Kum

[Muireann Maguire]

Dear colleagues,

I would welcome some help on finding an English translation of the words 'kum' and 'kuma' which is compatible with early 20th-century peasant vocabulary. I'm translating a short story by one of my usual obscure writers which is set among characters from this period, and they use this word and its variants frequently as terms of informal address. In fact, the story in question is titled 'Kum', making it roundly impossible for the translator to dodge the issue.
I have tried 'the best friend' (for the title), which is, I feel, too vague, and 'godfather' and 'goddaughter' in the text as appropriate -but  the latter is too inaccurate as the 'kum' relationship is rather on the level of 'god-brother' or 'god-sister' (it refers to the relationship between a child's god-parents). Has anyone any suggestions, or examples of how previous translators have tackled the issue?
Many thanks in advance,

Muireann

Dr Muireann Maguire
Wadham College, Oxford

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