Lawns, cherries, cows, and chickens

Proverbs or sayings are one of the best ways to get to know the culture of a country, or a language. A language is developed according to the place where it is born. That is why snowy countries have many words for snow and words and expressions related to the sea are common in coastal countries. Of course, with colonialism and the imposition of European languages in other parts of the world, this got a little distorted. However, European languages are evolving differently in each part of the world where they were introduced. This means that European languages are adapting themselves to other realities. That is why we have British English, American English, and Australian English, for example. It is the same language (English), but with specificities in each region. Even British English is not as harmonious as people might think.

As people are similar everywhere, some proverbs or sayings have the same meaning although they are presented differently, according to the reality of each language. On the other hand, there are those which are unique and don’t have a direct equivalence. When translating these, chances are they need to be explained rather than translated.

Let’s analyse a practical example, comparing an English proverb with its equivalent in French, Germany, Spanish, and Portuguese:

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Gardens are very important in England, especially the private little gardens attached to individual houses. Together with the weather, gardening is the top topic of conversation. These gardens are usually limited by fences, which are also the boundary between gardens. It is part of human nature to compare what we have with what others have. Usually, we believe that other people’s lives are better than ours (partly because each person tries to show that their own life is better). So, by comparing the grass of their own garden with the neighbour’s grass, people are led to believe that the neighbour’s grass is greener, thus, more beautiful.

In French, the expression with the same meaning is:

L’herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs.
TRANSLATION word by word: The grass is always greener somewhere else.

Basically, the metaphor is the same, but a little more wide-ranging. Instead of referring to the little garden next door, they talk about any grass anywhere else but there. It could be the grass from the nearest village or the grass on the other side of the country. Everywhere is better than where one is.

In Germany, the equivalent expression is:

Kirschen in Nachbars Garten schmecken immer besser.
TRANSLATION word by word: Cherries in the neighbour’s garden always taste better.

In Germany, the comparison is not about grass, but cherries. This means that German people have fruit trees in their backyards and value them more than gardens. Probably, the kids often go to other people’s property and steal fruit. Why cherries and not other fruit? As cherries like cold, the fact that it snows abundantly in Germany makes it perfect weather for them.

In Spain, it isn’t about grass or fruit trees, but animals:

Vacas ajenas dan mejor carne.
TRANSLATION word by word: Other cows give tastier meat.

Cows are very important in Spain. Besides fighting bulls, Spanish people like to eat beef. So, raising cattle is a popular activity and the quality of beef is very important.

Finally, in Portugal, the expression is also about farm animals, but a different kind of animal:

A galinha da vizinha é mais gorda que a minha.
TRANSLATION word by word: The neighbour’s chicken is fatter than mine.

In the Portuguese countryside, everyone has chickens. Everyone, no exceptions. So, chickens are very important as they provide eggs and meat. The aim is to get them fat because the fatter they are, the more meat will be there to cook.