Bubbly & Bogus

Posted on by scott

Okay, I am in need of the Wisdom of the Crowd.

The translator who’s turning the Uglies series into complex Chinese wrote me to ask for a little help with the terms “bubbly” and “bogus.”

As she puts it, “When these terms show up in different places, according to the context, the meanings are not exactly the same, which means when I translate them into Chinese, they might have several versions for the same English words or terms. I hope I can stick with the same expression when it comes to the same English word, so hopefully I can create the Chinese terms that will meet all your definitions.”

Reading that, I realize once more how tough a translator’s job is. And word-inventing writers like me are probably a thousand times more crazy-making than normal. So us native English speakers should help her out.

What do the words “bubbly” and “bogus” mean to you? And how do their various meanings all relate to each other?

113 thoughts on “Bubbly & Bogus”

  1. Well, to me bubbly and bogus are interesting words, considering that in your novels they are spoken by teenagers who in our world would be labeled as drug addicts. But from a drug addict’s point of view (and I am NOT a drug addict) I’d say that bubbly is more along the lines of awesome, cool, special, exciting, heart pumping, stuff related to how drugs make you feel good. Bogus is more like dull, lame, boring, uncool, stupid, and unacceptable, or in other words hangover-y, headache-y things.

  2. bubbly means like a rush of adrenaline. sparkly!uhh yeah that is not very good.

    Bogus means…like dull or something. maybe like compressed or something.
    “That is so compressed!” nevermind…haha that sounds stupid.

  3. at the begininng bubbly~ Cool or super original

    at the middle Bubbly~ adrenline/ thinking clearly without lesions

    bogus~ lame, unoriginal, boring

  7. Haha I know this has been answered nearly throughly by everyone here, I just decided to put my input just ’cause!

    Well, throughout the books ‘Bubbly’ kept having different meanings for me.

    Bubbly – Clear-minded, rush of adrenaline, exhilarating, extremely happy-making, living life and having fun

    Bogus – Lame, Uncool, something that spoils the happy mood…(basically what everyone else said but hey not my fault I came in late x.x)

    ONLY A FEW WEEKS TO GO! WOO EXTRAS! I hope the bogus run-down book store we have will have it…I mean they didn’t have so yesterday except for one beat up copy it made me mad! AND they only have the first in Justine’s book so if I read it and fall madly in love with it I can’t get the second one unless I order it online x.x Anyways I hope the translating goes good!

  8. As I see everybody has already answered. But whatever.

    bubbly- Something risky, exciting, adrenaline pumping through your veins. So a word to describe that? Exciting, cool. I don’t think I’m helping..

    Bogus- Sucky, stupid, garbage. Yeah, not helping at all am I?

  9. Scott-

    Hopefully this answer will be a little more complex than a lot of the simple an bogus answers above. Hopefully it will demonstrate my bubbly thinking process.

    The bubbleheads use bubbly as the general catch-all term, like “shiny” is to the Wheadonverse (especially the Firefly universe.) I guess the most similar term within the real world would be “cool,” yet another amorphous and impossible to translate word. (Bubbly costume, bubbly people, bubbly party, being bubbly.) It all means a lack of worry, anger, or any strong emotion that would make a person feel bogus.) Our heroes, on the other hand, altered the use of bubbly to mean “aware”, “intelligent”, “full of emotion”, or “full of thought”. So when they speak of “staying bubbly”, they mean the exact opposite of what the bubbleheads mean. They mean staying aware, avoiding being pretty-headed, whereas the pretties see bubbly as a fully indulged pretty-headedness.

    Bogus is a little less annoying to translate because though it is the opposite of bubbbly to the pretty heads, it isn’t the opposite to our heroes. While you can engage in sexual activity, experiment with anorexia, abuse caffeine, or self-mutilate to stay “bubbly” in the second sense, not doing these things will make you bubble or pretty-headed, not make you bogus. Now, being bubbleheaded is a bogus thing, but if you see the linguistic usage, it still means the same as it did before. It still means “lame” or “sucky.”

    In fact, to someone who is cured (or trying to cure him or herself) of pretty-headedness, a bubbly conversation is what their peers would call a bogus conversation. All that intellect would get them down. (We could get into the meaning behind “icy”, but you didn’t ask for that.)

  11. To me bubbly means lively, enthusastic, spirited, and entergetic. I think the best definition for bogus would be lame.

