From here to there and back again

My Grandparents, and the Italian Crew. My Great Uncle Frank, left, Grandma beside him, and my Grandpa on the right.


The CCFCC 2011 National Conference Overview went on a Roman holiday, and came back with a new look.

When Dawn asked me to translate the Conference overview into Italian, I was a little daunted by the task. I understand a lot of Italian, but forming complete sentences--and grammatically correct ones at that--is no easy task when you're out of practice. I knew I had someone to back me up however: my Grandpa.

My Grandpa is very concerned with the details, as many in our family will grimace at. He boasts about his experience with quality control. I knew I could count on him to iron out the details of translation where my knowledge comes short. Sending the PowerPoint to him, I couldn't have imagined the details that would become topics of debate.

As anyone with multiple languages will have experienced, transferring meaning from one language to another can present an untold number of misunderstandings. Words without equivalents, idiomatic expressions, and little things like punctuation conventions. Dangerously easy to mix up!

A few problems arose, especially concerning lexical choices. For example, what word do you use for dessert? There isn't really a precise Italian word encompassing all sweet things consumed after a meal. In the end the consensus was that "dolce, referring to sweets like pastries, would be one of the more appropriate equivalents.

I would like to send my Grandpa my warmest love and thanks for helping me with this project, I couldn't have done it without you!