What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
No.
Although it means a mad woman, « Une folle » is a derogatory word for an effeminate gay man. It’s the equivalent of « queen » in English.
So La Cage aux Folles, the name of a nightclub in the play and movie of the same name, literally means « the queen cage.» Like many titles, it doesn’t translate well, which is why, in the English version, it is called « The Birdcage.»
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
Le cage aux Folles….”The Bird Cage” …. Or the “Cage of Queens”! It’s a gay family comedy about mixed identities!
There is no specific translation, as it is a famous French play adapted from the French to an English musical comedy.
No translation could do it justice, so the stage and movie productions kept the original title. It is a non-specific translation.
“The cage for mad women” – in French, the adjective is “fou” in the masculine singular and “folle” in the feminine singular. The masculine version forms its plural by adding “x,” while the feminine plural is formed by adding “s.”
What is the meaning of “a la folie”?
A la folie means to (the) madness in French.
It generally translates to English as crazy and is used primarily to intensify the expression of love. In English, we would rather say I miss you like crazy, and not I love you like crazy and will find an analogous expression to death, as in I love you to death. To tell somebody in French that you love them to death would usually be Je t’aime a la folie, or I love you to madness.
Interestingly, in French, there is an expression aimer a mourir that means to love to death, but it is not commonly used. It is found in a famous song written by Francis Cabrel entitled “Je l’aime à mourir,” which means I love her to death.
Do you know what “La Bamba” is?
Yes. La Bamba is a song in the Son Jarocho style, referencing a dance of the same name created in Veracruz.
It’s a wonderful song. If you don’t want to ruin it by knowing its dark origins, skip the next section and go to the end.
Though the song sounds super happy and cheerful, it comes from “Bamberra,” which was slang for a farce at the time. It was originally a protest song about the Veracruz government’s response to piracy – specifically an attack on May 1683 by Laurens the Graaf, Nicholas van Hoorn, and Michel de Grammont, which was to conscript population who couldn’t sail as sailors (presumably due to a lack of professionals).
“Yo no soy marinero, yo no soy marinero, por ti seré, por tí seré, por tí seré…” (I am not a sailor, I am not a sailor, for you I’ll be, for you I’ll be, for you I’ll be..)
It gets darker from there. It talks about two ladders, one large and one small. This refers to the shape of the bell tower of the church. A typical Mexican church tower is an imposing structure. It looks like this:
The Veracruz Cathedral tower. Note this church was built after the pirate attack, but most look like this.
Note the tower’s shape, and imagine being the population under siege behind the thick doors of this church.
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
Knowing their fate, the wealthy of the town bribed the caretakers to purchase access to two ladders. The large one goes to the bell section. The small one goes to the top.
Then, you throw yourself off to avoid the fate that awaits you should the pirates catch up with you.
Para subir al cielo se necesita
Una Escalera grande
Una escalera grande y otra chiquita
To go to heaven, you need
One large ladder
One large ladder and another small one
Back to the modern dance, devoid of this dark history, besides the beautiful white outfits and heartwarming style, a feature of the dance is that you and your partner tie a red ribbon with your feet. Quite impressive.
Why is the original French title of the original play, The Birdcage, “La Cage aux Folles” (which means “The Madwomen Cage”) if the protagonists are men, not women?
It doesn’t mean that.
It means “the crazy ones’ cage.” It could be men or women.
“La” in the title, while feminine, refers to the cage, not its inhabitants.
Even so, the characters performed in drag and referred to each other as girls, ladies, etc.
Martyn and Christian informed me the phrase, as used, specifically means men in drag, so I got it half-right.
What does “À la guerre comme à la guerre” mean?
Frenchman here.
Sorry, but the primary meaning of this expression, which dates from the 17th century, is quite different from what the two previous answers have suggested:
In war, resources and means are very often limited, and it is necessary to do so with the few resources available for the tasks of everyday life. So, in critical situations, you have to do with what is available and not rely on outside help.
Nowadays, A la guerre comme à la guerre is still used derisively to highlight a situation’s negative aspects.
So the correct answer would be: Do with what you have.
What is the meaning of “il mio cuore”?
