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Polish Hideout? Zambian Shave? Translating The "Meta" Meanings Of Facebook’s New Name

The embattled U.S. tech giant has unveiled a new name for its holding company: Meta. It will do little to soften the rising criticism of Facebook's practices. Indeed, across the world's many languages, we find the new name translates into all kinds of good content.

Photo of hands zooming in on a phone screen that displays the logo and name of Facebook's new name, Meta.

What's in a meta name...?

Mark Zuckerberg's unveiling of the new name for his company was a global event. And the choice has an international (ancient) ring: Meta, a word that tends to be used today to mean self-referencing, though the Greek prefix μετα refers to "after" or "beyond." Yes, another sign of the limitlessness of Zuck's ambitions.


But to paraphrase Spiderman, with great ambitions comes at least a bit of foolishness. And choosing a four-letter word with global roots was bound to create a rolling, international faux pas (that's French for false step!). Meta, it turns out, has many different (and sometimes unpleasant) meanings in different languages and cultures around the world. Here's a quick sampling:

Something fishy in Sweden

GIF of a child scared by the fish he's just caughtGiphy


In Sweden, a country of 100,000 lakes, "meta" is the word for angle fishing. While meta is the preferred method for catching perch, the Swedish Association for Sport Fishing notes that with the proper technique and bait, this primitive approach can in fact be used to catch all the common fish found in the northern country.

From Italy: chariot races and poop

It all started in the Roman circuses, where the word "meta" meant the cone-shaped columns in the middle of the arena that marked the turning points for carriages — it was the most exciting and dangerous part of the chariot races. From its Latin origins, the word meta turned into "objective" or "final destination" in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

But searching further, Italians may find a more archaic meaning of the word that is still used in agriculture: Meta is the name given to the pyramid-shaped piles of straw, hay, manure and excrement rising in the fields. And as a consequence, it also means "excrement of a large animal, emitted at once".

If Italians won't immediately connect the new tech giant's name to a conic-shaped pile of excrement, then they may incur in another mistake. While messaging people, we now tend to leave out accents. So meta can easily be confused with an accentless metà, or half. As children's book author Gianni Rodari wrote, "because of an accent someone thought he was at the goal and was just halfway".

Colombia won’t sue

In one remote corner of Colombia, the rebranding was welcomed. Juan Guillermo Zuluaga, the Governor of the central department of Meta — named after the Meta River that originates in the Andes — humorously said on Twitter that he's already met up with Mark Zuckerberg and won't sue Facebook for appropriating the name. "We all fit in Meta," he tweeted, sharing an invitation to Meta's largest cultural event: the International Tournament of Joropo dance.


Hairy in Malawi

GIF of Mark ZuckerbergGiphy


In Chichewa, a language common to the African nations of Malawi and Zambia, Meta means "to shave." That shouldn't be much of a problem for Mark Zuckerberg...but what's Chichewa for nice haircut?

Speakeasy notes from Poland

In Polish, one formal meaning of the word is similar to the Italian one linking to destination, or finish line. But as a Facebook commenter noted, it's also used in Poland to mean a hiding place for criminals or somewhere to buy illegal alcohol. How do you say that in Palo Alto? Safe House? Speakeasy? Bootlegger den?!

Catalan speed IRL

In Catalan, it's short for metamfetamina, i.e., meth. Awkward.

Under the Bulgarian rug

Giphy


Meta is "I sweep" in Bulgarian. Here is a Bulgarian director's take on it:

"I sweep, you sweep, he sweeps… The big sweeping is shaping up…"

Hebrew R.I.P.

The bad news for Meta P.R. teams in Israel is that their new company sounds like מֵתָה‎, the Hebrew word for "dead." The good news is that it only applies to the feminine form of the word. Let's say it's not a half-bad name choice!

Ultimate Urdu suggestion

In Urdu, the official language of Pakistan, meta means "Delete." We know Facebook doesn't like to remove offensive content, but maybe this is the ultimate suggestion on this rebranding.

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Migrant Lives

Why The "Captains" Of Migrant Trafficking Boats Are Often The First Victims

Since 2015, Europe's strategy to stop irregular migration has focused on arresting so-called smugglers. But those steering the vessels are usually desperate migrants themselves, forced to take the helm.

Photo of Migrants Rescued in Mediterranean Sea

First approach of the rescue boat of the Spanish vessel ''Aita Mari'' to a precarious metal boat carrying 40 sub-Saharan migrants.

Annalisa Camilli

ROME — For the past two years, Mohammed has been living in Antwerp, Belgium. He works as a dockworker, although he does not have a contract. Originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone, he arrived in Italy from Libya in May 2016 on a fishing boat.

“The sea was bad, and everyone was vomiting,” he recalls.

Then, salvation: the Italian coast guard rescued them and brought them to Sicily. But when they arrived in port, Mohammed discovered Italian authorities were accusing him of a crime: aiding and abetting illegal immigration.

He was the boat’s cabin boy, and migrants on the boat identified him as a smuggler. He was arrested and sent to prison, where he remained for three years as the trial took place.

“I could only call home after a year and a half. That’s when I learned that my father had died. He had been sick, but I hadn’t even known,” Mohammed says. “My family was sure I had died at sea because they had not heard from me.”

He speaks slowly on the phone, struggling to remember. This was the most difficult time of his life.

“I had gone to Libya to work, but the situation in the country was terrible, so I decided to leave. I paid Libyan traffickers,” he recalls.

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