SC - tooth powder

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

And it came to pass on 13 May 00,, that Christina van Tets wrote:

> ><< Polvos para los dientes - Tooth powder >>
> >
> >You mean 'Powder for the Teeth' I assume?
> >
> >Ras
> 
> Yes, but the Victorians and earlier called it tooth powder too - in much
> the same way you can go into a pet shop and find kangaroo meat, chicken
> meat and puppy meat all sitting together in the fridge...
> 
> Cairistiona

I often change translated phrases into a form that fits English usage 
better.  I do not usually write "juice of oranges" or "broth of chickens".  
Sometimes there is a fine line between preserving as much as possible 
of the original text, and making the translation readable, but phrases 
like "tooth powder" and "orange juice" are common.  If you have a copy 
of Santich, take a look at her translations.  She does the same.  She 
even renders a Catalan phrase that literally means "eggs cooked in 
water" as "hard-boiled eggs".

Now, if a word of a phrase simply doesn't exist in English, or is a 
metaphor or idiom, then as Ras said, it needs to be footnoted.  In the 
recently reposted recipe for anise cookies, the translation contains the 
phrase, "stir it with one hand".  I recently learned what I had suspected 
but couldn't prove: it's an idiom meaning "stir in one direction".  If I were 
reprinting the recipe sheets, I would use the clearer meaning, and 
footnote it.


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net