Kum

[Alina Israeli]

This is a completely different issue: He was introducing an entity  
that did not exist in the target language. That's why so many culinary  
items have foreign names (помидор, картофель,  
апельсин, ditto in other language). One of course could claim  
that kinship relationships vary from language to language (wujek vs.  
stryj, and how do you translate Мой дядя самых  
честных правил?). But here entities exist, only the  
cognitive grid is different from language to language.

On Jul 27, 2013, at 10:49 AM, J P Maher wrote:

> When word for word translation proves difficult, try this apptoach.
> My friend John Bukacek [private communication] needed to translate  
> the Japanese culinary term omochi, the name of a glutinous rice cake.
> His problem was that in America a product, also called “rice  
> cake”. is marketed. But as the American product is a crispy  
> confection,
> Bukacek avoided misleading American readers who knew no Japanese  
> language or kitchen
> by retaining the Japanese word and providing a gloss.
>
> From: Lina Bernstein <lina.bernstein at FANDM.EDU>
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Sent: Saturday, July 27, 2013 8:59 AM
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Kum
>
> James Falen uses "kin" for кум in his translation of E.O.
>
> On Jul 26, 2013, at 6:36 PM, Muireann Maguire wrote:
>
> > Thank you for all the replies!
> > I found this discussion very interesting. However... I've decided  
> to solve my immediate problem by not translating 'kum' at all, and  
> inserting an explanatory note instead. I do like some of the  
> translation suggestions we've had here, and I can even see 'coz'  
> working in a certain milieu, but not, alas, in the kind of society  
> where my narrative is set. Hence my decision.
> > 'Gossip' is of course wonderful - takes me back to Falstaffian  
> English - but I imagine it would only work for 'kuma', not 'kum', as  
> surely a man can't be a 'gossip' in this sense?
> > Best wishes
> > Muireann
> >
> >  
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > 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/ 
>   
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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






-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 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/20130727/861d5af6/attachment.html>