The Linguistic Politics of Kinder Surprise Eggs

The Linguistic Politics of Kinder
Surprise Eggs
Keith Kahn-Harris
Boring 2017

WARNING, read and keep: Toy not
suitable for children under 3 years.
Small parts might be swallowed or
inhaled

22 Official EU Languages
English
Bulgarian
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Estonian
German
Greek
Finnish
French
Hungarian
Italian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Slovak
Slovene
Spanish
Swedish

13 other languages
6 European:
Albanian
Macedonian
Norwegian
Russian
Serbian
Ukrainian
2 Middle Eastern:
Arabic
Farsi
1 Asian:
Chinese
4 Central Asian/FSU:
Armenian
Azeri
Georgian
Kazakh

Irish
• RABHADH, léamh agus a choinneáil: Toy nach
bhfuil oiriúnach do pháistí faoi bhun 3 bliana.
D'fhéadfadh codanna beaga a shlogadh nó a
ionanálú
[Via Google Translate]

Maltese
WISSIJA, aqra u aħżen: Ġugarelli mhux
xierqa għal tfal taħt it-3 snin. Partijiet żgħar
jistgħu jinbelgħu jew jingibdu bin-nifs.
[Thanks to Malcolm Callus for the translation]

Regional, minority and other languages
with written traditions
For example:
Gaelic
Catalan
Basque
Scotts Gaelic
Manx
Cornish
Welsh…

Welsh
Rhybudd, darllenwch a chadwch: Nid yw'r tegan
yma yn addas at gyfer plant o dan 3 blwydd oed.
Mae yna ddarnau bach y gellir ei mewnanadlu
neu lyncu.
[Thanks to Owen Shiers for the translation]

Cornish
Gwarnyans, redyewgh ha gwithewgh: nyns
yw an wariell ma gwiw rag fleghes yn-dann
3 bloedh. Rannow byghan a allsa bos
lenkys po anellys a-bervedh.
[Thanks to Tony Hak for the translation]

Languages where spoken and
written form diverge
Arabic
Chinese
Regional and minority languages
that are rarely written:
Bavarian
Swiss German
Veneto
Cypriot Greek
Luxembourgish…

Luxembourgish
Opgepasst, liesen, an haalen: Des
spillsaach as net geduet fir Kanner enert 3
joer. Kleng stecker kennen verschleckt oder
inhaleiert gin.
[Thanks to Louis de Luxembourg for the
translation]

Non-EU countries with no language
on the insert but where Kinder eggs
are definitely sold

Thanks to Sebastian Suh for obtaining this for the photo

WARNING, READ AND KEEP: Warning! Do not
aim at eyes or face. Injuries hazard.

Thanks to Abigal Wood for the photos

‫ולשמור‬ ‫לקרוא‬ ‫אזהרה‬:
‫אזהרה‬!
‫חלקים‬ ‫או‬ ‫צעצוע‬ ‫מכיל‬ ‫המוצר‬
‫צעצוע‬ ‫להרכבת‬.
‫מתחת‬ ‫לילגים‬ ‫להם‬ ‫לתת‬ ‫אין‬
‫לגיל‬3‫או‬ ‫לבלוע‬ ‫עלולים‬ ‫הם‬ ‫כי‬
‫הקטנים‬ ‫החלקים‬ ‫את‬ ‫לשואף‬.
‫השגחת‬‫מומלצת‬ ‫מבוגר‬ .
Warning Read and Save:
Warning!
The product contains a toy
or parts for assembling a
toy.
They should not be given to
children under the age of 3
because they may swallow
or inhale the small parts.
Adult supervision is advised

2000 years ago…
Be warned, read and
keep: this thing/object
endangers children who
are younger than three
years because they might
swallow small parts.
Thanks to Alinda Damsma for the translation

World’s Top 20 Languages
1. Mandarin
2. Spanish
3. English
4. Hindi
5. Arabic
6. Portuguese
7. Bengali
8. Russian
9. Japanese
10. Punjabi
11. German
12. Javanese
13. Wu
14. Malay
15. Telugu
16. Vietnamese
17. Korean
18. French
19. Marathi
20. Tamil

Czech
UPOZORNĔNÍ, čtěte a
uschovejte: Malé části by
mohly být spolknuty nebo
vdechnuty
Slovak
• UPOZORNENIE, prečitat’ a
uchovat’: Maléčásti by
mohli byt’ prehltnuté alebo
vdýchnuté

Serbian
UPOZORENJE, PROČITAJ I
SAČUVAJ: Sitni delovi se mogu
progutati ili udahnuti
Or (Maybe):
УПОЗОРЕЊЕ, чита и снима:
Мали делови могу да се
прогута или удахне
Croatian
UPOZORENJE, PROČITATI I
SAČUVATI: Sitni dijelove
moguće je slučajno progutati ili
udahnuti

Danish
Adversal. læs og opbevar:
Smådele kan sæte sig fast I
hals eller næse.
Norwegian
Advarsal, les og behold: Små
deler kan sette seg fast I halsen
eller nesen

Norwegian
Bokmål
Advarsal, les og behold: små
deler kan sette seg fast I
halsen eller nesen
Nynorsk
Åtvaring, les og behald: små
delar kan setje seg fast i halsen
eller nasen.
[Thanks to Imke von Helden
for the translation]

What have we learned?
• 35 languages are not enough – and too many.
• Language is political.
• Language is arbitrary.

…to never buy a Kinder Surprise
Egg again…

…until the warning message is
translated into Cornish.

The Linguistic Politics of Kinder Surprise Eggs

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The Linguistic Politics of Kinder Surprise Eggs