Kum

[Alina Israeli]

Кум is not exactly 'godfather',  it's either 'godfather to  
godmother' or 'godfather to other relatives':

Крестный отец по отношению к крестной  
матери и к родителям крестника; отец  
ребенка по отношению к крестному отцу  
и крестной матери.
устар. Употребляется как обращение к  
пожилому мужчине.
разг. Приятель, оказывающий  
покровительство (обычно по службе).

Значение слова кума

Ударение: кума́
ж.
Крестная мать по отношению к крестному  
отцу и к родителям крестника; мать  
ребенка по отношению к крестному отцу  
и крестной матери.
устар. Употребляется как обращение к  
пожилой женщине.
устар. Немолодая женщина, находящаяся  
с кем-л. в приятельских отношениях или  
во внебрачной связи.

In villages кум is like an 'old buddy' (I don't know if this word is  
used in the UK).

Alina

On Jul 26, 2013, at 12:27 PM, Muireann Maguire wrote:

> 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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Alina Israeli
Associate Professor of Russian
WLC, American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave.
Washington DC 20016
(202) 885-2387 	fax (202) 885-1076
aisrael at american.edu






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