I’m Italian so I can explain this well… I think. ^-^’
It can mean a lot of things. It means ‘’my heart’’, but it can be intended in Italy in many ways. For example, I can say ‘Il mio core when I’m saying scientific things or when I’m in love with someone so that I can say, for example, ‘il mio cuore è tutto per te,’ that means ‘my heart is all for you,’ or ‘sei il mio cuore,’ that means ‘you’re my heart.’
Usually, if I say ‘il mio core, I use it romantically, but it can be used, of course, in a scientific way, just like in English ^^
I hope that I answered you well -3-
Shin Ae-Jeong.
What does ‘La pioche’ mean?
“la Pioche” seems to have two meanings…the main being “small pick-axe,” …such as used by archaeologists. When excavating older sites…or much like you may see the mountain – climbers use.it is also used in some French slang as a deck, not the deck of a ship….but the deck, as in “deck” of cards… e.g., the dealer gave each player three. Cards from la pinch.. “ the deck.”
What is the definition of Islam?
Aside from giving the meaning of the word ‘Islam’ (i.e.. submission), the following are the concepts upon Islam is built:
A- The Six major principles of faith:
In Qur’an, Surat Al Baqarah (The Cow) chapter 2:177
لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا ۖ وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ
⚫ “Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in]:
- 1- One who believes in Allah,
- 2- The Last Day,
- 3- The Angels,
- 4- The Book,
- 5- And The Prophets,
….and gives wealth, despite the love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing enslaved people; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.” 2:177
This is in addition to No. 6- Which is the belief in fate (destiny), good or bad (as stated in the below narrations.)
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
B- Five major acts of worship:
The Prophet said Islam is built on five:
- 1- Testimony that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammad is his messenger,
- 2- Performing prayers,
- 3- Giving alms [charity to the poor and needy],
- 4- Fasting [month of] Ramadan,
- 5- And Pilgrimage to Makkah, at least once per lifetime if possible.”
The following narration sums up all of the above: one of the Prophet’s companions said:
⚫ “While we were one day sitting with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He sat down close by the Prophet (ﷺ), rested his knees against the knees of the Prophet (ﷺ), placed his palms over his thighs, and said: “O Muhammad!
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
Inform me about Islam, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied, Islam is that you should:
- 1- Testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger (ﷺ),
- 2- Perform salah (ritual prayer),
- 3- Pay the Zakat (almsgiving),
- 4- Fast Ramadan,
- 5- Perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (the Kaaba at Makkah) if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it).
He said: “You have spoken the truth.
We were astonished at his, thus questioning Him (ﷺ) and then telling Him that he was right.
But he went on to say:
Inform me about faith (Iman), the Prophet answered:
- 1- It is that you believe in Allah
- 2- and His angels
- 3- and His Books
- 4- and His Messengers
- 5- and in the Last Day,
- 6- and in fate (Qadar), both in good and evil aspects.
He said, “You have spoken the truth.” Then the man said,
Inform me about perfection (Ihsan), the Prophet answered;
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
“It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him, yet He sees you.”
Then He said,
Inform me about the Hour (day of Judgement):
The Prophet said: The one questioned knows no more than the questioner.
So he said: Well, inform me about its signs.
He said: They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herders of the sheep (Bedouins competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings.
Thereupon, the man went off.
I waited a while, and then the Prophet said: O Umar, do you know who that questioner was?
I replied Allah and His Messenger know better.
He said he was Jibril (Archangel Gabriel). He came to teach you your religion.”
What is prejudice?
Good Question.
So often, when we use the word prejudice, we conflate it with bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, Islamaphobia, xenophobia, and the like. That prejudice often results in us sometimes forgetting it has its meaning and that the actual meaning of words can sometimes create problems with the message.
From a basic definition, prejudice is “a preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience.”
The problem with prejudice is that when we allow a prejudiced opinion to shape our behavior, we don’t account for the individual, whether that’s a person, an animal, a problem, or a situation; it doesn’t matter, all we are doing is allowing a preconceived notion to shape behavior.
