Kum

[Gasan Gusejnov]

Muireann,
kum is an extremely difficult case. Lina Bernstein gave a very good spoor
with the "gossip".

The GULag meaning - "стукач" is going back to an older meaning "somebody
too close, who knows everything about you, and is your friend and nearly
brother, a buddy, but could become a real danger if..." Have a look at
Dahl's proverbs and some hints in Dostoevsky - в Записках из мертвого дома.

gg



On 26 July 2013 23:49, Lina Bernstein <lina.bernstein at fandm.edu> wrote:

> I've seen "gossip" used for кум. Unfortunately, the word is obscure in
> English.
>
> 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
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
> >  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
> >                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>   options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                     http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/seelang/attachments/20130727/0507abe9/attachment.html>