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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Beware the attack of the anachronisms!
Allan Tépper | 10/28
Anachronisms keep popping up, both in and out of our tech circles.
Hospital central is an acclaimed Spanish series that is kind of like ER on steroids. Later in this article, you’ll see what Hospital central has to do with anachronisms.
During a recent translation/localization project for a major NLE manufacturer, my friend Rubén Abruña and I ran into a conundrum when debating with our client about how a few words should be translated. Among them was the word Slate, which Rubén and I (and everyone else we personally know in Spain and Latin America) had called Pizarra. We were quite shocked when our client told us that they wanted to use the word Claqueta, which actually corresponds with the word Clapstick. For us, the difference between a Slate and a Clapstick were clear: A Slate just shows information. While a Clapstick may show information, it always has a sound-producing “clapper” which was created to facilitate synchronizing audio and video in post. In fact, as far as we are concerned, both Clapstick and Claqueta are onomatopoeia, or words that were created to imitate the sound created by the device. For that reason, Rubén and I were quite clear about why we called a Slate as a Pizarra, and a Clapstick as a Claqueta. However, I began to discuss this with industry colleagues in Latin America/Spain, delve into the etymologies of each term, and discovered that —whether we like it or not, even Slate (Pizarra) is an anachronism.
What’s an anachronism?
Here’s the Apple dictionary definition:
a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, esp. a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned : everything was as it would have appeared in centuries past apart from one anachronism, a bright yellow construction crane.
Why Slate (Pizarra) are anachronisms
Slate (pizarra) is actually the name of a type of a rock. Here is the Wikipedia definition:
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering. Slate is frequently grey in color especially when seen en masse covering roofs. However, slate occurs in a variety of colors even from a single locality. For example slate from North Wales can be found in many shades of grey from pale to dark and may also be purple, green or cyan. Slate is not to be confused with shale, from which it may be formed, or schist.
Both Slate in English (and pizarra in Castilian) are used anachronistically to refer to several things, including the information sign we use at the beginning of film and video takes, or at the beginning of programs. In Spain and Latin America, pizarra is also used to refer to what we in the USA also call a blackboard, even though few are actually made of slate anymore. (Yet another anachronism.)
More anachronisms in the podcasting and video world
- reel (as in demo reel, even when it’s a digital file)/bobina (in Spain)
- rewind (when used to refer to a digital file)/rebobinar
- Stay tuned (in a podcast)/Manténgase en sintonía
- To film (in a video shoot)/filmar
Anachronisms in telephony
- Hang up (the phone, even when using a cordless or mobile phone)/colgar (enganchar, but only in Puerto Rico)
- To dial (even though very few phones have a dial anymore)/discar
Anachronisms in the Spanish TV series Hospital central
For those readers who aren’t familiar with it, Hospital central is an acclaimed Spanish TV series which is kind of like ER on steroids. The series started back in 2000 and is still on the air today in its 17th season. In fact, I recently read that it is the longest lasting weekly series in Spanish television’s history to date. I recall a scene where a hospital employee was consoling a suicidal patient who was looking for a reason to live. I don’t know whether the anachronism was in the script or impromptu from the actor of about 32 years old, but he described having helped his grandfather cut the grass and how his grandfather would give him €8 (8 euros). Well, when a 32-year old Spaniard was 8-years old, there weren’t any euros yet. Perhaps someone from the Hospital central crew in Madrid will write in and tell us!
Anachronisms in public bathrooms
At least in Latin America, many people refer to “flushing the toilet” as “bajar la cadena” (“pull the chain”), despite the fact that almost no public toilets even have a chain anymore (not even internally).
What should we do about anachronisms?
I like to be quite precise when I express myself. I’d like to avoid using anachronisms whenever possible. However, I recognize that there are many cases where there isn’t a good modern equivalent. How else should we call a Slate (in a single word)? How else should we refer to “rewinding” a video that’s actually a video file. How else should we say “hang up the phone”, or “s/he hung up on me”? Your comments are welcome below!