In another conversation I was having this weekend, the idea of prejudice made me remember a conversation I had with my strict Irish Catholic mother about heavy metal music, during which she called it “devil music.”
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
Easily understood prejudice, right, especially with all the horror genre imagery heavy metal bands like to broadcast? But obviously, my mother didn’t listen to heavy metal music; she was more of an Andrews Sisters/Bing Crosby type of girl, so her preconceived assumption was not based on experience.
I talked to her about a popular heavy metal song that still often ends up in the #1 slot on lists of “greatest heavy metal songs of all time,” Iron Maiden’s “Hallowed Be Thy Name.”
Now, on the surface, if all you did were look at Iron Maiden’s cover art, you’d probably feel pretty justified in your preconceived notion that heavy metal was “Devil Music,” I mean, Maiden was never subtle with imagery; I mean THIS is the album “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is on:
No one ever said prejudice always comes without reason.
But my mother would listen to an argument, so I told her about the song and walked her through the lyrics.
Hallowed Be Thy Name starts slow and mournful with an unnamed convict in his cell facing the last day of his life, as he’s scheduled to be hanged today:
I’m waiting in my cold cell when the bell begins to chime
Reflecting on my past life, it doesn’t have much time
Because at 5 o’clock, they take me to the Gallows Pole
The sands of time for me are running low
Running low, yeah!
The song picks up pace as the priest arrives to administer last rights, and a side-by-side journey begins for the condemned – on one side, his physical walk to the courtyard to face the hangman, and on the other, a spiritual journey from terror to anger to serenity to acceptance and finally joy.
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
In that second journey, and especially in its conclusion, the “devil music” assumption falls apart.
It begins as the priest arrives, and the Music picks up in force:
When the priest comes to read me the last rites
Take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me
Can it be that there’s some error?
Hard to stop the surmounting terror
Is it the end, not some crazy dream?
As the Convict tells us his thoughts, the Music becomes a relentless march. The Convict’s terror comes through in denial, but the beginning of peace begins to creep in as he professes his faith.
Somebody, please tell me that I’m dreaming
It’s not easy to stop from screaming
The words escape me when I try to speak
Tears flow, but why am I crying?
After all, I’m not afraid of dying
Don’t I believe that there never is an end?
He’s not there yet. He still has some anger and frustration to work out:
As the guards march me out to the courtyard
Somebody cries from a cell, “God be with you.”
If there’s a God, why has he let me go?
The Music continues its forced march forward as the Convict examines his life and begins to arrive at serenity:
As I walk, my life drifts before me
Though the end is near, I’m not sorry
Catch my soul, it’s willing to fly away
From there, his faith takes over, and he feels truly prepared. His early declaration that he’s not afraid is given reason and conviction:
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
Mark my words; believe my soul lives on
Don’t worry now that I have gone
I’ve gone beyond to seek the truth
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you’ll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion
The Music continues its seemingly unstoppable pace, but as the song progresses, you can hear it become more and more uplifting; by the end, it wouldn’t sound out of place in the middle of a Tchaikovsky symphony carried by violins and cellos rather than electric guitars.
By the time the Music’s physical march leads the Convict into the courtyard and up the steps to the gallows, he’s no longer afraid, and he’s gone beyond serenity into the realm of true joy. His voice is raised in ecstasy as he joyfully begins to sing the only thing on his mind – The Lord’s Prayer:
Yeah-yeah-yeah! Hallowed be thy name!!
Yeah-yeah-yeah! Hallowed by thy name!!
The Music takes you through to the end, and you know it’s the end, at least of the story,
But by the end of it, you can’t come away feeling like it’s anything but a hymn.
My mother agreed. That preconceived notion gave way to what prejudice always has to give way to – the individual example that breaks apart the perception of the absolute. She didn’t suddenly turn into a raving metalhead. But she did come away with a different point of view.
Here’s Iron Maiden doing it live at the Long Beach Arena.
Damnit, I still haven’t seen Iron Maiden live. They ARE touring….. HMMMMMM…..
What is the Spanish equivalent of “badabing badaboom”? Does it mean the same as the French version?
The Spanish equivalent of “badabing badaboom” could be “toma del frasco, Carrasco, ¡bum!”
