimer of sorts: I have near zero first-hand experience of car afficionados’ jargon, be it "spicy" performance or "spirited" driving dynamics…
But Theseus does have a point:
And I dare say ”spicy” isn’t all that obvious either… What exactly does it signify?
If that’s the case, then σπιρτόζικο comes to mind… but for some reason that adjective feels more fit in reference to smaller cars – a connotational thing, I guess… And needless to say, neither πικάντικο nor πιπεράτο stand any chance of sounding anything but ludicrous in Greek…
Also, bear in mind that Theseus’ subsequent point that…
), η Φεράρι, η Λαμποργκίνι, η Μπουγκάτι, η Ρολς Ρόις etc. Note that these are exceptions from the standard usage of the neutral article before cars: το Τογιότα, το Ρενό, το Φίατ, το Όπελ etc. My point being, there is something there, and if the English adjectives have allegedly managed to rid themselves of dubious connotations, their Greek equivalents probably still have some ground to cover (not to mention the average speaker using them)…
Nonetheless, in my eyes, these terms (spicy, spirited) don’t cease to consist a translation challenge, and that’s where cougr also has a point. From a hasty research I just did, I found (i) Greek websites of car brands, marketing their models, (ii) ”auto” sections of Greek media outlets hosting car reviews, and (iii) Greek car-enthusiast-forums engaging in your average chit-chat, and each of these types of ”corpora” seem to have their own distinct parlance: On Porsche’s Greek website I found the following (somewhat ridiculous) ”slogan”: Περισσότερα συναισθήματα. Περισσότερες ταχυπαλμίες. Περισσότερες στιγμές Porsche. Reviewers, on the other hand, tend to use safer, unambiguous language. Forumists tend to be… well… more unhinged, and show no reluctance to ”unsavoury connotations” (as you succinctly put it, cougr), or even denotations for that matter…
So… what kind of register are we aiming for?
But Theseus does have a point:
And I dare say ”spicy” isn’t all that obvious either… What exactly does it signify?
If that’s the case, then σπιρτόζικο comes to mind… but for some reason that adjective feels more fit in reference to smaller cars – a connotational thing, I guess… And needless to say, neither πικάντικο nor πιπεράτο stand any chance of sounding anything but ludicrous in Greek…
Also, bear in mind that Theseus’ subsequent point that…
…might be even more relevant in Greek, especially in the context at hand, since Porsche belongs to that small group of car brands where Greek speakers have feminized the car itself (not just the car brand), grammatically speaking: η Πόρσε, η Μερσεντές (Μερτσέντα), η Μπεμβέ (Μπέμπα
), η Φεράρι, η Λαμποργκίνι, η Μπουγκάτι, η Ρολς Ρόις etc. Note that these are exceptions from the standard usage of the neutral article before cars: το Τογιότα, το Ρενό, το Φίατ, το Όπελ etc. My point being, there is something there, and if the English adjectives have allegedly managed to rid themselves of dubious connotations, their Greek equivalents probably still have some ground to cover (not to mention the average speaker using them)…Nonetheless, in my eyes, these terms (spicy, spirited) don’t cease to consist a translation challenge, and that’s where cougr also has a point. From a hasty research I just did, I found (i) Greek websites of car brands, marketing their models, (ii) ”auto” sections of Greek media outlets hosting car reviews, and (iii) Greek car-enthusiast-forums engaging in your average chit-chat, and each of these types of ”corpora” seem to have their own distinct parlance: On Porsche’s Greek website I found the following (somewhat ridiculous) ”slogan”: Περισσότερα συναισθήματα. Περισσότερες ταχυπαλμίες. Περισσότερες στιγμές Porsche. Reviewers, on the other hand, tend to use safer, unambiguous language. Forumists tend to be… well… more unhinged, and show no reluctance to ”unsavoury connotations” (as you succinctly put it, cougr), or even denotations for that matter…
So… what kind of register are we aiming for?
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