Mark Forsyth: What's a snollygoster? A short lesson in political speak

Translator: Morton Bast Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

Translator: Ena Mehić Reviewer: Nela Kacmarcik

One of my favorite words in the whole of the Oxford English Dictionary

Jedna od mojih omiljenih riječi iz

oksfordskog rječnika engleskog jezika je "snollygoster".

is "snollygoster,"

just because it sounds so good.

Samo zato što zvuči tako dobro.

Značenje riječi snollygoster je

And what snollygoster means is "a dishonest politician."

"neiskren političar".

Although there was a 19th-century newspaper editor

Iako je to bilo u 19. vijeku

novinski urednik koji ga je definirao još bolje govoreći,

who defined it rather better when he said,

"A snollygoster is a fellow who seeks office

"Snollygoster je osoba koja traži fotelju

regardless of party, platform or principle,

bez obzira na stranku, platformu ili princip,

i koja, kada ju dobije,

and who, when he wins,

gets there by the sheer force of monumental talknophical assumnancy."

zadržava mjesto na osnovu snage

monumentalne šuplje priče". (engl. talknophical assumancy)

(Laughter)

(smijeh)

Now, I have no idea what "talknophical" is.

Nemam pojma šta znači "talknophical".

Something to do with words, I assume.

Pretpostavljam da ima veze sa riječima.

Ali veoma je važno da su riječi u samom centru politike,

But it's very important that words are at the center of politics,

i da svi političari znaju da moraju pokušati kontrolirati jezik.

and all politicians know they have to try and control language.

It wasn't until, for example, 1771

Sve do, na primjer 1771.

that the British Parliament allowed newspapers to report

Britanski Parlament nije dozvolio novinarima da

the exact words that were said in the debating chamber.

izvještavaju o tačnim riječima izrečenim u debatnoj sali.

And this was actually all down to the bravery

A zato je zaslužna hrabrost

čovjeka neobičnog imena Brass Crosby,

of a guy with the extraordinary name of Brass Crosby,

who took on Parliament.

koji se suprotstavio Parlamentu.

And he was thrown into the Tower of London

On je bio bačen u tamnicu Londonske tvrđave

i zatočen,

and imprisoned,

ali je bio dovoljno hrabar,

but he was brave enough,

bio je dovoljno hrabar da im se suprotstavi,

he was brave enough to take them on, and in the end,

i na kraju je dobio takvu javnu podršku u Londonu da je pobijedio.

he had such popular support in London that he won.

Nakon samo nekoliko godina

And it was only a few years later

that we have the first recorded use of the phrase "as bold as brass."

zabilježili smo prvu upotrebu fraze

"hrabar kao brass". (engl - brass = mesing)

Mnogi ljudi pomisle da se radi o metalu.

Most people think that's down to the metal.

Ali to nije slučaj. Radi se o aktivisti

It's not; it's down to a campaigner for the freedom of the press.

za slobodu medija.

But to really show you how words and politics interact,

Da vam zapravo pokažem

koliko se riječi i politika isprepliću,

želim vas povesti u Sjedinjene Američke Države,

I want to take you back to the United States of America,

just after they'd achieved independence.

brzo nakon sticanja nezavisnosti.

And they had to face the question

morali su se suočiti sa pitanjem

kako da zovu George-a Washingtona, svog lidera.

of what to call George Washington, their leader.

They didn't know.

Nisu znali.

What do you call the leader of a republican country?

Kako zvati vođu zemlje uređene kao republika?

And this was debated in Congress for ages and ages.

O tome se jako dugo debatovalo u Kongresu.

And there were all sorts of suggestions on the table,

Bilo je mnogo prijedloga u igri,

koji su mogli biti i prihvaćeni.

which might have made it.

I mean, some people wanted him to be called

Neki su htjeli da ga se zove

Glavni sudac Washingtona,

"Chief Magistrate Washington,"

and other people, "His Highness, George Washington,"

a drugi, Njegovo visočanstvo George Washington,

and other people,

a drugi, Zaštitnik sloboda naroda Sjedinjenih Američkih Država Washington.

