[Mihalic] Mihalic Digest, Vol 59, Issue 1
Steven Gimbo
stevengimbo at yahoo.com
Mon Nov 16 12:31:24 EST 2009
Dear All,
I would call 'korapsen' a neo-tokpisin. I like to call all new tok pisin words neo-tokpisin.
As you all know, there are not many words in the Tok Pisin language, and any new words is a 'pidginised' derivative of either English or some other language.
In this case, I think 'korapsen' is a pidginsed version of corruption and generally means corruption in the general sense. 'Kaikai mani' is a term used generally in Simbu and parts of the highlands to mean 'paulim mani.' 'paulim mani is generally used in coastal areas.
Both these words mean to use money for personal use and not for the communal good, and could be used to imply corruption.
Thanks, and Cheers,
Steven Gimbo
From: mihalic-request at anu.edu.au <mihalic-request at anu.edu.au>
Subject: Mihalic Digest, Vol 59, Issue 1
To: mihalic at anu.edu.au
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 11:19 PM
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Today's Topics:
1. [Fwd: Korapsen] (John Burton)
2. Re: [Fwd: Korapsen] (Thomas Slone)
3. Re: [Fwd: Korapsen] (David Week (personal))
4. Re: [Fwd: Korapsen] (Eva Lindstr?m)
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:01:51 +1100
From: John Burton <john.burton at anu.edu.au>
Subject: [Mihalic] [Fwd: Korapsen]
To: mihalic at anu.edu.au
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:15:17 -0800
From: Thomas Slone <thslone at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Mihalic] [Fwd: Korapsen]
To: mihalic at anu.edu.au
Message-ID: <p06240803c7261042c4e1@[172.16.1.35]>
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It might be a word in common use in Wantok Niuspepa. Anyone?
Unless one is sure that one's audience has familiarity with such
neologisms, one should at least give an initial gloss or short
definition of the term in the material in which it is used. If the
NGOs aren't doing this, they aren't being effective.
I think the Biblical usage is sufficiently different than modern that
it might not get the point across as far as the NGOs are concerned.
--Tom Slone
> All
>
>A correspondent has asked this question:
>
>"I am trying to workout the orgins, and the extent of use, of the
>word Korapsen (Corruption) in PNG Tok Pisin. A number of NGOs are
>using this word in their promotional materials, but I can't find it
>in any dictionary (including the 2008 Oxford Tokpisin to English and
>the Mihalic's Jacaranda Dictionary). I see that you are involved
>in a project on Mihalic and was wondering if you have come across
>anything."
>
>I replied as follows. Korapsen is new (as a tp word) and wouldn't be
>in any dictionaries. However, the translaters of the Buk Baibel also
>had to confront this thorny problem:
>
>"The king also desecrated the high places that were east of
>Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption", 2 Kings 23:13 is
>translated as "Na Josaia i bagapim ol alta bipo King Solomon i bin
>wokim long hap bilong Jerusalem, em long hap saut bilong maunten
>Oliv*" and the note says: "* Long dispela hap, tok Hebru i kolim
>maunten Oliv long narapela nem, em Maunten bilong Bagarap".
>
>"a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples", Esra 9:11 , is
>translated as "graun ... i no klin long ai bilong mi".
>
>"Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of
>evildoers, children given to corruption", Isaiah 1:4, is translated
>as "yupela ol manmeri i nogut tru na pasin bilong yu i nogut olgeta"
>
>Any other brilliant ideas?
>
>John Burton
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Mihalic mailing list
>Mihalic at anu.edu.au
>http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/mihalic
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:38:30 +1100
From: "David Week (personal)" <davidweek at cal.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Re: [Mihalic] [Fwd: Korapsen]
To: John Burton <john.burton at anu.edu.au>
Cc: mihalic at anu.edu.au
Message-ID: <C93E6FF7-3C9A-48BC-9D6C-26EA4CDC92B0 at cal.berkeley.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
The English word "corruption" is part of a broader metaphor which includes such phrases as "body politic", "mechanism of government", "head of government", "an arm of government", etc. The underlying idea is that government is a selfless, impartial instrument which exists to do the will of the people, for the good of the people, as your body serves your mind (in our Cartesian conception of such things).
This metaphor goes back several hundred years, at least as far as Thomas Hobbes. Before Hobbes, government was conceived very differently: as divinely authorised, rather than an instrument of the people.
Within this metaphor, when the government starts acting in its own interest, it has become "corrupt", in the same way that a dead body putresces. The word "corrupt" itself has the following roots in English: [Middle English, from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere, to destroy : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + rumpere, to break; see reup- in Indo-European roots.] So another sense is that government has become "broken". But one can only understand what is "broken" if one is already culturally inducted into this idea of the government as a mechanism for implementing the popular will.
