"Tang" as a carburetor part

[Minoru Mochizuki]

I was translating an operator's manual written for a famous motorcycle manufacturer in Britain from English (British) to Japanese and hit upon a word "tang." Since what is referred to by it seems to be a physical part of the carburetor of the engine, I thought it is probably a misspelling for "tongue." When I inquired about it cautiously and cordially, I received an answer from the translation agency in London stating that "The word 'tang' is correct but it can be corrected as 'tongue'"

 

Do you think that it is British red-necks' spelling? Or is there a better reason to convince me that it is a good alternative spelling? Or do you think that the British agent is simply kidding me wryly? (I don't want to argue with her because I am predicting a substantial delay from the promised delivery date for this 100,000 words job.)

 

I checked a few dictionaries and couldn't find an answer that satisfies me so that your informative input will be most welcomed by my curious mind.

 

Minoru Mochizuki

[David J. Littleboy]

From: "Minoru Mochizuki" <min...@rhythm.ocn.ne.jp>

>>>>>>>>>>>>
I checked a few dictionaries and couldn't find an answer that satisfies me
so that your informative input will be most welcomed by my curious mind.
<<<<<<<<<<<<

According to Random House tang means:

5. a long and slender projecting strip, tongue, or prong forming part of an
object, as a chisel, file, or knife, and serving as a means of attachment
for another part, as a handle or stock.

http://www.historicalweapons.com/swordparts.html

Google finds 80,000 pages with both tang and chisel on them.

David J. Littleboy
dav...@gol.com
Tokyo, Japan

[Evan Emswiler]

I'm familiar with the word "tang" in connection to swords. It refers
to the piece of metal at the end of the blade that goes through the
handle. So I think it's certainly possible that it could be the proper
term to use in the context of machinery, although tongue could
probably also be used with a similar meaning.

Evan Emswiler

[Marceline Therrien]

From: hon...@googlegroups.com [mailto:hon...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Minoru Mochizuki
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 2:22 PM
To: hon...@googlegroups.com
Subject: "Tang" as a carburetor part

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~

If the only answer that will satisfy is that “tang” is British red-neck spelling then you will of course not be satisfied.

 

“Tang” is a legitimate English word. I would think that you would find it in any dictionary.

 

If you do a Google image search on “carburetor” and “tang” you will come up with plenty of examples.

 

 

Marceline Therrien
J2E Business Translations
Oakland, California, USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Matthew Fitsko]

On Jul 31, 6:21 am, "Minoru Mochizuki" <minm...@rhythm.ocn.ne.jp>
wrote:

> Do you think that it is British red-necks' spelling? Or is there a better reason to convince me that it is a good alternative spelling?

I don't know how similar/dissimilar tang and tongue are in a
industrial machinery context, but it's definitely not "British red-
necks' spelling". Tang is a word in its own right, and quite old. As
Evan said it's also a standard term in sword-making. See here:

tang
c.1350, "serpent's tongue" (thought to be a stinging organ), later
"sharp extension of a metal blade" (1688), from O.N. tangi "spit of
land, pointed metal tool," perhaps related to tunga "tongue" (see
tongue). Fig. sense of "a sharp taste" is first recorded 1440; that of
"suggestion, trace" is from 1593. The fish (1734) so called for their
spines.
(http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tang)

If I were you, I'd probably trust the original author on this one.

Matthew Fitsko

[John Brannan]

Minoru Mochizuki wrote:

Do you think that it is British red-necks' spelling?

FYI, Britain does not have "red-necks". The correct term is "yobbos", and their necks are more of a pasty white colour.

Been-there-lived-with-that-ly
John Brannan

[Matt Stanton]

I think the preferred term these days is "chav".

[Alan Siegrist]

John Brannan wrote:

> FYI, Britain does not have "red-necks". The correct term is "yobbos",
> and their necks are more of a pasty white colour.

And Matt Stanton writes:

> I think the preferred term these days is "chav".

That might be popular slang, but you might have a hard time finding a
redneck wearing a Burberry baseball cap and lots of "bling."

Somehow redneck doesn't seem to translate to chav very well.

Regards,

Alan Siegrist
Orinda, CA, USA
AlanFS...@Comcast.net

[Matthew Fitsko]

On Jul 31, 12:33 pm, "Alan Siegrist" <AlanFSiegr...@Comcast.net>
wrote:

> Somehow redneck doesn't seem to translate to chav very well.

Yep, chav doesn't have the same rural connotation that redneck does.
My impression of chav is that it also primarily refers to younger
people, whereas rednecks can be any age. And their tastes in fashion
are miles apart.

Matthew Fitsko

[Steve Venti]

Matthew Fitsko wrote:
> Yep, chav doesn't have the same rural connotation that redneck does.

Moving ever so slightly away from the original topic (but at least in
Japan's direction), at the bottom of the Wikipedia article on chav is
a link to <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogal>, where I found this:

"Those Naughty Teenage Girls: Japanese Kogals, Slang, and Media
Assessments", by Laura Miller. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology:
Volume 14: Number 2 (2004).
<http://www.stanford.edu/~eckert/PDF/miller2004.pdf>

After asserting that "Kogal subculture is significant as an unusual
case of female-centered coolness at the forefront of cultural and
linguistic trend setting," Miller mentions "a journalist" who
documented the daily life of a 17-year-old high school girl named
Asuka. Miller describes how Kogal do not feel constrained by
conventional attitudes about femininity and goes on to say: "Asuka
also expresses hatred of her teacher and school and worries about how
to juggle two boyfriends, one of whom she accompanies to a "love
hotel" for sex. The journalist's effort to unpack the behavior and
philosophy of the Kogal is one of many attempts by the media to make
sense of Japan's vibrant new female subcultures."

I suppose that the author can be excused for having never seen Shohei
Imamura's Buta to Gunkan, but the article presents a lot of
information, even though there are many things for the cognoscenti to
nitpick.

FWIW

--
Steve Venti

The source of all unhappiness is other people.
--Wally
-----------------------------------------------------------------------