Asturian-American Migration Forum

If you walk through Paris this summer, you may spot the tourism promotion ads by the Asturian city of Gijon/Xixon. Uninspired and clichéd, like the strings of nonsense coming out of Sarah Palin or Miss South Carolina in 2008, the ad is in English (not in French) and it appears to be a literal translation from Castilian Spanish:

“Gijon, in every sense. You’re in Gijon: you won’t want to miss a thing…In any sense. With all your senses.”

There are more shopworn clichés on a sidebar:

“Scenery for your eyes
History and culture for your spirit
Enjoyment for your body
Music for your ears
Unique flavours
You want more?”

The backdrop for all this bromidism is a middle-aged woman with a shawl as she twirls in glee in front of a sculpture by Eduardo Chillida, the Basque sculptor (incidentally, the sculpture is known in Xixon as ‘King Kong’s toilet’ for its suggestive contours).

Someone mentioned in this forum that Asturians are ‘not fit for trade’, i.e., they are terrible self-promoters. Here’s a clear example. Instead of trying to lock in Europeans and Americans to Asturias by promoting the Irish-like landscapes, the old Celtic culture, the archaeological sites, the cider and hearty food, the surfing beaches and the mountain hikes...they do this:

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Nas cais de Paris esti branu de 2009 fai publicida turistica la vil.la asturiana de Xixon/Gijon. Paez que-ys falto la inspiracion pa fader dalgo curiosu. Si vos alcordais de las incoherencias retoricas de Sarah Palin ou de Miss Carolina del Sur (mirai no YouTube), la publicida aiqui en Paris fixenonla n'ingles. Ya nun s'esmolecienon por ponelo n'ingles, senon que fixenon una torna directa del castel.lan al ingles:

“Gijon, in every sense. You’re in Gijon: you won’t want to miss a thing…In any sense. With all your senses.”

Hai inda mas cliches cansinos na marxen dereita:

“Scenery for your eyes
History and culture for your spirit
Enjoyment for your body
Music for your ears
Unique flavours
You want more?”

Pal fondu, na semeya apaez una muyer de mediana eda ximielgandose frente al water de King Kong (la escultura de Chillida no Monte de Sta. Catalina).

Dalguien no foru dixera vei tiempu que los asturianos nun saben nin vender nin vendese. Esti ia un bon exemplu. En cuenta de naguar pol turismo europeo ou americano amousando-ys un paisaxe que-ys recordara Irlanda, la cultura campesina d'aniciu celtico, los xacimientos arqueoloxicos, la sidra ya la comida del l.lugar, sitios pa fader surf ou calear no monte, fain esto:

Geesh! Looks like a business opportunity for some inspired marketing
company!

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Trans. Is

Meca! Paez una oportunida d'ouro pa dalguna empresa de marketing con xeitu!

h.a, h.a, h.a, h.a... Vaya bono Is, gracies por compartir esta "campaña d'humor" con nosotros. El "Principáu" calterizase poles sos cutre-campañes publicitaries (Yogui y Bubu, "Asturias adelante", un perru persiguiendo un palu...) y pol inglés macarrónicu (consultar la versión "inglesa" de la web asturias.es pa echar unes rises...).
You want more?
h.a, h.a... sí... qu'enfoquen un poco pa la izquierda pa que salga El Muselón, la regasificadora, los depósitos de gas de La Campa Torres, el ciclu combináu de la central térmica d'Aboño, el desmonte de Xibares....

Saludinos

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Trans. Is

Ha, ha, ha. That's pretty good, Is, thanks for sharing the hilarious ad campaign with us. The Principality [of Asturias] is known for its poor choice in advertising (Yogi and Bubu, 'Forward Asturias', a dog chasing a stick...). It's also known for butchering the English language (take a look at the English version of the asturias.es website for a few surreal laughs...)
You want more?
Ha, ha...yes...they should pan the camera westward so we can see El Muselon [seaport expansion in Xixon/Gijon], the gas-fired energy plant, the gas reservoirs up in Campa Torres, the power plant next to the coal-fired electricity facility in Aboño and the coastline destruction in Xivares [Co. Carreño]...

Regards

That text is so bad it´s sad. Very silly.

I´ve noticed some overconfidence in language ability in Asturias. Maybe we all do that. Language is so damn difficult. When you´re spending big bucks for an ad campaign, you´ve got to pay for a naive translation.

But why isn´t it in French?

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Ese texto es tan malo que es triste. Pertonto.

He notado algún exceso de confianza en la capacidad con las idiomas en Asturias. Quizá todos lo hacemos eso. Una lengua extranjero es dificilísimo. Cuando alguien está gastando dinero para una gran campaña publicitaria, tiene que pagar por un traducción por un nativo.