"Protector of the Liberties

of the People of the United States of America Washington."

Not that catchy.

Što i nije baš privlačno.

Some people just wanted to call him king --

Neki su jednostavno željeli da ga zovu kralj.

Mislili su da je bio isproban i dokazan.

it was tried and tested.

They weren't even being monarchical,

Nisu čak ni pomišljali na monarhiju,

mislili su da može biti izabrani kralj

they had the idea that you could be elected king for a fixed term.

na određeno vrijeme.

And, you know, it could have worked.

To je također moglo proći.

And everybody got insanely bored,

Na kraju je svima bilo dosta

because this debate went on for three weeks.

rasprave koja je trajala tri sedmice.

I read a diary of this poor senator who just keeps coming back,

Čitao sam dnevnik ovog jadnog senatora,

koji je samo ponavljao "još uvijek ista tema".

"Still on this subject."

Razlog za odlaganje odluke i zamor bilo je to

And the reason for the delay and the boredom

was that the House of Representatives were against the Senate.

što je Zastupnički dom bio protiv Senata.

Zastupnički dom nije želio da se Washington

The House of Representatives didn't want Washington to get drunk on power.

opije vlašću.

They didn't want to call him "king," in case that gave him ideas,

Nisu ga željeli zvati kraljem

da to njemu ili njegovom sljedbeniku ne bi dalo kojekakve ideje.

or his successor ideas.

Zato su mu željeli dati najskromniju, najsitniju,

So they wanted to give him the humblest, meagerest,

most pathetic title that they could think of.

najpatetičniju funkciju koji se su mogli dosjetiti.

Ta je funkcija bila "predsjednik".

And that title ...

was "President."

(Laughter)

"President." They didn't invent the title.

Predsjednik. Nisu oni izmislili tu titulu; postojala je ona i ranije,

I mean, it existed before,

but it just meant somebody who presides over a meeting.

ali je ona korištena za one koji su predsjedavali sastankom.

It was like the foreman of the jury.

Bilo je to kao predssjedavajući porote.

And it didn't have much more grandeur

Nije to davalo mnogo veličine

nego pojmovi "nadglednik" ili "kontrolor".

than the term "foreman" or "overseer."

There were occasional presidents of little colonial councils

Postojali su povremeni predsjednici malih kolonijalnih vijeća

and bits of government,

i dijelova vlasti, ali to je bila ništavna titula.

but it was really a nothing title.

Stoga je Senat prigovarao na taj prijedlog.

And that's why the Senate objected to it.

govorili su, to je smiješno, ne možete ga zvati "predsjednik".

They said, "That's ridiculous! You can't call him 'President.'

Taj čovjek treba da potpisuje sporazume i sastaje se sa svjetskim državnicima.

This guy has to go and sign treaties and meet foreign dignitaries.

Who's going to take him seriously if he's got a silly little title

Ko će ga uzeti za ozbiljno

ako bude imao tu smiješnu titulu

kao predsjednik Sjedinjenih Američkih Država?

like 'President of the United States of America'?"

(Laughter)

And after three weeks of debate, in the end,

Nakon tri sedmice debate, na kraju

the Senate did not cave in.

Senat je popustio.

Instead, they agreed to use the title "President" for now.

Pristali su da se koristi titula "predsjednik" za sada,

ali su također željeli da se konačno zabilježi

But they also wanted it absolutely set down

da se oni nisu saglasili sa tim

that they didn't agree with it,

iz dužnog poštovanja prema mišljenjima i praksi civiliziranih nacija,

from a decent respect for the opinions and practice of civilized nations,

whether under republican or monarchical forms of government,

bez obzira jesu li republike ili monarhije po uređenju,

whose custom it is to annex,

čije običaje treba prihvatiti,

through the office of the Chief Magistrate,

kroz ured Glavnog sudije, titule od poštovanja--

titles of respectability --

a ne tamo nekakvog predsjednika--

not bloody "President."

te da u međunarodnoj razmjeni,

And that, in the intercourse with foreign nations,

zvanični predstavnik naroda Sjedinjenih Država

the majesty of the people of the United States

may not be hazarded by an appearance of singularity --

ne može biti eksponiran u jedinstvenoj pojavi,

i.e., we don't want to look like bloody weirdos.

odnosno, ne želimo izgledati kao čudaci.