Thanks to Neil
Thanks to Neil D. Littauer, who reminds me the word anachronism whenever I forget it 
Allan Tépper’s articles and seminars
Get a full index of Allan Tépper’s articles and upcoming seminars at AllanTepper.com. Listen to his podcast TecnoTur, together with Tanya Castañeda, Rubén Abruña, and Liliana Marín, free via iTunes or at TecnoTur.us.
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Hi Allan,
As you know I have been in this industry for over 20 years and combining all kind of “videomaking” worlds and jargons: TV, commercial, corporate, venue, low budged, shortfilm, amateurist, feature filmmaking, etc…
NEVER absolutely NEVER in my life I have hear anyone in Spain or Catalonia call PIZARRA to the CLAQUETA… even taking into account the real difference between clapboard and slate. It’s always called claqueta .. even if it’s just a hand written piece of paper in front of the camera, and I’m sure very few people realize that claqueta comes from the omomatopeia clap. (My father used a glass of water and a spoon to “clap” his super8 movies for later sound sync! and he called it claqueta too!)
PIZARRA is a large surface is fixed to a wall or in some cases on a tripod in a classroom, in a meeting/conference room or at a bar to show the dish of the day. For those who have more than 30 or 40 years a slate is dark green and is written with chalk, what in English you call BLACKBOARD and for younger people .. a Pizarra “Veleda” is white and written with erasable marker. Some people call it directly a “veleda” for the brand.
But it’s true I heard sometimes the word PIZARRA referring to the CLAQUETA from some of the Latin American post-degree students I had in the University (Mostly from Mexico and Venezuela)
In Spanish the word PIZARRA literally defines the mineral stone, so “techo de pizarra” it’s a slate roof which is actually not common in Spain.. but very common in high mountain areas.
Anyway.. and interesting post as always!
Salut!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/29 at 04:50 AM
Than you Jordi. You’ll happy to know that even though it seemed strange to me and to Rubén, CLAQUETA won in the translation we did for the NLE manufacturer
Posted by Allan Tépper on 10/29 at 06:22 AM
later on I was thinking in another use of Slate in english..
When it’s used as a identificative label in front of a piece of video in between the bars and the countdown.
In that case is called “CARTELA” but the term CARTELA is not used transversally in all the video jargons/slants it’s more from the commercial/ad production. CARTELA also refers to the still images that use to be at the end of the commercials with the logo or the packcage shot.. but since the last years these ends with the logo are also animated, the use of the word CARTELA is becoming substituted by CIERRE (referring to the ending of that logo that closes the commercial)
The use of a identificative slate after the color bars is not commonly used here. The standard usage was bars-black-PGM, normally 1’30” bars and 30” black. (with some exceptions from Broadcasters like Canal+) this was like this for the old tape automation systems. Has been with the use of the NLE programs and the progressive opening to Europe that Identificative Slates and countdowns has been progressively used.
One day you should study the use/translation of the term grading.. is Corrección de Color? Talonaje? Etalonaje?
Thanks for your work!
Jordi
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/29 at 12:12 PM
Jordi,
I will leave “Grading” to Rubén, since he is the expert in that topic. I think when we did the podcast it may have been “gestión de color”, but I’m not sure, and will have Rubén have the last word on that.
Allan Tépper
Posted by Allan Tépper on 10/29 at 01:40 PM
IMHO, the labels color correction, color grading, corrección de color & gestión de color all fall short of adequately signifying what the process entails. My students are surprised when they learn that more than 60% of the process is adjusting luminance and contrast. Sometimes it´s a higher percentage. Correcting or grading color per se is sometimes just 20% of the job. Image grading or ajuste de imagen might be better terms.
Rubén
Posted by Rubén on 10/30 at 07:18 AM
Allan, be aware of the previous poster, it’s a scammer.. they just copied and pasted my text and their user link to a doubtful site.
Jordi
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/25 at 05:56 AM
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