Politicians still unaware of the perils of losses in translation

In a country where proficiency in any language is uneven at best, there is an inherent danger in venting ire colourfully or even idiomatically in English, as Shashi Tharoor discovered the hard way with his cattle class quip. But it seems that politicians’ memories are as short as the public’s is famously supposed to be.

The furore over Robert Vadra’s translation of the Congress’s aam aadmi mascot as a ‘mango’ man rather than a common one, has been bandied about in rarefied circles for years. But putting it out on the social media brought it to the notice of an entirely different — and unsympathetic — audience, with unfortunate consequences. He, however, also appeared to be unaware of the true implications of a ‘ banana republic’ when he dubbed the UPA-ruled India as one.

Obviously, he was unaware that his late father-in-law used that word in a different language, that too as a verb, not a noun or adjective. Undeterred by that loss in translation, the very next week, the law minister characterised his current bête noire as a ‘guttersnipe’, a word with a deliciously downmarket Dickensian flavour as the term originated in the 19th century.

The articulate minister may have known that it was used to describe grubby scavengers and ragpickers — also called ‘street arabs’ at that time, a phrase that can definitely not be used now — but it is unlikely many others would have known its etymology. Lucky for him then that his opponents did not latch upon it as a casteist slur.

If the political and privileged classes continue to be beleaguered by those differently-abled, lexiconically speaking, there will be many more instances of barbs missing their mark or hitting the wrong one. The bright side, of course, is that the listening public’s English vocabulary will end up suitably enriched.