Directly Translated

I am a teacher of the English language. My job description is pretty clear: teach English. The way this differs from a translation website or a dictionary is that, although some things CAN be directly translated, it doesn't always sound right.

So my job is not only to teach English, but to make sure it's being used properly. Here's how things can get interesting:

• Uncle-

In English, "Uncle" is a term generally reserved for male siblings of either parent. You may know somebody whose dad's best friend from college that they see every weekend is "Uncle so-and-so." In the U.S., the line is drawn at Uncle Sam.

In Chinese, "Uncle" is used by kids to address a lot of men. I don't actually know the extent of this, but I do know that the men who drive the school buses are called "Bus Uncles."

On a related note, these are considered school buses:

So to summarize, directly translated from Chinese to English, the kids at school say "Bus Uncle." However, if a child were to be at a park in the U.S. and see a "school bus" and call the driver "Uncle," it would most likely be frowned upon (by everyone but that "Bus Uncle").

That's where I come in. After the Chinese to English, it needs to go from English to Practical English.

"The man who drives my school bus is called Bus Uncle," becomes "The man who drives that van is a creep."

Bus drivers drive buses.

Creeps drive vans.

[later this week: Auntie]