Misconceptions

Somebody brought this mistranslation to my attention:

"In case of volcanic eruption, you will hear mermaids. Do  not ignore the mermaids; they are there for your safety."

This is a translation, probably from Spanish, where the word "sirenas" was translated as mermaids, a perfectly corect tranlsation in another context. Like so many words, "sirenas" has more than one meaning. However, I rather like the idea of mermaids, instead of luring ships into rocks, giving people warnings of volcanic eruptions.

The perfectionist in me objects to "in case of". I would prefer "in the event of" but the former translation is becoming very common. When I see the notice "In case of fire, do not use the lifts", it suggests that you should not use the lifts just in case there might be a fire. I think I might be fighting a losing battle.

This is the kind of nerdy thing that occurs to you when you have spent your adult life dealing with foreign languages. And today I have had my perhaps excessive obsession with perfection confirmed. In a moment of weakness (I almost said boredom, but I rarely confess to such a feeling), I gave in and  took part in a couple of those quiz affairs thatvpop up on Facebook. The first was spotting minute differences between a series of sets of three almost identical images. People with no OCD tendencies cannot see them apparently. I scored 100%. Then there was the English grammar test, far too simole, where I also scored 100%. The OCD test came with the comment that I mighkt be too perfectionist! Perhaps so. If only my typing and proof-reading were as good!

Yesterday I had an emergency dental appointment. Walking down the road to the dental surgery, I went through a part of town with a high Asian population and npticed how elegant some of the ladies look in their different colours and styles of headscarf. The variety was verybinteresting: clearly a way of stamping each one's identity on a cultural stereotype. Later in the day I came across a newspaper article about models on a New York Fashion Week catwalk wearing the hijab: a first in the fashion
industry. This is the work of Muslim designer Anniesa Hasibuan, an Indonesian I believe. She commented, "I believe fashion is one of the outlets in which we can start that cultural shift in today's society to normalize hijab in America so as to break down stereotypes and demystify misconceptions."

Inevitably, there are some who have criticised her and her designs. They are too daring and insufficiently modest. They draw attention to the woman who wears them. Well, yes, I suppose they do but the only parts of the woman you can actually see are her face and hands.
How much more modest do you need to be?