¿Pero por qué no es en francés?

Art wrote:But why isn´t it in French? ¿Pero por qué no es en francés?

Considering how fussy the French are about the ubiquity of English or the fact that one of the tenets of advertising is to reach as large an audience as possible, it's difficult to see how the Sociedad Mixta de Turismo (a kind of public-private tourist board for the city of Xixon/Gijon) went ahead with an English ad for Paris.

It's as if they care only for the gestural politics and not about the end goal of generating interest in Asturias. They want to be able to say, 'look, we're really cosmopolitan because we're advertising on the Champs Elysees this summer'. Like Art said, it's sad.

Then there's the issue about the literal translation from Castilian Spanish into English, which may be understandable in a small, local campaign in Asturias targeting expats where money is a constraint. But for them to do that in Paris is embarrassing. I know a few Americans living in Xixon (and who love that town) that could have been hired to write original copy. The problem, I suspect, is that when you get bureaucratic machinery going in the Principality, it's all obfuscated by dullness and lack of imagination.

Why? Is the dullness a natural outcome of a heavy, rigid bureaucracy? Is it again a problem of early schooling where people learn by rote and not by thinking critically? Does it have to do with the inferiority complex that makes Asturians want to transcend its geographic isolation all the time?

Whatever the case may be, the ad campaign here in Paris in 2009 had to have cost the people of Xixon/Gijon or the Asturian government at least €241,528 ($344,832). That is the cheapest advertising rate for the urban furniture offered by JC Decaux this summer according to this PDF on their website:

http://www.jcdecaux-mu.fr/mobilier-urba ... n-2009.pdf

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En Francia sientese abondo eso de que l’ingles fai pouco servicio a outras l.linguas. Amas, la publicida ta feita pa chegar a cuantos mas grupos sociales meyor. Nun sou quien a entender lo que fai la Socieda Mista de Turismu de Xixon/Gijon (una especie de grupu de xestion privao ya publico) fadiendo publicida n’ingles nun l.lugar cumo Paris.

Importara-ys mas la politica que l’enfotu de xenerar interes turistico n’Asturias? Igual ia que quieren poder glayar eso de ‘Mirai, ia que andamos sobraos de cosmopolitismo. Mirai pa los cartelos de publicida que l.lantamos nos Champs Elysees de Paris esti branu.’ Cumo diz Art, manca polo probe.

Despueis ta’l feito que fixenon una torna directa del castel.lan al ingles. Eso seique ia comprensible pa una campana pa en casa, ya inda mas comprensible si hai poucas perras pa encarga-ylu a dalgun traductor nativo. Nun s’esmolecienon en toupar a xente en Xixon que lo faiga curioso (conozo you americanos al.li que bien-ys prestaria fade-y publicida a Xixon)? Ia que la maquinaria del Principau aburre pola falta d’orixinalida? Ou seique ia la educacion nos colexos que nun-y dan importancia al pensamientu criticu? Tendra que ver col complexo d’inferiorida de los asturianos que nun son a dir p’al.lo de los sous val.les?

Cumo furrula Asturias ia un misteriu pa los que tamos fora. Sicasi, el gobiernin asturianu ou la socieda mista de turismo gastanon pulo menos €241,528 ($344,832) na publicida parisina. Tolas perras acabanon en JC Decaux, la empresona de publicida francesa, que segun esti PDF, amuesa los precios pal brano 2009:

http://www.jcdecaux-mu.fr/mobilier-urba ... n-2009.pdf

Ouch! Much of the talk here is of ¨crisis, ¨so in this context this waste is even more lamentable.

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¡Pumba! Una gran parte de la charla aquí es de ¨crisis¨, a fin de que en este contexto este gasto es aún más lamentable.

Is wrote:

hey, whats the pig fuckin deal?



pit

It is cliched and the Engish language is ubiquitous in France, I don't like the toilet for cetain - but fill my senses if you will! Ha! I'm going to Asturias!!!
She's middle aged? Then I'm so old I must be dead. Oh, IS! you are so young! Bonne vie!

Tierradenadie! Knock it off!

Ah, I finally got to see the image of the poster. Is, Donna's right on. I think you're going to be shocked when aging finally has it way with you! But we'll still love you with your wrinkles and bad knees!

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Ah, finalmente pude ver la imagen del póster. I, Donna tiene razón. ¡Creo que vas a ser horrorizado cuando finalmente envejeces! ¡Pero aún te amaremos con las arrugas y malas rodillas!