I once read that English is the richest language in the world. There
are more ways to say any one thing in English than in any other
language. In addition… English as it is spoken gleans its strength
and beauty in the extreme richness of its metaphor.
However… each language has its unique charm. I start with English.
How many of you remember a movie called Smokey and the Bandit. Jackie
Gleason was a sheriff and whenever he got upset he would say in a
gruff and garrulous voice: “Sumbitch”. This cannot be translated into
another language without losing its charm.
French. There is a French comic book which has been translated into
many languages. It is called Tintin. Among the regular characters in
the story line is a certain Capitain Haddock. When Capitain Haddock
was upset and frustrated beyond endurance he would mutter:
“Saperlipopet!” I personally do not believe this has true translation
but I once looked it up and the powers that be stated that it meant
“Blazing Barnacles”. I reject this because Tintin had a dog named
Milou but in American translations they called the dog “Snowy”. Now
what was that? Certainly not his name. And certainly not an indication
of accurate translations. Did they think English speaking people
could not say Milou? In any case… Saperlipopet loses its charm and
impact in the translation.
Yiddish. Before I go on to this I need to tell you about a Jewelry
Suite consisting of a necklace, earrings, a ring, and a bracelet. The
Suite has cabochon rubies and sapphires and diamonds throughout.
Except for the ring all the elements are attached to a brazilian-link
gold chain. It is… in my humble opinion overly decorated. It is too
busy. This is one of those instances with jewelry where perhaps less
is more. It is elaborately ornamented. It is a tad baroque. It’s too
flamboyant. It’s too florid. It’s too ornate. It’s too rococo. It’s
excessively flowery in style.
Many words to describe a Suite of jewelry. However… in Yiddish…
there is one word to cover the whole gamut of descriptions I’ve just
used. Remember it. You’ll use it one day. the word is:
“Ungepotchket”. I don’t care what your mother tongue is. One day
you’ll go to a party and you’ll see a woman coming across the floor
drenched in diamonds. Yard long 10mm pearl strands around her neck.
Seven or eight bangles on each wrist. Rings on every finger including
her thumbs. Two diamond and ruby gold combs in her hair. When you see
this… lean over to your neighbor and whisper in a soft voice: Oy is
she ever Ungepotchket. You’ll be a hit. And you’ll have me to thank.
Now go. Go. Go take a look at a suite of jewelry that’s just a tad
Ungepotchket though still quite striking and beautiful.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you
will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Current Tidbits… click it… and you will see represented on
our pages a suite of elegant jewelry.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark