You know these little “prisons” whre you put your baby when it starts moving around? They are called “playpen” in English, which makes sense, since the baby will play there (if you put some toys in).
In German they are called “Laufstall”, “walking stable”, which makes a lot less sense because that’s exactly what they are in there not to do.
In French, they are called “parc”, which doesn’t really mean anything. Well, it means “park” of course, and that’s supposed to be a place with trees, and playgrounds if you’re lucky. So maybe it does make a little sense after all, if you’re not too keen on trees.
I’d be curious to know what they are called in other languages…
June 6th, 2011 - 21:42
Actually, Park would make sense in English if you were using the verb instead of the noun. It’s a place where you park a kid so it doesn’t wander off. (Like you park a car and expect it to stay put.) The French just translated it wrong.
June 6th, 2011 - 22:29
Out of curiosity, I checked an Italian dictionary. (Of course a native speaker would have to confirm.) It’s girello which would be the diminutive of “giro” – as in Giro d’Italia.
If my interpretation is right, that makes about as much sense as the German “Laufstall”.