FM-PMS

[akk]

current chapter word count; 5396
scene worked on today: Mariko
scene complete? no, too much research
character whose apologies for once come in handy: Subaru
character whose shikigami is not a gyrfalcon: Mariko
character who still has to come past his stuttering for me to continue this scene: also Subaru
research of the day: Japanese school uniforms, school uniform fashion statements, Hanae Mori, gyrfalcon, black kite, hen harrier, Ninomaru garden and pond, lotus growth.
quote of the day: "Are you coming?"

frustrated realization: there's no proper word for a male mistress!

unrelated: I got my A-H1N1 immunization shot yesterday. 36 hours later, it still doesn't feel much different than the usual annual flu shot. The only truly painful experience in all this was the media hubbub and utter chaos created by the authorities in organizing the immunization campaign in Germany. *snort*

Comments

[killthwight.livejournal.com]

frustrated realization: there's no proper word for a male mistress!

YES! This has driven me crazy too. Damn these linguistic sexisms. Is there a word for it in German?

[akk]

Well, there's no exact translation for "male mistress" as a "mistress" in the amour-sense would be a "Mätresse", which strictly refers to the equivalent of a kept woman serving like a wife but not having the official status.
However, there's "Liebhaber", which is often translated simply as "lover", but holds an (albeit small) whiff of old-fashioned disdain, which can be amplified with "ausgehalten" into "ein ausgehaltener Liebhaber", which would translate into "a kept lover", which in English is still not exclusively male, but is in German, since a "Liebhaber" is per definition male.
"Liebhaber" is slightly old-fashioned with respect to love affairs and in contemporary use is also used in terms of "a fan of... antiques or tech gizmos, etc. (for example), however in love terms a neutral word would be "Geliebter" (loved, beloved) not "Liebhaber".
The male term "Liebhaber" still doesn't hold the full impact of "mistress" or "kept lover", but it at least hints at the connotations, which can be amplified accordingly.
There are stronger words, but those are very old-fashioned and almost exclusively found in classic literature or stylized novels (Gigolo, Paramour,... each of which holds specific connotation regarding behavior & activities).
Note with respect to sexism, that the female version "Liebhaberin" is solely used in the neutral sense "eine Liebhaberin der Musik" (a lover (f) of music) for example. For women there are "Mätresse", "Geliebte" (lover, which already holds a whiff of *ahem*) and "sein Verhältnis" ("his liaison", used as description of the person), the latter can be used for men as well, but it's not common afaik.

[killthwight.livejournal.com]

...

I am amazed at the number of words you have to designate "lover" and all it's variations. No wonder German is known as a very specific language! XD

[akk]

...and I just listed those with a slightly ambiguous connotation attached to them. There are clearly neutral ones, favorable ones, distant ones (to be used when talking about people not closely connected/personally known).

*g* most people think German is considered difficult, because of its grammar, but it's the word precision.
I guess that's one of the reasons our more educated humor (instead of just the embarassing simple anal jokes) doesn't translate at all. It's almost always in the double-triple-quadruple connotation of the subjects used.

[killthwight.livejournal.com]

Does German have many exceptions to its grammar?

And I imagine that even a native speaker has difficulties with vocabulary once in a while?

[akk]

Yes.
And yes. And let's face it, every day language is made for use not style. Few people talk like Kant wrote. (luckily!) ;)

[killthwight.livejournal.com]

Too true, otherwise we'd be carrying dictionaries.

[akk]

and ebook readers would *the* new fashion item in Germany (instead of being a shelf-hog, because the publishing industry insists on demanding the fixed book prices for printed volumes for the bookfiles as well (who'd pay 15€ or more for a file you can't copy freely?)! :)

[killthwight.livejournal.com]

Huh, I didn't know that. We don't have them here yet, though Amazon just announced they'll be selling Kindle here next year. I thought about getting a Sony ebook just to able to carry fics with me--I waste too much paper and ink on fics I'm not going to keep.