Bada-bing comes from the drummer’s practice in American burlesque shows of punctuating the comic’s jokes -every burlesque show had a comic- with a hit on the side of his drum by his stick, followed by a hit on the cymbal. If bada-bing bada-boom is specified, the drummer follows up with a hit on the bass drum.
Another version is that some characters adopted the term in “The Sopranos,” a television series about an American Mafia crime family, ostensibly with Italian family heritage. And the term is “Bada-bing bada-boom.”
There is no ´French version´ unless you use the Quebec French expression “bedding-being.”
What is the meaning of “Parlez-vous anglais”?
It means “Do you speak English?”. When in France, it is a good idea to start any conversation with Frenchmen using it; never assume they speak English. If you start in English, some of them – including myself – may be offended and “forget” they speak English, but by starting with “Désolé, je ne parle pas français, parlez-vous anglais?” they/we will open up, answer and help you.
What does namistay mean? It’s Chinese or Japanese.
You probably mean Namaste.
From Wikipedia:
Namaste (/ˈnɑːməsteɪ/, nah-məs-tay; Nepali: नमस्ते Bangali: नमोस्कार Hindi: nah-məs-tay), sometimes spoken as Namaskar or Namaskaram, is a respectful form of greeting in Hindu custom, found on the Indian subcontinent mainly in India and Nepal and among the Indian diaspora. It is used both for salutation and valediction.
Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow, hands pressed together, palms touching, fingers pointing upwards, and thumbs close to the chest. This gesture is called Añjali Mudrā or Pranamasana.
In Hinduism, it means “I bow to the divine in you.”
The greeting may also be spoken without the gesture, or the gesture performed wordlessly, carrying the same meaning.
What do the Japanese think of the Chinese language?
Originally Answered: What do Japanese think of Chinese (language)?
I consider the Chinese language like a distant relative I’ve never met.
I’m interested to know more about them since we share the same roots, but I need more confidence to do so because I hear they have a difficult personalities. So, instead, I stay away.
I say difficult because of mainly two reasons:
- The fact that hiragana and Katakana don’t exist.
- The pronunciation would be nearly impossible for a non-native speaker to perfect later in life.
Hiragana and Katakana are like childhood friends among a mass of intimidating business people, some of whom I struggle to understand because they are so intelligent. The business people in this context are Kanji.
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
So when I see stuff like this:
東京都中央卸売市場築地市場東京水産物部卸売業者売場
I get nervous because I don’t see a single friend. (The above is the official name of a fish dealer in Tsukiji Market, Tokyo.)
And in Chinese, there will never be any childhood friends. :'(
I would have to learn to get along with these formal businessmen 24/7.
Regarding pronunciation, this is a famous example known among the Japanese. In Mandarin Chinese, “ma” can have four different meanings based on how it is pronounced:
- mā – 媽 – mother
- má – 麻 – hemp
- mǎ – 馬 – horse
- mà – 罵 – scold
I listened to the audio here, and the four are similarly confusing! I fear I would talk about my mother, and everyone would think I have a horse. Or love hemp.
I’ve talked to various Chinese people before, and they have told me that learning Chinese would be easy (which I still refuse to believe).
However, the context decides the past and future tenses and not by conjugating verbs, meaning no complicated “go → went” or “eat → ate,” so in that sense, it does seem foreigner-friendly.
In deciphering meanings, the guessing games begin whenever I see signs in Chinese.
I found it highly amusing when I saw this in Taiwan:
It says: “Cleaning – Entry prohibited.”
The part that says “禁止進入” or literally “prohibited to enter” can be switched, and it would make perfect sense in Japanese as “進入禁止 (entry prohibited), which may not be interesting at all to many people, but I had a serious “what” moment right there.
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
I love finding these kinds of minor similarities and differences. 😀
I’m also constantly amazed at how the Chinese language can assign Chinese characters to completely Western names, like the below:
Chinese is a very practical, historical, and fascinating language, and I would love to tackle it someday.
Which is more difficult: Chinese or Japanese?
- If your mother tongue is English, Japanese will be harder for you.
There are very few similarities regarding pronunciation, grammar, and speech levels.