Možete iz ovog naučiti tri zanimljive stvari.

Now, you can learn three interesting things from this.

Prije svega--ova mi je omiljena--

First of all -- and this is my favorite --

is that, so far as I've ever been able to find out,

je da, koliko mi je bilo moguće saznati,

Senat nikad nije fomalno odobrio titlulu "predsjednik".

the Senate has never formally endorsed the title of President.

Barack Obama, President Obama, is there on borrowed time,

Barrack Obama, predsjednik Obama je tamo na određeno vrijeme,

just waiting for the Senate to spring into action.

čekajući Senat da se baci na posao.

(Laughter)

The second thing you can learn

Druga stvar koji možete naučiti je da

kad vlasti kažu da je nešto privremena mjera--

is that, when a government says that this is a temporary measure --

(smijeh)--

(Laughter)

you can still be waiting 223 years later.

ipak možete čekati 223 godine.

Treća stvar koji možete naučiti,

But the third thing you can learn -- and this is the really important one,

i ovo je našto zaista važno,

ovo je poenta sa kojom želim završiti,

the point I want to leave you on --

je da titula predsjednik Sjedinjenih američkih država,

is that the title, "President of the United States of America,"

doesn't sound that humble at all these days, does it?

danas uopće ne zvuči tako skromno, zar ne?

Something to do with the slightly over 5,000

Ima to neke veze sa nešto više od 5.000

nuclear warheads he has at his disposal

nuklearnih bojevih glava koje su mu na raspolaganju

i najvećom ekonomijom na svijetu

and the largest economy in the world

vazdušnom flotom i svim tim stvarima.

and a fleet of drones and all that sort of stuff.

Reality and history have endowed that title with grandeur.

Stvarnost i historija obogatili su tu titulu impresivnošću

And so the Senate won in the end.

tako da je Senat na kraju pobijedio.

They got their title of respectability.

Oni su dobili titulu punu poštovanja, kao što su tražili.

And also, the Senate's other worry, the appearance of singularity --

Takođe, jedinstvena pojava, što je bila druga briga Senata--

well, it was a singularity back then.

ipak je u to vrijeme bila jedinstvena.

But now, do you know how many nations have a president?

Ali danas, znate li koliko država ima predsjednike?

Stotinu četrdeset i sedam.

A hundred and forty-seven.

All because they want to sound like the guy

Sve zato što su željeli zvučati kao

who's got the 5,000 nuclear warheads, etc.

čovjek koji ima na raspolaganju 5.000 bojevih glava i sve ostalo.

Dakle, na kraju je Senat pobijedio

And so, in the end, the Senate won

a izgubio je Predstavnički dom,

and the House of Representatives lost ...

because nobody's going to feel that humble

jer niko se neće osjećati tako skromno

kada mu se kaže da je sad

when they're told that they are now

Predsjednik Sjedinjenih američkih država.

the President of the United States of America.

And that's the important lesson I think you can take away,

To je dakle važna lekcija koju, mislim, možete naučiti danas,

sa kojom vas želim ostaviti.

and the one I want to leave you with.

Političari se trude da izaberu riječi da oblikuju stvarnost

Politicians try to pick and use words to shape and control reality,

i da je kontrolišu, ali zapravo,

but in fact,

reality changes words far more than words can ever change reality.

realnost mijenja riječi mnogo više

nego što riječi mogu promijeniti realnost.

Puno vam hvala.

Thank you very much.