[akk]

I'm too much a geek not to be drawn to the ebookies, but I've firmly set myself to postpone getting one before there are feasible color displays. :)

[librariana]

how about:
"lover boy", "boy toy" or "your fancy man"?
with just a touch of irony it might work better than the official "kept man" :)


...I know, I should go back to work instead of studying dictionaries...
*goes back to writing*

[akk]

Thank you for your suggestions, but sadly they don't work in my context. :)

I need something with the "official" disdain connected with "mistress" (male).
And anything "boy" or "fancy" in that regard is just misleading. Humorous also doesn't fit the situation at all, which is why I didn't even list "boy toy" or "catamite". It's barking up the wrong side of that specific tree. ;)

[librariana]

What a fastidious tree you got there... :)

I would still argue for the "kept man", probably only because we've got the exact translation, which serves for the purposes you described.
But as I am not familiar with English connotations, I won't argue in the end :P

Anyway, I have learned new words and that is always a bonus :)

[akk]

*g* "kept man" is as close as one gets. Currently, I wriggled my way around needing the exact word at all, because the other side of the conundrum may be accused (due to lack of detailed information) as being an "adulterer" and thus suffer the full impact of the term. ;)
But it's a nuisance that in terms of their "holy marriage"-thingy, the language is SO limited! *snort* One should assume that, when it comes to sin (and the description thereof) they'd come up with proper terminology to condemn the offenders, but noooo... that would have been too much work for the holier-than-you folks. (please consider the last sentence a frustrated mini-rant not intended for you, but for the unfairness of languages in general, thank you). :)

[librariana]

As I do not see myself as the "holier-than-you" person, I wouldn't have taken it to myself even if you intended it that way :D

And to put my 20 cents (or grosze, which are still cheaper).. try being raised in a Catholic country and we can talk about sins and all wonderful ways you can commit them >_>

[akk]

try being raised in a Catholic country and we can talk about sins and all wonderful ways you can commit them

well, I'm still convinced that one of the reasons the bible was and is such a bestseller across the centuries is due to the precise descriptions of the sins... ;)

and a comment from the atheist I am: if the copyright holders of it sat down and transferred it into contemporary language, there'd be a true chance that it (a) becomes an even bigger bestseller and (b) gets indexed for endangering the mental well-being of the underaged asap!

[librariana]

I swear I am not contradicting you on purpose :)

"if the copyright holders of it sat down and transferred it into contemporary language, there'd be a true chance that it (a) becomes an even bigger bestseller and (b) gets indexed for endangering the mental well-being of the underaged asap!"

This is quite a popular opinion and... no sorry... it is still boring stuff and besides, believing, I mean "believing" in something somebody wrote is like believing in your favourite book, fanfic or even newspaper.

And as far as I am informed the really interesting bits never made it to the Bible, which is also kind of stupid.

You see, I would love to be able to call myself atheist or buddhist, or anything else, and I will probably never be able too, even if I want. And I am certainly not Catholic either. This is the biggest sin they committed raising me that way - they took my ability to believe - and I am sure there also isn't any name for this particular sin :). Language IS limited.

[akk]

I didn't mean to imply it would be a thriller, but it certainly would hold all the stuff for which books in the last fifty years or so were banned - obscenity, violence, incest, sodomy, underage sex...
After all, "indexing" doesn't necessary mean it's a good read, just that it deals with (contemporarily) morally objectionable content.

Call yourself "confused" and be happy with your life as it is. Why waste time about riddles you don't feel like you're ever able to solve them? :)

[librariana]

If I ever call myself "confused" my family will send army of potential husbands *shudders* XD. I don't think I want to risk that :P.

obscenity - yes, violence - yes, incest -yes, sodomy - definitely yes, underage sex - would you believe that I can't remember that one?
It still sounds better than it reads; you would need to add a lot of descriptions and preferably employ some fangirls to write them.
And still, cable TV or ff.net is just easier accessible.

[akk]

cable TV or ff.net is just easier accessible

and so much more flexible, entertaining & harmless*!

* because it's highly unlikely that anybody starts a military invasion about the correct spelling of Xena (now, a verbal or online crusade however... but at least those come cheaper for the general populace.)