Tricky Words in this week‘s OVI

Spoločenský pavilón. It's always tricky translating names of places, especially event venues (say /venjú/, understand miesto konania). The problem is that the names are so familiar to local people that they don't think about their literal meaning, but that is exactly what comes to the fore in translation. One possibility is to use the Slovak name and follow it with a suitable English description in brackets – if you can find one. Social center? Social events hall? This approach is clumsy and lengthens the text, but at least it's complete. Another possibility is to do a literal translation, as I have this time, which is recognizable in terms of the Slovak name and might help English speakers communicate with Košice people, but doesn't tell them what sort of venue it is. British people might even think it's a small white wooden building for spectators and players at a cricket ground.

Andy’s Wordshop

More on translating names of venues. The word dom is more widely used in Slovak than in English. First let's clear up the difference between dom (house, with a short o as in BrE hot) and dóm (cathedral, with a long o as in dorm, possibly due to the dome on top of large Italian churches). Rodinný dom is a family house, and Biely dom is the White House, either in Washington, or City Hall up at Terasa in Košice. In the old regime many towns and villages built their own dom kultúry, literally a house of culture, because the word house is more familiar than center, aiming to attract local people to participate in cultural events. In Košice there is specifically Dom umenia, literally the House of Art, but now promoted on city buses and trams as the Palace of Art. I think it would be more appropriate to call it “The Philharmonia”, because it is home to the Košice State Philharmonic Orchestra.