Travel Blog: A Spanish Health Club

Spanish Health ClubA special guest post: This special edition of our travel series comes from Ingrid van Praag, who is one of our ATA certified Dutch translators, who happens to live in Spain.

Ingrid writes in from Torrevieja, Spain, which is a scenic, seaside city on the Mediterranean Sea, with a picture of a local gym.

The original Spanish should read (in English): Learn how to live in harmony with your body, and discover how to become a truly healthy person.

The mistranslation all comes down to the Spanish term “sana.” In Spanish the term “sano/a” means healthy, wholesome, or sound. There is a colloquial phrase in Spanish “en su sano juicio,” which means to be “sane” or “of sound mind.”

However, the term here has been mistranslated as “sane” when it should have been translated as “healthy” given the context of the source.

Thanks, Ingrid!

About the Series:

Many of CETRA’s multilingual staff enjoy traveling and exploring the globe. During their travels they watch for unique, funny or interesting things about language or the local culture. We will add posts to this travel series on an ongoing basis. Enjoy!