Tuesday, September 28, 2010

in translation

Pneumatic tube systems are used around the world in many different contexts. I've been exploring some of these on this blog, focusing on hospitals in particular.


Despite firms claims of standardisation in engineering, many sociologists of science have shown that technology is used differently in local settings of practice. This is something I would like to examine a lot further, and I am interested in how pneumatic tube systems are adapted for different cultural contexts. When considering these questions, it is necessary to think about pneumatic tubes in new ways. Translating the term is a start, and here is a wonderful list on the great website buispost:

Czechish - Potrubní pošta

Dutch - Buispost / buizenpost

English - Pneumatic tube system / pneumatic tube / pneumatic tube air system / pneumatic mail / pneumatic post / pneumatic conveying system / tubemail

Finnish – Putkiposti

French - Transport pneumatique / tube pneumatique

German - Rohrpost / röhrenpost

Italian - Posta pneumatica / trasporto pneumatico / tubi pneumatici

Polish - Poczta pneumatyczna

Russian - Пневматическая почта

Spanish - Transporte neumático

Swedish – Rörpost

Are there any others to add to the list?

Photos very possibly from a love hotel (see previous post) on Flikr.

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