Translation quirks

Something funny I discovered recently when translating horse terms from German to English:

Let's start off with a bit of background knowledge...

This is a fox. In German, the word is 'fuchs'.



This one shows the classic point colouring typical of red foxes. We see point colouring in horses too. We call this 'bay'. Notice the similarities:



In German the horse base colours are named 'fuchs', 'brauner' and 'rappe'.
The literal translation of this is 'fox', 'brown' and 'black', respectively.

Firstly, let's just take moment to appreciate just how adorable it is that certain horses are called 'fox-coloured'.
Second, let's see if we can guess which of the following is 'fuchs' and which is 'brauner':



Surprisingly, it's the second horse which is 'fuchs'. For some reason I find it hilarious that it is actually the chestnut which is called fox-coloured, not the horse that actually has the same colours/markings as a fox. :P

Just a quirky little horse fact I thought I'd share.

Last edited on 2016-07-04 at 00:25:41 by UlyssesBlue (spare)

I dunno, that makes sense to me. I think it's just because foxes are typically associated with red. Not a translation quirk, just the norm. Not to mention that's a RED Fox.

There's no relation between a red fox's natural coloration and a bay horse. Chestnut = red, bay = brown. However, both are technically shades of brown, so whoever used the German names for the colors probably just picked fox, thinking of the main coat color, since brown was already used.

Last edited on 2016-07-04 at 15:17:53 by ©Zell

in spanish, we call bay horses "retinto" and buckskin horses "bayo"... I always thought it would make more sense if bays were "bayos" haha

"There's no relation between a red fox's natural coloration and a bay horse."

Actually that's not correct. Point colouring in horses and foxes are caused by the same genes - Extension and Agouti. Both are genetically E- A-. Their identical phenotypes are no coincidence. Source

Languages are often funny and quirky when it comes to colours. It's not as if it's completely illogical how these names came about, but it can sometimes be a bit counter-intuitive and amusing. :P

In Sweden, a chestnut horse is called "fux" and a brown horse is called "brun"

I didn't mean the genes, that's how it is in most animals. Tell me a guinea pig is like a horse because they both can have the agouti gene next. I mean the actual colors, I've never seen anyone relate a red fox to a bay horse. Red foxes are seen as red.

Dutch / Flemish, a chestnut horse is called "vos", the same word we use for a fox.
Chestnut / sorrel: Vos
Black : Zwart
Bay : Bruin (brown)

To elaborate further on words in Dutch:
gray = schimmel (literally translates to "mold", because it looks like the horse is moldy)
buckskin = valk (literally translates to "falcon")
And like Féline said, chestnut = vos (literally translates to "fox")
To make that even better:
liver chestnut = koffievos (literally "coffee fox")

In non-equestrian language chestnut horses are called "red" or "orange" or "ginger" XD

Haha but seriously this is all quite cool. I've studied a bit of other languages and know that there's no such thing as a literal translation, so it's interesting seeing other horsey words.

I am loving all this insight into horse words in different languages. 'Coffee fox' has got to be my favourite so far. ♥

Then how about "Appelschimmel"? Translates into apple mold, but it's Dutch / Flemish for dapple grey.

That's right! Then there's also "vliegenschimmel", which translates to "fly mold". (Edit: in English, it's called fleabitten grey)

Oh, how much I love the Dutch language :')

Last edited on 2016-08-14 at 05:46:29 by UnlimitedMagic7

Awesome! What colour is vliegenschimmel?

Whoops, forgot to add that! It's fleabitten grey ^^

Oh, and flaxen is "zweetvos", or "sweat fox" :p