When I’m not web copywriting, I like to have a little doodle and also work on my languages (out of both interest and necessity living in Spain and marrying into a German family).
And I love Christmas, because it’s the perfect time to try to combine all three things. For the last few years, I’ve made our cards for family and friends to send something with a personal touch.
I’ve moved on from hand-making every single card individually (which quickly gets boring after card number 5 and is mind numbing by card 40) to spending time on an illustration and getting them printed (thank you, moo.com).
So, here’s this year’s Christmas card: a very festive reindeer (spot the red nose) with the lyrics to ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’ in English, German and Spanish. I’m not a designer, so it has a very home-made feel to it…
It was also interesting to look at how the lyrics have been translated in each language. The English original has around 14 syllables per line, each of which rhymes in pair. The German version matches this more or less, but the Spanish is completely different.
And in English, Rudolph’s nose glows, in German it’s like a light made out of red glass and in Spanish it’s compared to a very shiny beetroot!
English Rudolph gets laughed at, called names and isn’t allowed to join in; German Rudolph also gets laughed at and stays at home; and Spanish Rudolph’s companions laugh without stopping, leaving him sad and alone.
Happily, though, in all versions Santa then comes along, chooses Rudolph and all the teasing (heck, it’s bullying, let’s call it what it is) stops. Perhaps I’ll choose a different song for next year!