[Vocabulary] boneless animals

[Lilicar]

Is this term correct when referring to animals without a backbone?

 

[Jaskin]

hi,
Please note I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker.

I think the word you looking for is invertebrate.
Unless the animal in question is an ape and the backbone is used figuratively.

Cheers.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Yes, you are correct about "invertebrate".

I don't understand your second sentence. Why an ape?

 

[Jaskin]

Hi,
We could say someone is lacking backbone, having no backbone. There are also some much less complementary names that people use towards each other.
And people by biological classification are considered to be apes.

Cheers.

 

[MikeNewYork]

OK, I understand what you were trying to say, but the phraseology was a bit strange. I don't agree that humans are apes. They are both primates.

 

[Peter Chan]

I am not a teacher

In other language, "a person without backbone or lacking backbone" means "a person who is not worth trusting or not reliable"

Does it mean the same in English?

 

[Rover_KE]

Not really. We call somebody spineless if they lack courage or willpower.

 

[Lilicar]

Thank you all,

I work for an education company. I´m in charge of reviewing books for students which are translated from Spanish. Some fellow teachers are traslating them and one of them used this term in a translation referring to invertebrates. The titles in Spanish have the intention to be catchy and in Spanish it says "Con y sin huesos" but the translation made "Bones and boneless" did not sound quite right to me. That's why I asked if it was correct. Somebody mentioned something which made sense to me: boneless sounds like invertebrates which bones have been removed. So as for the title, would it be better to change it for "Animals with Backbone and Animals without a Backbone?

Thanks again

 

[SoothingDave]

Animals with backbones and animals without backbones.

Or, vertebrates and invertebrates.

 

[Jaskin]

Hi,
Please note I'm not a native English,Spanish speaker nor a teacher.

Google translate translates "Con y sin huesos" as "with and without bone." Vertebrate comes from Latin for spine as far as I checked.
If catchy and good enough for a tittle it could be translated as "with and without spine."


Cheers.