I think rather than attempt to translate this complex and historically-given metaphor, it might be better to use a literal translation:
Gavman i stilim mani bilong yumi.
Best
David Week
PS I'd be careful using the Biblical translations, because in that text corruption means something very else again. The full NIV texts of the passages cited below are:
"The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption--the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the people of Ammon." (Kings 23:13)
"you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other." (Ezra 9:11)
"Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him." (Isaiah 1:4)
In all these cases, "corruption" doesn't refer to broken mechanism of government, or a putrescent body politic, but to religious deviance or ritual impurity. Not the same thing at all.
On 16/11/2009, at 7:01 AM, John Burton wrote:
> All
>
> A correspondent has asked this question:
>
> "I am trying to workout the orgins, and the extent of use, of the word Korapsen (Corruption) in PNG Tok Pisin. A number of NGOs are using this word in their promotional materials, but I can't find it in any dictionary (including the 2008 Oxford Tokpisin to English and the Mihalic's Jacaranda Dictionary). I see that you are involved in a project on Mihalic and was wondering if you have come across anything."
>
> I replied as follows. Korapsen is new (as a tp word) and wouldn't be in any dictionaries. However, the translaters of the Buk Baibel also had to confront this thorny problem:
>
> "The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption", 2 Kings 23:13 is translated as "Na Josaia i bagapim ol alta bipo King Solomon i bin wokim long hap bilong Jerusalem, em long hap saut bilong maunten Oliv*" and the note says: "* Long dispela hap, tok Hebru i kolim maunten Oliv long narapela nem, em Maunten bilong Bagarap".
>
> "a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples", Esra 9:11 , is translated as "graun ... i no klin long ai bilong mi".
>
> "Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption", Isaiah 1:4, is translated as "yupela ol manmeri i nogut tru na pasin bilong yu i nogut olgeta"
>
> Any other brilliant ideas?
>
> John Burton
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mihalic mailing list
> Mihalic at anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/mihalic
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:19:21 +0100
From: Eva Lindstr?m <evali at ling.su.se>
Subject: Re: [Mihalic] [Fwd: Korapsen]
To: John Burton <john.burton at anu.edu.au>
Cc: mihalic at anu.edu.au
Message-ID:
<e6bed3520911151519u3254663dy8c0a4a64df090cdd at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I watched a documentary on father Nilles, "Papa bilong Chimbu", the
other day. The expression 'kaikai mani' was used for being corrupt
(along with another I don't recall just now) by a Chimbu man on what
was feared would happen if a local was sent to national parliament and
why the German Fr was elected instead. This of course refers to the
bribery sense of corruption; I think everyone is ready to read the
nepotism sense into 'wantok sistem'. What other senses are required?
Lukautim em yet, maski long kantri? Bikpelaim em yet? Bihainim/tingim
tasol nem bilong en yet na lain bilong en?
Best,
Eva
2009/11/15 John Burton <john.burton at anu.edu.au>:
> ?All
>
> A correspondent has asked this question:
>
> "I am trying to workout the orgins, and the extent of use, of the word
> Korapsen (Corruption) in PNG Tok Pisin.? A number of NGOs are using this
> word in their promotional materials, but I can't find it in any dictionary
> (including the 2008 Oxford Tokpisin to English and the Mihalic's Jacaranda
> Dictionary).?? I see that you are involved in a project on Mihalic and was
> wondering if you have come across anything."
>
> I replied as follows. Korapsen is new (as a tp word) and wouldn't be in any
> dictionaries. However, the translaters of the Buk Baibel also had to
> confront this thorny problem:
>
> "The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the
> south of the Hill of Corruption", 2 Kings 23:13 is translated as "Na Josaia
> i bagapim ol alta bipo King Solomon i bin wokim long hap bilong Jerusalem,
> em long hap saut bilong maunten Oliv*" and the note says: "* Long dispela
> hap, tok Hebru i kolim maunten Oliv long narapela nem, em Maunten bilong
> Bagarap".
>
> "a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples",? Esra 9:11 , is
> translated as "graun ... i no klin long ai bilong mi".
>
> "Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers,
> children given to corruption",? Isaiah 1:4, is translated as "yupela ol
> manmeri i nogut tru na pasin bilong yu i nogut olgeta"
>
> Any other brilliant ideas?
>
> John Burton
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mihalic mailing list
> Mihalic at anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/mihalic
>
>
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