Translating "su" and "important"

Ace blogger Mimi Smartypants was bemused to compare the instructions for a feminine product in French and Spanish with the English ones. She writes

The maxi-pad box was labeled in many languages [...], and I really enjoyed how a "heavy" flow turns into an "important" flow in French and an "abundant" flow in Spanish. Also how the Spanish claims to protect against "loss" rather than the English "leakage," and how the adhesive strip, in Spanish, holds the pad firmly in "your" place (rather than just "in place.") Hold me firmly in my place, I have an important flow.

Her reflections lead to some interesting observations on false and deceptive friends, and translation traps. Here the French "important" does actually mean "big," and not what English speakers would define as "important".

The Spanish was no doubt something like

Esto permite que la toalla se mantenga mejor en su lugar, dando a la consumidora mayor seguridad.

and here "su lugar" isn't "your place" but "its place," which does make more sense. An easy confusion to fall into, when you consider that su can mean "his," "her," "its," "your" or "their." Danger zone for the sleepy translator!

El viaje de ¿Hablas español?

Two BBC reporters, José Baig and Carlos Ceresole, have just finished a coast-to-coast trip through the southern U.S. speaking only Spanish. They documented the project in their blog ¿Hablas español?, where they tell about the people and the language they met. The blog, with links to their photo album and video and sound clips, and to their Facebook group ¿Hablas español y vives en EEUU? is an interesting account of the interplay between language, nationality and identity.