Monday, February 16, 2009

A Cultural Appendix - The Wink of the Mona Lisa

I found it funny how the author Jack Briggs was translating the stories word for word. I wonder if he understands the significance of adding "O" to the end of someone's name, like in the first story one of the characters is called Humaid son of "Shamoh". While the other characters each had nicknames like Khamaas Tanak and Cola. Maybe the book needs an appendix that explains the cultural dimension behind such small details, something like footnotes. It actually had a glossary that explains famous sites and people. Maybe the book needs an appendix that explains the cultural dimension behind such small details, something like footnotes. It actually had a glossary that explains famous sites and people but it's just a brief explanation that doesn't go into much detail.

Which got me thinking about the Arab culture's obessession with privacy and anonymity in everything. One reason people come up with nicknames is to distinguish themselves from others, especially that we all tend to have repetitive and similar names, i mean how many Mohamed Ahmed Al Mansoori are there in the Arab world? People's nicknames stick to them, sometimes forever, there is the famous Emirati football player Adnan Al Taliani (his real last name wasn't Al Taliani, he was nicknamed that bcz it meant The Italian in Arabic and Italians were the World Cup champions back then). Another reason people take up nicknames is to freely express their opinions without risking judgement of others for their social or political background or to protect their profile from others. Historically, many poets and writers took up nicknames either to be distinguished or hide their true identities in case they had controversial opinions.


I'd definitely recommend the book to my expat friends that might be curious to find out about the local culture.

No comments:

Monday, February 16, 2009

A Cultural Appendix - The Wink of the Mona Lisa

I found it funny how the author Jack Briggs was translating the stories word for word. I wonder if he understands the significance of adding "O" to the end of someone's name, like in the first story one of the characters is called Humaid son of "Shamoh". While the other characters each had nicknames like Khamaas Tanak and Cola. Maybe the book needs an appendix that explains the cultural dimension behind such small details, something like footnotes. It actually had a glossary that explains famous sites and people. Maybe the book needs an appendix that explains the cultural dimension behind such small details, something like footnotes. It actually had a glossary that explains famous sites and people but it's just a brief explanation that doesn't go into much detail.

Which got me thinking about the Arab culture's obessession with privacy and anonymity in everything. One reason people come up with nicknames is to distinguish themselves from others, especially that we all tend to have repetitive and similar names, i mean how many Mohamed Ahmed Al Mansoori are there in the Arab world? People's nicknames stick to them, sometimes forever, there is the famous Emirati football player Adnan Al Taliani (his real last name wasn't Al Taliani, he was nicknamed that bcz it meant The Italian in Arabic and Italians were the World Cup champions back then). Another reason people take up nicknames is to freely express their opinions without risking judgement of others for their social or political background or to protect their profile from others. Historically, many poets and writers took up nicknames either to be distinguished or hide their true identities in case they had controversial opinions.


I'd definitely recommend the book to my expat friends that might be curious to find out about the local culture.

No comments: