What's in a word?

[Grant Barrett]

On vendredi 20 avril 2001 20:49, Rudolph C Troike <rtroike at U.ARIZONA.EDU> wrote:
>During the recent contretemps between the US and China over the spy plane,
>I decided to check my most convenient dictionary, the Oxford Dictionary of
>Current English, to see what it said about some of the terms at issue.
>Here is what I found:
>        APOLOGY: Statement of regret for an offense or failure
>        Apologize: To make an apology, express regret
>        Regret: Feel or express sorrow, repentance, or distress (over
>                an action or loss, etc.); acknowledge with sorrow
>                or remorse
>        Sorry: Expression of APOLOGY
>I wonder what dictionary the Chinese government was using?

A English-Chinese dictionary of diplomacy, no doubt. Probably nothing in the world
more nuanced. But see the quote below.

This story explains the nuances of the apology:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/12/world/12CHIN.html?searchpv=site09

A letter to the editor from a Chinese regarding the exact meaning of the US apology:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16888-2001Apr13.html

This story talks about typical diplomatic double-talk:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17446-2001Apr14.html

"The United States deliberately invited this latest example of expedient
mis-translation. It did so by using only English to negotiate the text of a statement of regret
for the April 1 incident in which an American surveillance aircraft collided with a
Chinese jet fighter. Since no official Chinese translation was agreed on, China's
government had complete control of what the Chinese people would hear. As everyone now
knows, what the Chinese heard -- an American apology -- wasn't what the U.S. said."





--
Grant Barrett
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