# Малохолия в капоте



## yuna1207

Hi!

I'm looking for the translation of a book, Малохолия в капоте, by futurist Kroutchenykh (about erotism, that's all I know about it)  but I can't find it anywhere so I have to translate it on my own. However, I can't find the word Малохолия neither. Do you know it? Can we translate it by "melancholy" ??

Thanks for your help


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## morzh

yuna1207 said:


> Hi!
> 
> I'm looking for the translation of a book, Малохолия в капоте, by futurist Kroutchenykh (about erotism, that's all I know about it)  but I can't find it anywhere so I have to translate it on my own. However, I can't find the word Малохолия neither. Do you know it? Can we translate it by "melancholy" ??
> 
> Thanks for your help




There is no such word - it is modified "мала(о)хольный".

*Значение*



_прост._ то же, что малохольный, ненормальный ◆ Откуда он взялся такой, малахольный ли, умом тронутый, толком никто не помнит. _Борис Екимов, «Белая дорога», 2001 г._ ◆ — Я ж тебе кажу, что он малахольный, ну, як то прямо сказать, с ума рехнулся, бо у него была жинка Катря. _Валентина Осеева, «Динка прощается с детством», 1969 г._ ◆ Я думала, ты перспективный гений, а ты просто малахольный гений. _Вячеслав Рыбаков, «Хроники смутного времени», 1998 г._ ◆ Тот малахольный, который под собой сук рубил, тоже много чего об себе думал. _Валентин Распутин, «Прощание с Матёрой», 1976 г. _(цитата из Национального корпуса русского языка, см. Список литературы)
имеющий странности, причуды в поведении, обычно выражающиеся в  медлительности, заторможенности, слабом проявлении эмоциональных  переживаний (о человеке) ◆ Для  этого значения не указан пример употребления. Вы можете оказать помощь  проекту, добавив пример употребления из литературного произведения или  повседневного общения. 
 *[прав.] Синонимы*



ненормальный, помешанный, чокнутый, умом тронутый, сумасшедший
---



*Значение слова «малахольный»*


*Ударение:* малахо́льный


 _м. разг.-сниж._
Тот, кто отличается странностями, причудами в поведении.
 
 _прил. разг.-сниж._
Имеющий странности, причуды в поведении,  обычно выражающиеся в медлительности, заторможенности, слабом проявлении  эмоциональных переживаний (о человеке).
Свойственный человеку, имеющему странности, причуды в поведении.


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## rusita preciosa

I've never heard the word малохолия, but *малохольный *means "silly / stupid / clownish", so it could mean silliness; *капот *is a cape with a hood.


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## morzh

rusita preciosa said:


> I've never heard the word малохолия, but *малохольный *means "silly / stupid / clownish", so it could mean silliness; *капот *is a cape with a hood.



Yes. Sort of  "A Cuckoo in a hood".


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## lectrice

Крученых А.Е "Малохолия в капоте" - Kruchenykh "Melancholy in a Robe"
http://books.google.ca/books?id=UVF...EwAQ#v=onepage&q=Melancholy in a Robe&f=false
page 342

(http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=2922480)


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## yuna1207

Oooh great, thank you very much!!!


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## cyanista

lectrice said:


> Крученых А.Е "Малохолия в капоте" - Kruchenykh "Melancholy in a Robe"


It's probably already clear from the preceding posts but I would like to confirm that малохолия (an oсcasionalism invented by the author, see above) has nothing to do with меланхолия (melancholy). The English translator surely overlooked that.


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## morzh

cyanista said:


> It's probably already clear from the preceding posts but I would like to confirm that малохолия (an oсcasionalism invented by the author, see above) has nothing to do with меланхолия (melancholy). The English translator surely overlooked that.




Yes, I was also surprised with "melancholy" translation.


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## yuna1207

I had found the same translation (Mélancolie en robe) in French but it was also clear to me that the 2 words have nothing to do with each other. However, since the English translated it the same way, I finally thought it was correct... Anyway, I 'll find something related with stupidity, silliness


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## morzh

yuna1207 said:


> I had found the same translation (Mélancolie en robe) in French but it was also clear to me that the 2 words have nothing to do with each other. However, since the English translated it the same way, I finally thought it was correct... Anyway, I 'll find something related with stupidity, silliness



Well, that translation is a misunderstanding due to 1) one word being similar to the other one, 2) that same word being a mangled derivative of the other one (a mix of "мало-" and "мелан-",  a popular Russian (though not only) thing to do), and 3) both referring to some mental conditions.

