It becomes ever funnier: This thread often uses the verb bowdlerize, which I did not know until now. I had an idea of its meaning, but looked it up for its Dutch translation. It was translated as 'kuisen', not much used in Dutch, but a common Flemish word for 'cleaning'. Sounds reasonable. Furthermore one of the explanations in English was "edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate", which sounds reasonable, but one of the examples was 'to castrate'. So, after 'cleaning' the men, they were fit to work in the women's buidlings and there we are back with the maidens again...
Kees. -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Gilmore Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 15:16 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Pissing contest(s) I own, and in a certain sense cherish, a facsimile edition of Thomas Bowdler's 1818 edition of Shakespeare's plays, which sanitized them, eliminating 'bawdry' that he judged unsuitable for maidens. It is a disaster, and in an important sense a failure because it identifies by omission or paraphrase a good deal of antique bawdry that would otherwise have been missed by most 18th-century readers. I dislike his undertaking and others like it. (There is a bowdlerized Pushkin in Russian that is at least equally offensive and tin-eared.) A special problem does, however, arise in translating. There is, for example, a comparatively common and vulgar but not obscene German locution that suggests to someone that he would do well to get himself reconceived by his father, whose first effort leaves much to be desired. Translated literally into English it turns out to be very offensive indeed, Or again, a French phrase like 'Je me suis foutu', all but innocuous in French, is not so when translated literally into English. When something needs to be cleaned up in translating it into English the use of the verb to bowdlerize has the merit that it makes what is being done clear without offending one of those maidens. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ******************************************************** For information, services and offers, please visit our web site: http://www.klm.com. This e-mail and any attachment may contain confidential and privileged material intended for the addressee only. If you are not the addressee, you are notified that no part of the e-mail or any attachment may be disclosed, copied or distributed, and that any other action related to this e-mail or attachment is strictly prohibited, and may be unlawful. If you have received this e-mail by error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, and delete this message. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV (KLM), its subsidiaries and/or its employees shall not be liable for the incorrect or incomplete transmission of this e-mail or any attachments, nor responsible for any delay in receipt. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (also known as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines) is registered in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, with registered number 33014286 ******************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
