Kum

[J P Maher]

Compare Italo-American 'goomba' = standard italian 'compadre', from stem of Latin 'compater'. 
Mot affectif, depending on context it can be possitively affectionate or ironic. Like 'kum' it can be godparent; also a sponsor at confirmation.
j p maher


________________________________
 From: Natalia Pylypiuk <natalia.pylypiuk at UALBERTA.CA>
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU 
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2013 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Kum
 


Dr. Maguire,

I suggest studying the manner in which Spanish "compadre" [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compadre] 
and French "compère" [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/compère] have been translated into English belles-lettres.

Besides being related ( кум = Latin com[pater]), the institution of "kumivstvo" in Slavic speaking countries
shares many similarities with the institution of "compadrazgo" (and its parallels) in Spanish and other 
Romance-language speaking cultures. 

Best wishes,
Natalia


Natalia Pylypiuk, PhD, Professor
Ukrainian Culture, Language & Literature Program[ www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/ukraina/ ] Modern Languages & Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
President of the Canadian Association for Ukrainian Studies





On 2013-07-26, at 10:27 AM, Muireann Maguire <muireann.maguire at GOOGLEMAIL.COM> 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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/seelang/attachments/20130727/611059a0/attachment.html>