Thursday, November 6, 2008

Obama, Jou Doring!

Lost in translation ...


Even Port Elizabeth has been affected by the US election this week, and this is how a firm in Walmer showed its support for US president elect Barack Obama after his victory.
If you don't speak Afrikaans, "Obama Jou Doring!" means "Obama, you thorn!" but you can't really translate the festive, carefree tone of "doring".
Now, can you imagine this sign in South Africa 20 years ago? Then, could a South African have imagined a black president either here or in the US 20 years ago?
We have moved, and so has the world. Jou doring!


2 comments:

Ordinarylife said...

They always have very topical or humourous things on their board.

Always fun to see what they will say next.

Jeanne said...

That's priceless!! And sadly untranslatable... I guess the rough equivalent would be "you star!" I burst into tears of happiness when I saw the result. I think it resonates with South Africans because the chances of a black man becoming the leader of America 20 years ago were abotu the same as the chances in South Africa - we have both proved that the miracle can come to pass.