  12. i think bubbly means enrgetic, crazy, and preppy, totaly unaware of anything that doesn’t involve ones self. kind of self centred. Bogus to me means dissapionting, sort of like if ones plans were canceled, that would be bogus, or lame. hope that helps a bit. reading over emma’s comment got me confused 😛

  13. u know, everybody seems to keep equating tally and zane to like, drug addicts or something. i think that’s bogus. i never really got that sort of idea. i mean (no offense person i’m quoting, that’s ur opinion and this is mine)
    “engage in sexual activity, experiment with anorexia, abuse caffeine, or self-mutilate”
    ??????????????
    i mean, technically true, but that makes it sound so much evil-ler. i mean, kissing, skipping a couple meals and drinking a lot of coffee is basically all they do in pretties.
    yes, i sound like some kind of psycho enabler now, but i can’t help it.
    they also pulled tricks and did bungee jacket stunts to stay bubbly, and that doesn’t sound so amoral.
    the self-mutilation is truly screwed-up, yes, but they all aknowledged that. i mean, tally and zane were way creeped out when they found out. and cutting was the first thing tally stopped when she was de-specializing.
    people keep describing them as junkies, but i always read it as more of an adrenile thing. and they proved that drinking champage and stuff made you less bubbly, not more.

    also, when i think of bubbly, i sort of have this thread going through the three books. like, in uglies it was to be tricky, in pretties it was to get bubbly, and in specials it was to stay icy. for me, uglies pretties specials is almost synonmous with tricky bubbly icy. even the way the words themselves look. tricky’s sort of normal, mixed and varied, unique. bubbly is sort of soft and shallow, and icy is sharp and short.

    wow, i know i’m over-analyzing. but it’s fun…

  14. -Scott

    Well, i think it is kinda difficult when it comes to bubbly. Because when i read Pretties, i thougt it meant that you were totally down-to-earth. But when I read Specials, i thought it meant like totally supid with your head in the clouds, you know? So, i have come to the conclusion that bubbly means totally yourself. knida like ugly-inded, but not so insecure.
    I think that bogas, basically just means lame. like totally not bubbly. He He…
    Now, i’m still kinda confused about icy… Does it mean like, that your on edge? Or that you are just being totally special-minded?

  15. Something bubbly is anything that gets your adrenaline pumping. It could be simple like that feeling you get when you see a shirt you know would look great on you, or when you climb a tower. It’s exciting and happy-making, but heightens your senses and makes you pay attention.
    Even though you didn’t ask, icy is a more extreme version of bubbly.
    Bogus is stupid, lame, unbelievable, uncool.

  16. Oh! Also, Bubble-headed is head-in-the-clouds, ditzy. I think Tally’s use of Bubble-headed and bubbly at different stages of her adventure shows that she is getting used to the icyness of it all and anyone who isn’t at such extreme emotion and adrenaline can’t possibly understand being icy and thinks the tricks don’t make them bubbly, even though that’s what they’re trying to do with their parties. So she calls them bubble-heads.
    (Sorry for the run-on.)

  17. bogus to me would be like “this sucks” ya know? like “this is bogus” or stupid or pointless.

    bubbly to me would be adrenaline, getting pumped up. like running a lot but enjoying it.
    like in a good way pumped up? maybe excited like butterflies in the stomach?

  18. yeah, this is complicated because the meaning changes over the trilogy. not so much for bogus, which is pretty consistant, but more with bubbly. it means different things with every surgery…

  19. Bubbly to me is sort of a clear-headedness. I guess I see it as a runner’s high sort of thing. Tally always says that it has something to do with your heart starting to pump really really fast. You’re not really thinking when it happens, and you’re not even necessarily happy with how it feels afterward. But during, all you can think about is running or jumping or being hyperactive in any way. This happens to me if I go the whole day without eating, and then have dinner really late. Usually I end up running home from the restaurant because I’m so hyper. And when I’m running (which I normally hate doing) my side hurts and I can’t breathe, but I feel so clear headed and my legs won’t stop. I think that’s what bubbly is.

    Bogus is…bogus. I don’t know. It’s a word that I’ve used everyday since I was about six, so I don’t even know how to define it.

  20. scott,

    everyone is saying basicly the same thing…

    bubbly is cool, adrenaline, or clear-headedness

    bogus is lame, uncool, the exact opposite of bubbly

  21. Scott,

    bubbly and bubbly-headed are also opposites.

    bubbly-headed would be pretty minded, not thinking straight, or head-in-the-clouds. the worst part is, the pretties dont know they are bubbly-headed

  22. Well… let’s see.
    I see bubbly as two different things. In some ways, it means focused, and in others in means awesome. But, under the [special] circumstances, being focused is the same thing as being awesome. So, I’d say something like FOCUSED, or CLEAR, or THRILLING.

    And bogus is simpler. To me, it means something like UNCOOL. Possibly, from a Prettie’s stand point, it could even be something like TACKY.
    Yeah, I like tacky.
    So that’s what I think about your terms. Hope I helped :]]

  24. bubbly is simply a positive word and bogus in negative. You use adjectives to describe uglies and pretties.. maybe there is a way to just shorten negative and positive in chinese. “That movie was so neg!”

  25. oh i thought of another one
    bubbly is just being exited and anxios yah
    that was it
    ah bogus
    like boring whaever theres no point
    IDK

  29. he probably only read the first 20 or 30 or so. then stopped and told the lady. yepyepyep.

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! 😛

  30. its been a long time since i commented but i think that bubbly and bogus would just be a mind turning use of the term… wordplay, it would be odd to hem like pretty-making and happy-makings was to new readers

  31. okay here i go
    1 my mom is an author and translater so i understand how hard it must be for her and i am going to help as much as i can.
    Bogus-ridicouls, stupid, crazy, no need
    Bubbly- cool, gentle, kinda clearer
    just incase
    icy- sharp
    thats all i got
    kiss kiss
    Tali
    Me i’m tali
    she she’s Tally
    weird

  33. my away message on AOL is “I’m probably sneaking into New Pretty Town right now. Be back after I talk to Bethany (read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld if you have no idea what this means)”

    isnt it awesome!?!?!

  34. ok and bubbly is kind of an understatement of icy… bubbly is just a muddled, fogy version and if you are “bubbly” eough you acn break thrugh the fog

  35. Hmmmm….
    I already posted. I’m thinking the Chinese people need to make up their own word for bubbly because the word changes meaning throughout the story. it starts out as a happy feeling, then is clear headed, and then means completely free of pretty-mindedness.
    So, some Chinese person needs to get themselves some creativity and make up a similar word.
    With your approval, Scott. of course

  36. I think that Bogus means something like; Lame, or rediculous.
    Bubbly means “cool, adreneline pumping, exciting, icy”

    i am half german, half american, and i constantly see how hard and difficult it is to get the same sentance structure for each language. I saw it a great deal in the “twilight series” the words and their meanings are much less clever sounding in german, like the same level as a young child, while the american books could well be read by older readers. i thought it was sad how there is no real way to find the same level of beauty in each language; how somethings have to be changed because they are not the same. (kind of like the uglies, no?)

  37. post again Scott-la! this post is getting boring and theres only 994487 (multiple of 13) seconds left til EXTRAS! theres not much time for obsessive posting!

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! 🙁

  39. I’m back!

    Bubbly: for things: cool, interesting, fashionable. For people: sharp, ummm, like, ummm, ‘sensing everything’… and yes, its like champagne.

    Bogus: well, i understand people do actually say bogus in the real world in America, but in a slightly different context. well, bogus means: uncool, lame, unfashionable (which is really, really bad if you’re a pretty), and it is only used for things.

    Of course the meaning changes throughout the book, but the word shouldnt.

    It would be quite cool if, in chinese, the words bubbly and bogus could be the same word (with different accents), or sound slightly similar.

    Zaijan.(chinese for goodbye)

    (no, i’m not chinese)

  41. Haha. Easy.
    Bogus- an absolute pile of crap, “where the HECK did you get THAT from” word, and
    Bubbly- happy, peppy, excited.
    I love the books! Keep writing!

  42. Bubbly is an adrenaline rush. Like just when you reach the top of the rollercoaster or when your sky diving. Its the sense of excitement admist that of fear. Something that gets you pumped.

    Bogus is the exact opposite of bubbly. Its boring, its dull. Its your calculus math teacher who talks like Ben Stein. Bogus is….just really really uncoolish.

  43. just to clarify maroon’s question on if there’s any chinese word for cool and yes, there is. the way of pronouncing is just about the same in my opinion.

    bubbly is just like some others said, the feeling when you get to the top of roller coaster. the moment when you just woke out of the daze and you get clear headed.

    bogus: fake, not real.

  45. It seems that no matter what group the characters are in “bubbly” is viewed as a good thing and represents a person conforming with what the people around them view as cool. When someone has the lesions it’s like it means that they accept them strive only live up to the standards of pretty town. If they dont have the lesions it starts to mean that they are nonconformist and chose to fight the systme. If a person ends up being “bogus” they start loosing face and become loserish, no matter what group they are in.

  50. Bubbly, I think, feels like … like when you’re really, really, really sugarhigh, and someone just said something WAY crazy, but somehow it all makes sense and if it doesn’t you somehow know it’s not worth listening to.

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