Also the word "малахольный" is similar-sounding (and some claim, has something to do with) to the word "малосольный", meaning "lightly brined" when said of pickled kirbies or tomatoes, and so implying "under-witted, silly, not wholesome person", like the cucumber that is not "really pickled all the way" but just some.


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## estreets

I think this translated Melancolie is due to the fact that the word малахольный was in fact derived from melancolie. It happened many years ago  when Russian noblemen used to speak French and illiterate people would hear this French word but would not understand it and changed to something easier. The form was changed and the content was changed, too. But its origin is the same: French word.
That may be why that translator chose this word Melancolie.


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## morzh

Also the word "Melancholy" ("Melancolie", or what have you) does not have the negative connotation that "Малахольный" has in Russian.

As a matter of fact there is a, I think, Romanian song, (was sung by Sophia Rotaru) that has those words:

"Melancolie dulce melodie,
Melancolie misterios amor,
Melancolie, melancolie, 
Din armonia inimii cu dor"

Imagine now that

"Малахолия, дульче мелодие,
Малахолия, мистериос амор...."

Получить, что ли, авторские права?


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## cyanista

This source mentions quite a different etymology:

_Малахольный_ 'глуповатый, блаженненький' (слово, распространено в  просторечии южных городов). Происходит от древнеевр. מַלְאָך  (maloch) 'ангел'. В современном еврейском существует в значении  'добряк'.


> That may be why that translator chose this word Melancolie.


Right as you may be, I still think it's not a terribly good idea to mix the two. Apart from the meaning and usage frequency, the style is very different (the one is extremely colloquial, the other rather upscale).


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## estreets

cyanista said:


> This source mentions quite a different etymology:
> 
> _Малахольный_ 'глуповатый, блаженненький' (слово, распространено в просторечии южных городов). Происходит от древнеевр. מַלְאָך (maloch) 'ангел'. В современном еврейском существует в значении 'добряк'.
> 
> Right as you may be, I still think it's not a terribly good idea to mix the two. Apart from the meaning and usage frequency, the style is very different (the one is extremely colloquial, the other rather upscale).


 This source is definitely wrong.


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## Nanon

estreets said:


> That may be why that translator chose this word Melancolie.


Just a hypothesis: Futurists liked to create new words or to twist existing words into new ones. But the French and English translators did not have any other words (apart from _mélancolie / melancholy)_ that could be deformed into any equivalent of _малохолия_, so _меланхолия_ had to stay.


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## morzh

Nanon said:


> Just a hypothesis: Futurists liked to create new words or to twist existing words into new ones. But the French and English translators did not have any other words (apart from _mélancolie / melancholy)_ that could be deformed into any equivalent of _малохолия_, so _меланхолия_ had to stay.




You mean French does not have anything like a "Gaga", "Cuckoo", "Nutcase", "weirdo", "fruitcake", "loon" and so on, that can be somehow mangled in a similar fashion?


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## Nanon

It takes a Futurist, or at least a poet, to provide a solution.

Of course there are such words in both French and English. But what would have been necessary was a word as morphologically close to _melancholy_ (or a part of it) as possible, in order to form a portmanteau. Maybe "loon" could fit in: "me_loon_choly". Then one should check if the newly-formed word makes English-speaking readers react in more or less the same way as Russian readers react with the original. It seems that translators did not think such ideas would work well...


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## morzh

I think it's a matter of preference, meaning sticking to original way the title sounds.

If it is easy to do - fine, why not; otherwise just find a word with the appropriate meaning, mangle it in some way that makes sense to the local reader.

Even though, I am not sure why, but for example, Hemingway's "Islands in the stream" in Russian is titled "Острова в океане" (Islands in the Ocean).

And Carroll's "Jabberwocky" (made up word) became "Бармаглот", and I have to give it to the translator - this was a titanically ginormous job to take it on this one.

So, what's one "Малахолия".....


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