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Term question: \"blah, blah, blah\"
Thread poster: Chinoise
Chinoise
Chinoise  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:31
English to Chinese
+ ...
Jul 19, 2002

What does the phrase \"blah, blah, blah...\" mean?



Actually, this is a question which was raised in the English-Chinese pair yesterday. Since yesterday, various answers have swarmed in , and I have prided myself upon my ability to be sober-minded all the time as to which is right and which is wrong. But now...



Dear fellow translators, would you please kindly give me a definite answer to this easy question: What on earth does the phrase \"blah,blah,blah.... See more
What does the phrase \"blah, blah, blah...\" mean?



Actually, this is a question which was raised in the English-Chinese pair yesterday. Since yesterday, various answers have swarmed in , and I have prided myself upon my ability to be sober-minded all the time as to which is right and which is wrong. But now...



Dear fellow translators, would you please kindly give me a definite answer to this easy question: What on earth does the phrase \"blah,blah,blah...\" mean? Many thanks, and , of course,



Have a nice weekend!



BBW=Betty



[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-07-19 20:42 ] ▲ Collapse
 
Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)
Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)  Identity Verified
French to English
+ ...
Blah, blah, blah Jul 19, 2002

It is a kind of \"onamatopeia\" that refers to an existing argument or discourse that the speaker assumes his interlocutor knows. It is used so as not 1) to repeat the already known argument or discourse or 2) to put it down (deprecate it). 3) It can also simply mean the Nonsense or cliché the speaker believes a certain person or group of persons knows, says or believes. 4) It also can mean someone talks on and on about something which does not interest the listener. A boring discourse.
... See more
It is a kind of \"onamatopeia\" that refers to an existing argument or discourse that the speaker assumes his interlocutor knows. It is used so as not 1) to repeat the already known argument or discourse or 2) to put it down (deprecate it). 3) It can also simply mean the Nonsense or cliché the speaker believes a certain person or group of persons knows, says or believes. 4) It also can mean someone talks on and on about something which does not interest the listener. A boring discourse.

For example, \"That\'s not a serious answer to my question. That\'s just a lot of blah, blah, blah\".

Another example; \"There was a lot of marketing blah, blah, blah in my translation\". Meaning cliche language.



I hope my answer hasn\'t been too filled with blah, blah, blah.

[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-07-19 20:53 ] ▲ Collapse
 
Chinoise
Chinoise  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:31
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks a lot, Jane! Jul 20, 2002

Thanks for all your explanations. Have a nice weekend!



BBW(Betty)
 
Li-chuan Yen
Li-chuan Yen  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:31
English to Chinese
The situation is vital. Jul 20, 2002

I think Jane\'s explanation is comprehensive. The meaning of \"blah blah blah\" should be determined by the pragmatical situation. Depending on the speaker\'s mood and the context, the interpretation of \"blah blah blah\" is different.
 
Chinoise
Chinoise  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:31
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks, Li-chuan! Jul 20, 2002

I will reply to you in a more detailed way in another thread.(Chinese forum).



Certainly, Jane is also cordially welcome to join our talk!



Betty
 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 10:31
SITE FOUNDER
This should be posed as a kudoz question Jul 20, 2002

KudoZ is made for this kind of question. Please use the English-to-English pair!
 


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Term question: \"blah, blah, blah\"







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