January 12, 2018

The Foreign Press Is Having a Hard Time Translating “Shithole”

“Countries that are dirty like toilets.”

fstop123/Getty Images

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When news broke that President Donald Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries as “shithole countries,” newsrooms across the country had to decide how to handle the expletive. (Trump has since denied calling Haiti a “shithole.”) On CNN, anchor Wolf Blitzer avoided using the word by saying “s hole” (over and over) instead. The Washington Post boldly put “shithole” in the headline of the scoop and many outlets followed suit.

But media in non-English speaking countries are having a different challenge in translating the term.

Here’s a quick look at how some international bureaus and news outlets are handling Trump’s obscene outburst. 

https://twitter.com/AskAKorean/status/951672849894400001

https://twitter.com/NalinaEggert/status/951713395996352512

https://twitter.com/trekonomics/status/951615316659904512

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