[KS] A couple of inquiries re Korean literature

[gkl1 at columbia.edu]

   Subject always to context, "gaffer" might not be out of the  
question for ONG. Thought by some to be descended from ME "godfar",  
for "godfather," and analogous
to Fr. comp`ere, "gaffer" is defined as "a rustic title or term for an
old man. There's a matching feminine form, gammer.
   In classical Chinese dictionaries ONG (Mand. WENG) is clearly seen as a
respectful term for an elderly man, but with a rustic or familiar ring.

I remember the use of "gaffer" by one of my teachers, the late Peter  
A. Boodberg in his translation of "River Snow," by the Tang poet Liu  
Zongyuan (text in the attachment):

A thousand hills, bird flights cut short,
A myriad paths, men's tracks damped out;
An orphan-boated, strammel-coped, straw-hatted gaffer
Cur-lonely angling -- the chill -- stream -- snow...

The risk is that it can come off as an archaism and sound just a  
little precious. But at least I don't think Anthony will find it  
American...

Gari Ledyard


Quoting Y Jones <yeajones at gmail.com>:


[Hide Quoted Text]
Dear All,

Greetings. I've been following various discussions with interest and I have
a couple of questions regarding translation of a Korean word and publishing
Korean translation.

First, the word in question is: ?(?), a term of respect for an elderly
gentleman, which seems to be too cumbersome in English, I've thought
variously about the Elder, the Old Master, etc, but none of them seem to
work. If any of you could suggest a possible translation, I'd very much
appreciate it.

Second, if you could suggest Korean studies journals that publish
translation of Korean literary works, that'd be most helpful.

Thank you so much in advance.

Regards,

YJones