Sunday, December 14, 2008

Word Of the Day: Tied/Untied

At dinner, someone mentioned the difference between Overseas Development Assistance that is tied to business interests, and assistance that isn't...so I was wondering how to say that in Japanese. I couldn't find it in my dictionary, but eventually stumbled upon it while looking up something else. Just as you would expect:

紐なし援助 = {ひもなし えんじょ} Untied Aid (lit. "aid without strings")
紐付き援助 = {ひもつき えんじょ}Tied Aid (lit. "aid with strings")

(紐 is also used in 紐帯 【ちゅうたい】 (n) important connection; important social foundation; tight relationship (lit. "cord/string and obi"))

I admit that I get a little rush whenever a metaphoric usage is the same in a little rush whenever a metaphoric usage is the same in another language.

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