Lost In Translation

In 2004, Andy logged 106,911 miles in his various travels, visiting 10 different countries on four continents. It is only natural that he encounters some language barriers.

In his current European adventure, Andy will probably hear the phrases “nice shot”, and “good luck” in Italian, German and French. Not to mention that the distinctive vocabulary of British English can make it an entirely separate language at times. It’s doubtful that Andy’s Austin neighbors ever ask to go to “the lu”, or order “crisps” with their hamburgers. Even common words such as bathroom and fries can be troublesome abroad.

Andy may have little problem throwing on a southern drawl to fit in back home, but ordering a pizza in French or giving a taxi driver directions in German can be quite challenging. Any chance that coach Goldfine is a linguistics expert?

Perhaps it is only fitting that the duo’s most troubling language is spoken at the tours most prestigious stop. Both Andy and Dean agree that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to understand, and together, both are battling endlessly to earn a spot at the year-end Master’s Cup in Shanghai.

Unlike French or Spanish, which share similarities to English in both the written and spoken forms, Mandarin Chinese is in a world of its own. But learning how to communicate in a different culture, even in the simplest form of shaking hands or bowing correctly, is part of the excitement of being on tour.

So if it means accidentally ordering anchovies on that French pizza or spending an hour circling in a German taxicab, Andy is all smiles. At the end of the day, he knows it is an unbelievable opportunity to have the chance to sometimes be Lost In Translation.