- If your mother tongue is a Romance Language, Chinese will be harder for you.
Grammar and pronunciation are almost entirely different.
- If your mother tongue is Korean, Chinese will be harder for you.
Dealing with tones and Hanzi for every word is challenging, while Korean resembles Japanese phonetically and grammatically.
If you want a general answer, please observe the following graphs, created by John Pasden, a fellow language learner who already “mastered” both languages. I, being a learner of both, think this information is accurate.
Can Chinese read Japanese?
Short answer: It depends.
Firstly, when the OP asks, “Can Chinese read Japanese?” I am assuming the question means, “Can a person who is literate in Chinese but not in Japanese still read a Japanese text?”
Written Japanese comprises three (3) scripts:
- Kanji (Chinese characters)
- Hiragana (Japanese phonetic characters)
- Katakana (also Japanese phonetic characters used to transliterate foreign words and names).
When I say it depends, the following conditions apply:
- The text is exclusively, or at least predominantly, written in Kanji.
- The words used are cognate with Chinese and have identical or at least similar definitions.
- If any Japanese simplifications of Chinese characters are used, the reader can recognize them as such.
- The sentences (phrases) are manageable, so word order and grammar differences impede comprehension. As a rule of thumb, ten (10) characters is about the limit.
The example that I like to cite is this photograph of former Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山 由紀夫) and his wife Miyuki Hatoyama (鳩山 幸) at the 2009 elections.
Please pardon the seemingly fragmented photograph. There are several versions of the same photograph on the Web, but no single one captured all of the text on the banner, so I had to merge several shots.
The text reads:
衆議院議員選挙
最高裁判所裁判官国民審査
期日前投票所
不在者投票所
午前八時三十分 ~ 午後八…
Definitions:
- 衆議院議員 = Member of the Lower House
- 選挙 = Elections
- 最高裁判所 = Supreme Court
- 裁判官 = Judge
- 国民審査 = National Referendum
- 期日前投票 = Early voting
- 不在者投票 = Absentee voting
- 午前八時三十分 = 8:30 a.m.
- 午後八… = 8:?? p.m.
Mapping the Japanese simplified characters back to Traditional Chinese characters:
- 衆 = 眾
- 挙 = 舉
- 国 = 國
- 査 = 查
I leave it to the Chinese-literate readers here to decide whether the texts are generally understandable.
EDIT: To drive the point home, I transcribed every Kanji in the above text word-for-word into its equivalent Korean Hanja, input the Hanja text into Google Translate, and see if it returned the same original Japanese text above. Here is the result (try it yourself if you don’t believe me!):
Other than the additional の’s added (which is expected, given that Google translated by the engine), I would say it is a 100% match – further showing how much unity there is between Japanese and Korean lexicons. Now… imagine the endless possibilities in terms of written communication had Korea maintained the use of Hanja to the same degree as Japanese Kanji today…
What does habeas corpus mean?
The Latin phrase Habeas corpus refers to a legal writ dictating that a person detained or imprisoned must be brought before a court to determine whether or not they have been detained lawfully. The writ is intended to prevent individuals from being indefinitely imprisoned without trial. If you ask a lawyer, most will tell you that Habeas corpus means “Produce the body.” This is not an inaccurate translation, but it is not the most literal one.
In addition to the standard translation, you can find all sorts of other claims about what the phrase supposedly literally means on the internet. Unfortunately, these claims nearly always come from people who don’t know Latin and have managed to severely mangle their “literal” translations.
What people say Habeas corpus means
If you go online, people say all kinds of things about what Habeas corpus supposedly means. Here are just a few examples I found in various answers to the question “What does habeas corpus mean?” on Quora:
- This answer claims that it means “to have a body.”
- This answer claims it means “bring the body here” or “bring him here bodily, under guard.”
- This answer claims it means “you may have the body.”
- This answer claims it means “you shall have the body.”
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
All anyone can agree on is that the phrase has something to do with somebody. It will likely come as little surprise to most people that every single one of these supposed literal translations is inaccurate in some way or another.
