January 12, 2018

The Foreign Press Is Having a Hard Time Translating “Shithole”

“Countries that are dirty like toilets.”

fstop123/Getty Images

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When news broke that President Donald Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries as “shithole countries,” newsrooms across the country had to decide how to handle the expletive. (Trump has since denied calling Haiti a “shithole.”) On CNN, anchor Wolf Blitzer avoided using the word by saying “s hole” (over and over) instead. The Washington Post boldly put “shithole” in the headline of the scoop and many outlets followed suit.

But media in non-English speaking countries are having a different challenge in translating the term.

Here’s a quick look at how some international bureaus and news outlets are handling Trump’s obscene outburst. 

https://twitter.com/AskAKorean/status/951672849894400001

https://twitter.com/NalinaEggert/status/951713395996352512

https://twitter.com/trekonomics/status/951615316659904512




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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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