[Sca-cooks] Translations - re Old French Ailliee or whatver

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On May 2, 2008, at 12:05 AM, Suey wrote:

> SCA members may have the finest minds

We're pretty much like any other cross-section of population, I  
suspect. On the surface we have a common interest, but the interest  
level varies, as do levels of education and intelligence. On this list  
we have a lot of scholars both professional and amateur, both in the  
sense of non-professional, and in the sense that we do what we do for  
the love of it.

> but as I recall there are no
> language requirements except English.

I think it is more of a practical expedient than a requirement.

> As I have lived an international
> life I certainly do admire people who can speak many languages but  
> that
> does not mean that we all have had that privilege. I really feel  
> people
> who knowingly speak a foreign language are snobs when they do that  
> front
> of people they know do not speak that language. When I am the victim I
> feel hurt, irritated and rejected from their society if no one  
> thinks of
> providing me with the gist of the matter.
> My opinion is that I don't think either you Emilio or Johnnea  mean  
> that
> but to prevent non-participation from intelligent, knowledgeable  
> members
> who may not understand the language in which you are writing, a  
> summary,
> at least, in English is in order. You know they may know more than  
> we do
> on the subject!

All true. However, one has to walk the fine line between sharing  
freely what we've learned, and patronizing people. It's difficult to  
know how much time and effort to spend explaining, or translating, or  
otherwise pre-processing information for people who might just as  
easily be offended by any assumption that they need a little help, as  
by our failure to consider their needs in advance. It's a no-win  
situation, _unless_ we present information in reasonable-sized  
portions, treat all questions with respect, and  grant our fellow list  
members the courtesy of trusting them to respond courteously and  
respectfully if we ask a question, so we needn't be afraid to.

In the case of the link to the Godefroy dictionary, as I said, I'm not  
very fluent in standard conversational French, but this is not  
something for me to be ashamed of, or for me to feel victimized by  
some failure to address my needs. Nobody's obliged to be responsible  
for my education but myself. If I can't get the gist of it, the  
Babelfish translation site isn't bad if used correctly, and if I have  
to ask for help, there's no more shame in asking for it than there is  
in giving it when asked-- we're brothers and sisters in the knife, the  
apron, the spoon, the cooking-pot, and in the book.

Adamantius




"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter