47
Specifically,
Standard Translation
dispassionately disintegrates the meaning of the
culturally rich and nuanced Chinese proverb ‘
好汉不吃眼前亏
’, which refers to the heroic
personal attribute of perseverance in the face of challenges and set-backs. The first
translation generates the phrase into English as ‘heroes do not eat the immediate loss’ and
while each individual character has been technically translated, the cultural meaning is
absurdly skewed. As the phrase is fed through the software into nearly twenty languages,
the original meaning is further obliterated in a display of improbable phrases until finally,
it returns to the proper Chinese proverb.
An unsettling combination of digital hues is used in a strict two colour display regime –
one for the font, another for the background. The effect is at times difficult to read,
uncomfortable to the eye and edges toward nauseating with prolonged attention.
The ‘off-beat’ colours and swift movement of text across the screen adds to a visual
confusion and unease as we struggle to arrest some meaning in the multilingual parade of
phrases.
Standard Translation
replaced the existing news headline LED display at the Tim Fairfax Newspaper Reading Room