What it means
Here is an analysis of the phrase:
- Habeas is the second-person singular present active subjunctive form of the second-conjugation verb habeo, meaning “to have,” “hold,” or “possess.” In this context, habeas functions as a jussive, so it should be translated as “You must have.” (Bizarrely enough, despite the remarkable similarities in sound and definition, the Latin word habeo and the English word have are not cognates.)
- Corpus is the accusative singular form of the third-declension neuter noun corpus, meaning “body.” In this case, it functions as the verb habeas’s direct object. There are no definite or indefinite articles in Latin. Still, since we are presumably talking about a specific body, it is probably most accurate to translate this word as “the body.”
The phrase Habeas corpus, therefore, most literally means “You must have the body.”
The phrase is also, however, sometimes attested in the longer form “Habeas corpus coram nobis ad subjiciendum.” Here is an analysis of the longer version of the phrase:
- Coram is a preposition that takes an ablative object. It means “before” or “in the presence of.”
- Nobis is the ablative plural form of the Latin first-person personal pronoun. Here, it is functioning as the object of coram. Therefore, the phrase coram nobis should be translated as either “before us” or “in our presence.”
- Ad is a preposition that takes an accusative object. It means “toward,” “for,” “against,” or “for.”
- Subjiciendum is the accusative gerund form of the verb subjicio, meaning “to place before” or “to submit.” The phrase ad subjiciendum, therefore, means “for [the purpose of] submitting.”
The full phrase “Habeas corpus coram nobis ad subjiciendum” means “You must have the body before us for submitting.”
The basic idea behind the phrase is that the court orders the person to be brought to the court to assess whether they should be released.
ABOVE: Photograph from this German website of the interior of the Carcer Tullianum, a surviving ancient Roman prison. Habeas corpus prevents people from being indefinitely imprisoned without trial.
Why the other translations are not literal
Here is how we know the other translations I listed in the first section are inaccurate:
- “Produce the body” is not a perfectly literal translation of Habeas corpus because, although it accurately reproduces the meaning of the phrase, the word habeo means “to have,” “hold,” or “possess,” not “to produce.”
- Habeas corpus does not mean “to have a body” because habeas is a conjugated subjunctive verb form, not an infinitive. The infinitive form of habeo is habere.
- Habeas corpus does not mean “Bring him here bodily, under guard” since there is nothing about the subject being guarded in the Latin phrase. We can assume that a prisoner brought before the court would probably be guarded, but that doesn’t change the fact that no guards are mentioned in the text.
- Habeas corpus does not mean “You may have the body” either. I think that some people have rendered the phrase this way because they know that the subjunctive mood is generally used to describe things that are potentially true but not necessarily true at the moment. What they are ignoring, however, is that, in this particular case, the word habeas is being used as a jussive subjunctive, meaning it is a command or statement of something that must come true, not a statement of mere possibility.
- Habeas corpus does not mean “You shall have the body” because habeas is in the present tense, not the future tense. The phrase dictates that you must have the body right now, not that you should have it at some indeterminate point in the future.
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
Thankfully, all of these translations manage to capture the gist of the phrase, which is more than can be said about other mistranslations of Latin phrases. For instance, a popular misunderstanding of the word vomitorium led to the persistent misconception that the Romans had places where they would routinely vomit. In reality, the word vomitorium refers to a passage in a theater through which audience members can leave at the end of the performance.
Similarly, a misunderstanding of the meaning of the Latin word secretus has simultaneously led to the misconception that the word secretary originally meant “secret keeper” and the misconception that the Vatican Apostolic Archive is full of top secret incriminating records.
What is Yoga?
The word ‘yoga’ is taken from the Sanskrit root ‘yug,’ which means union. The
the ultimate goal of Yoga is to achieve union between the individual consciousness
(atma) and the universal divine (Paramatma).
Yoga is an ancient spiritual science that seeks to bring the mind, body, and spirit
in harmony or balance. You can find a parallel for this in many different
philosophies: Buddha’s ‘middle path’ – too much or too little of anything is bad; or the Chinese yin-yang balance, where seemingly opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent. Yoga is a science whereby we bring unity to duality.
