Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2014 December 11

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December 11

Comprehension help

I'm translating in Italian the article Phoenix Program, but I can't understand exactly the sentence The use of electronic gear such as sealed telephones attached to ... both the women's vaginas and men's testicles [to] shock them into submission. (you'll find it in Torture section).

My special difficulty is about what sealed telephones are. Can anyone explain me using different words?

Thank you in advance so much. --Filippof (talk) 15:01, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it's somebody's word for a Field telephone. Contact Basemetal here 15:18, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Here's a page mentioning (among other things) the use of field telephones for torture in Vietnam. Contact Basemetal here 15:21, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

OK, very kind of you: I suspected that the all thing was about field telephones, provided that also Italian soldiers, unfortunately, happened to use those implements the same way (in Somalia, if I'm not wrong); before chosing such a conclusion, I preferred to ask my native-speaker friends, and your answer comes fast and clear. See you, --Filippof (talk) 15:39, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

I've dug into the references on Phoenix Program and the term "sealed telephone" comes from transcripts of verbal testimony by K. Barton Osborn before a Congressional committee. At least one other reference quoting the testimony makes the assumption that what Osborn said (or meant to say) was "field telephone". Googling "'sealed telephone' torture" only provides relevant results related directly to Osborn's testimony. "'Field telephone' torture" provides a depressing number of results. I think it is clear the reference should be to field telephones. I'll see what I can do to clarify the article. - Eron^Talk 18:26, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Well, /fiːld/ is rather easy to be misheard as /siːld/, particularly if the interpreter is not familiar with military terminology. No such user (talk) 09:37, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

Extremely unlikely, because interpreters do not interpret into a target language which is the same as the source language. That is not interpreting. That is merely repeating what someone else said. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 16:28, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

No such user probably meant whoever produced the transcript (transcriber?). But your reaction, how you stated the obvious, was hilarious. Such moments make hanging out at the RD all worth while. Contact Basemetal here 16:48, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

Stating the obvious is hilarious? Well, as they say, tiny things please tiny minds... :) KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 04:46, 13 December 2014 (UTC)

Are you saying it was not meant to be funny? Contact Basemetal here 09:33, 13 December 2014 (UTC)

A "sealed telephone" might be a good way to describe a "field telephone", since it is presumable waterproofed (sealed against rain). And someone doing a translation might think that term makes more sense. StuRat (talk) 05:03, 13 December 2014 (UTC)

Hello!? There was no translation involved. Contact Basemetal here 09:33, 13 December 2014 (UTC)