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Over to You: How to Translate “S**thole”

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20/01/2018 GMT

How to Translate “S**thole”

BBC World Service - Over to You, How to Translate “S**thole”

BBC language services wrestle with translating the expletive Donald Trump allegedly used

Newsday editor, Kevin Silverton reveals the conversations around airing the word “s**thole” after Trump allegedly used it to describe African countries in an immigration meeting.

It is not uncommon for Donald Trump to say something that rubs people up the wrong way but the most recent alleged incident has the media in a spin. In a meeting about immigration at the Whitehouse, a number of witnesses claimed the US President described African nations as “s**thole countries”. Following this, the BBC World Service decided to use the term in full to report the story. Newsday editor, Kevin Silverton tells Rajan Datar about the conversations which were had in the news room the day the story broke while listeners from Ireland, the UK and the US have been airing their views on the matter. We also finding out how BBC language services dealt with translating the expletive which makes for a colourful trip around Broadcasting House. 

Also, since hearing last week’s item on the so-called “broadcast ban” which was brought in after Carrie Gracie’s resignation in protest over unequal pay, two American listeners have a message for the BBC.

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