There are four paths of Yoga or four ways that union can be achieved:
(a) Bhakti Yoga – through love and devotion to the Lord
(b) Karma Yoga – through selfless service to others
(c) Jnana Yoga – through intellect and knowledge
(d) Raja Yoga – through scientific and systematic study of the external and
internal body. This includes Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga (or the Eight Limbs of Yoga).
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
The sage Patanjali defines Yoga as “Chitta vritti nirodha,” or cessation of mental fluctuation (simply put – control over the wandering mind). He divided Raja Yoga into Ashta Anga or Eight Limbs in the Yoga Sutra. The eight limbs of Yoga are:
(1) Yama: These are ‘ethical rules’ that should be observed to live a good and pure life. The yamas focus on our behavior and conduct. They reveal our true underlying nature of compassion, integrity, and kindness. Consist of 5 ‘abstinences’:
(a) Ahimsa (Non-violence and non-injury) – This includes being considerate in all actions and not thinking ill of others or wishing them harm. Do not cause pain to any living creature in thought, deed, or action.
(b) Satya (Truthfulness or non-lying) – Speak the truth with consideration and love. Also, be truthful to yourself about your thoughts and motivations.
(c) Brahmacharya (Celibacy or control over sexuality) – Though some schools interpret this as celibacy or total abstinence from sexual activity, it refers to restraint and responsible sexual behavior, including faithfulness to your spouse.
(d) Asteya (Non-stealing, non-covetousness) – This includes not taking anything that has not been freely given, including someone’s time or energy.
(e) Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness) – Do not hoard or collect material goods. Take only that which you have earned.
(2) Niyama: We need to follow these laws to ‘cleanse’ ourselves internally. The five observances are:
(a) Suacha (Cleanliness) – This refers to both external cleanliness (baths) and internal cleanliness (achieved through shatkarma, pranayama, and asanas). It also includes cleansing the mind of negative emotions such as anger, hatred, lust, greed, etc.
(b) Santosha (Contentment) – Be content and fulfilled with what you have instead of constantly comparing yourself to others or wishing for more.
(c) Tapas (Heat or fire) – This means the fire of determination to do the right thing. It helps us ‘burn up’ desire and negative energies in the heat of effort and austerity.
(d) Svadhyaya (Self-study) – Examine your thoughts, actions, and deeds. Truly understand your motivations, and do everything with complete self-awareness and mindfulness. This includes accepting our limitations and working on our shortcomings.
(e) Isvar Pranidhana (Surrender to God) – Recognize that the divine is omnipresent and dedicate all your actions to this divine force. Do not try to control everything – have faith in a greater force and accept what is.
(3) Asana: Postures. These are typically drawn from nature and animals (e.g., Downward Dog, Eagle, Fish Pose). Asanas have two characteristics: Sukham (comfort) and Stirtha (steadiness). Practicing yoga postures (asanas) increases flexibility and strength, massages the internal organs, improves posture, calms the mind, and detoxifies the body. It is necessary to make the body limber, strong, and disease-free through the regular practice of asanas to free the mind for the ultimate goal of meditation. It is believed that there are 84 lakh asanas, of which about 200 are used in regular practice today.
(4) Pranayama: Prana (vital energy or life force) is intrinsically linked to the breath. Pranayama aims to regulate the breath to control the mind so the practitioner can attain a higher state of psychic energy. By controlling the breath, one can gain mastery over the five senses and, eventually, over the mind.
The four stages of pranayama are inhalation (pooraka), exhalation (rechaka), internal retention (antar kumbhaka), and external retention (bahar kumbhaka).
(5) Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses from attachment to external objects. Most of our problems – emotional, physical, and health-related – result from our minds. Only by gaining control over desire can one gain inner peace.
(6) Dharana: Stilling the mind by dedicated concentration on a single point. A good point of concentration is the symbol Aum or Om.
(7) Dhyana: Meditation. Focussing on concentrating on the divine. By meditating on divinity, the practitioner hopes to imbibe the pure qualities of the divine force into him/herself.
(8) Samadhi: Bliss. This is truly ‘yoga’ or the ultimate union with the divine.
