Never lost in translation
Four members of Sweden's women's ice hockey team, signs in downtown area and flags of the world...Vancouver is the place to be.
One is the loneliest number, the song goes. But it’s rare to find yourself alone at Robson Square, where the crowds are happy, healthy and very hefty.
Given the full range of free events offered daily and nightly, Robson Square is getting some serious traffic. Every day since the Games began, there’ve been an average of:
• 75,000 – 100,000 visitors to British Columbia's Celebration site at Robson Square;
• 4,500 – 5,000 curious guests at BC Canada Pavilion;
• 1,000 skaters gliding on the ice rink at GE Plaza;
• 700 thrill-seekers riding the incredibly popular zipline.
And that’s every day. Now, heading to Robson Square isn’t going to feel like shouldering your way through Shinjuku station at rush hour. But it’s still pretty busy.
The great thing is folks seem pretty content — if not downright festive — in the crowds you see everywhere in Vancouver, from the Skytrain to sports venues to the free pavilions. People are really getting into the act, and British Columbians are making the most of opportunities to reach out and meet visitors from around the world.
So if you’re stuck in a line-up or a crowd and find yourself knocking cowbells with a foreign visitor, here are some handy – if slightly random – phrases to get a conversation going, complete with audio: [some links take time to load]
• “Pleased to meet you” in Portuguese: Muito prazer em conhecer.
• “Do you like sports?” in Japanese: Supootsu ga suki desu ka ?
• “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Norwegian” in Norwegian: Beklager, jeg snakker ikke norsk.
• “You have the most beautiful eyes” in Latvian: Tev ir tik skaistas acis.
• “We won a gold medal!” in Chinese: W?men yíng le j?npái!
• “Sasha walked down the avenue and sucked a biscuit” in Russian: Shla Sasha po shosse i sosala sushku (it’s a tongue-twister – so get practising!).
And for ambitious internationalist linguists, we present this elegant phrase: Mia kusenveturilo estas plena je angiloj . Yes, that’s Esperanto for “My hovercraft is full of eels."
And, of course, "Go Canada Go!" Yell that almost anywhere these days, and everyone will know what you mean!
