Jul 19, 2011 18:58
12 yrs ago
Russian term
also an attorney with AML background
Native in: English
Works in: Russian to English, English
фармазонство
Russian to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
A young man slaps the tsar's uncle for insulting his dead wife, spends 25 years in Turkestan, and returns but finds nothing has been forgotten.
Очевидно, ему ничего не забыли: ни пощечины, ни той вольной, что он дал крестьянам. Разумеется, такого фармазонства ему не простили, и какой-то генерал оскорбил его, поставив под сомнение его лояльность.
Очевидно, ему ничего не забыли: ни пощечины, ни той вольной, что он дал крестьянам. Разумеется, такого фармазонства ему не простили, и какой-то генерал оскорбил его, поставив под сомнение его лояльность.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | heresy |
Piotrnikitin
|
| 4 +3 | "freemasonry" |
Michael Korovkin
|
| 4 +2 | radicalism / free-thinking / nonconformist behavior |
Mark Berelekhis
|
| 5 | debauchery (in context) - see explanation |
Andrei B
|
Proposed translations
16 hrs
Piotrnikitin
Serbia
Serbia
Native in Russian
&
English
Works in field
Serbia
Making LEGAL sense...
Native in: English 
, Russian
Works in: Russian to English, Dutch to English, English to Russian, and 9 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
36
Selected
heresy
I think the word refers to the man freeing his peasants, not to the slap. In this context, I would think describing his behaviour is "heretical" (as opposed to the orthodoxy of conservative tsarists, according to which peasants should have remained enslaved for ever) pretty accurately conveys what is meant here by "фармазонство".
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
4 mins
Mark Berelekhis
United States
United States
Native in Russian
&
English
Works in field
United States
Exemplary quality, truly bilingual
Native in: Russian 
, English
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, English
Related KudoZ points
:
467
radicalism / free-thinking / nonconformist behavior
+3
7 hrs
Michael Korovkin
Italy
Italy
Native in Russian
&
English
Works in field
Italy
Native in: English , Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, Italian to Russian, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
128
13 hrs
debauchery (in context) - see explanation
Толковый словарь русского языка под редакцией Т. Ф. Ефремовой
defines 'фармазон' as
(1) устар. (archaic)
то же, что масон, франкмасон (freemason)
(2) перен. (figurative)
- вольнодумец, нигилист (free-thinker, nihilist)
- употр. как бранное слово (used as a curse word)
http://www.slovopedia.com/15/212/1599191.html
The last characteristic is key to understanding the meaning of 'фармазон' in the present context
In olden times, 'фармазон' or 'фармазонство' was used by conservatives (initially those of upper classes) to express extreme disapproval, with a touch of derision, of someone whose behavior ran counter to social norms and traditional values and was seen as immoral. However, it had no direct connotation of its origin (freemason)
Therefore, a good translation should connote a strong criticism, and possibly sound like a curse, but the word per se shouldn't be obscene. Connotations of this kind are missing in 'freethinking,' and much less in 'radicalism' and 'nonconformism,' since these words sound neutral to the modern English-speaking reader
What's more, 'вольнодумец' is mentioned as the closest synonym of фармазон in Russian dictionaries, but 'freethinking' (вольнодумство) would refer to views rather than behavior
Since 'фармазон[ство]' is rarely used these days, a good translation should be a word well known to readers but sounding outdated if not archaic
The suggested translation appears to be unique as retaining the following attributes of фармазонство:
- in its most common meaning of immoral behavior (abuse of alcohol, sex, etc.), it can be used to express strong disapproval
- it conveys the meaning of фармазонство in the present context as that of seduction from virtue, morality, or duty (manumission) and intemperance (slap on the face); note also that the former meaning is labeled as archaic in some but not all dictionaries (e.g., in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
- it is analogous to фармазон[ство] (russified and distorted 'franc-maçon[nerie]') as an English-sounding word derived from a French one (debauch)
defines 'фармазон' as
(1) устар. (archaic)
то же, что масон, франкмасон (freemason)
(2) перен. (figurative)
- вольнодумец, нигилист (free-thinker, nihilist)
- употр. как бранное слово (used as a curse word)
http://www.slovopedia.com/15/212/1599191.html
The last characteristic is key to understanding the meaning of 'фармазон' in the present context
In olden times, 'фармазон' or 'фармазонство' was used by conservatives (initially those of upper classes) to express extreme disapproval, with a touch of derision, of someone whose behavior ran counter to social norms and traditional values and was seen as immoral. However, it had no direct connotation of its origin (freemason)
Therefore, a good translation should connote a strong criticism, and possibly sound like a curse, but the word per se shouldn't be obscene. Connotations of this kind are missing in 'freethinking,' and much less in 'radicalism' and 'nonconformism,' since these words sound neutral to the modern English-speaking reader
What's more, 'вольнодумец' is mentioned as the closest synonym of фармазон in Russian dictionaries, but 'freethinking' (вольнодумство) would refer to views rather than behavior
Since 'фармазон[ство]' is rarely used these days, a good translation should be a word well known to readers but sounding outdated if not archaic
The suggested translation appears to be unique as retaining the following attributes of фармазонство:
- in its most common meaning of immoral behavior (abuse of alcohol, sex, etc.), it can be used to express strong disapproval
- it conveys the meaning of фармазонство in the present context as that of seduction from virtue, morality, or duty (manumission) and intemperance (slap on the face); note also that the former meaning is labeled as archaic in some but not all dictionaries (e.g., in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
- it is analogous to фармазон[ство] (russified and distorted 'franc-maçon[nerie]') as an English-sounding word derived from a French one (debauch)
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