The origin of Yoga may be found in the Rig Veda, an Indian collection of Sanskrit hymns believed to have been composed sometime between 1700 and 1100 BC.
In the largest sense, Yoga can be seen as a way of life, a way of living in
harmony with the self and the world, and a process by which the practitioner can move beyond her own previously believed mental and physical limitations to
achieve something new.
How do you pronounce La Cage aux Folles?
In other words, Cage rhymes with the American pronunciation of the second syllable in garage.
Aux sounds like the word Oh.
And Folles sounds like Fall.
Lah Cazh, oh, Fall.
Lah kahj aw fah, I know aux is different, but I live in the south. And that last l sound thing is there, but it is that exotic stereotype over the French sound.
What is/are the difference/s between an American and a British accent?
The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. Hundreds of words are different. Americans usually pronounce every “r” in a word, while the British only pronounce the “r” when it’s the first letter of a.
Prepositions
The differences below are only a general rule. American speech has influenced Britain via pop culture and vice versa. Therefore, some prepositional differences are less pronounced than they once were.
Many irregular verbs in the preterite in Britain (leaped, dreamt, burnt, learned) have been made regular in America (leaped, dreamed, burned, learned).
Collective Nouns’ Use of Singular or Plural Verb Forms
In British English, collective nouns take either singular or plural verb forms. Hence, the British will say and write that Oliver’s army is coming. In American English, all collective nouns take the singular verb form. Therefore, we say that the army is on the way. Another example is”Spain is the champion,” said by the British, and “Spain is the champ.” rendered by the Americans.
Collective nouns: singular or plural?
In British English, a collective noun (like a committee, government, team, etc.) can be either singular or plural but more often tends toward plural, emphasizing the group members. By comparison, collective nouns in the US are always singular, emphasizing the group as one whole entity. Punctuation Differences
Example :
American English – The government is doing everything it can during this crisis.
British English – The government is doing everything it can during this crisis.
Use of Quotation Marks
In American English, double quotation marks (“) are always used for representing direct speech and highlighting meanings. In British English, single quotation marks (‘) are often used. For example, in American English, we would write the following sentence as:
Carefree means “free from care or anxiety.” In British English, it would be written as:
Carefree means ‘free from care or anxiety.’
Note that in American English, the period is within the quotation marks, while in British English, it is outside of the quotation marks…
Why is the original French title of the original play, The Birdcage, “La Cage aux Folles” (which means “The Madwomen Cage”) if the protagonists are men, not women?
It doesn’t mean that.
It means “the crazy ones’ cage.” It could be men or women.
“La” in the title, while feminine, refers to the Cage, not its inhabitants.
Even so, the characters performed in drag and referred to each other as girls, ladies, etc.
Martyn and Christian informed me the phrase, as used, specifically means men in drag, so I got it half-right.
Likely because they act as transvestites and kind of play women.
The title is translated to A Cage Full Of Fools in German, for example, where the word fools does not indicate the gender of the crazy people.
How come Hollywood never made a film version of the Broadway musical “La Cage aux Folles”?
It did. Kind of. It translated the action to South Beach, Florida, and called it The Birdcage.
The script was by Elaine May, directed by her old comedy partner Mike Nichols. The cast consisted of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as the central couple, Armand and Albert: Armand (Williams) was the owner and director of a drag club, the eponymous Birdcage, and Albert (Lane) was his partner and diva-ish star.
Dan Futterman played Armand’s son Val, and a pre-Ally McBeal Calista Flockhart played his fiancée Barbara. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest played Barbara’s ultra-conservative parents in fine comic form.
The Birdcage is a hoot. It’s particularly memorable for Albert’s dogged efforts to come across as a straight man after a lifetime of being wildly effeminate. One great scene has Armand suggest to Albert that he try walking like John Wayne, and he proceeds to demonstrate Wayne’s peculiar slouching gait for Albert’s benefit. Albert tries to do it himself, resulting in a bizarre, hip-swiveling sashay.
Did I do it wrong? he asks Armand.
No, Armand says, looking thoughtful. It’s perfect. I just never realized John Wayne walked like that.
What is the literal meaning of “La Cage aux Folles”? Is it “The Madhouse”?
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