Tricky Words in this week‘s OVI

It's tricky translating Slovak texts into English when they contain place names, because for several reasons the translator may feel an urge to put the names into English form. This may be to show the traditional character of the town by including English versions of street names like Mill Street, Smith Street or Butchers' Row. Or it might be to help visitors find interesting places, like Craftsmen's Row or Peace Marathon Square. Or it could be to give them a better idea of the surrounding countryside, so I would feel justified in putting Kojšovská hoľa into English as Kojšov Fell, because in England a large hill with no tree cover is called a fell, and many British visitors can easily visualize that. Or it might just be to reveal quirky or quaint place names, like “translating” Jahodná as Strawberry Fields, especially for Beatles fans.

Andy’s Wordshop

Continuing with translating place names, I'm not suggesting that an English tourist guide to Košice should have all the street names translated; it's not possible anyway. Tourists need to know and see the proper Slovak names so that they can find their way around, whether in towns or the country as a whole. Foreigners won't get anywhere in Slovakia asking for Roseborough, Cheesemarket or New Castles. But if the English version is interesting, I add it in brackets after the Slovak name. Czech names are cool too, like Veľké Popovice: pop is priest, -ice is -ham, and veľké is magna (in Latin), so in Midsomer it would be called Priestham Magna, and the local craft beer would be called Priestham Magna Billygoat. I would try it without hesitation.