English translation: "dit reën ou meide met knopkieries"
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16:25 Nov 14, 2008
Afrikaans to English translations [PRO] Other
Afrikaans term or phrase:it's raining old women with clubs
Confirming that in Afrikaans (and asking how it's written) the phrase "it's raining old women with clubs" is something similar to "it's raining cats and dogs" in English.
Explanation: The expression "raining old women with knob kieries" is indeed an
Afrikaans one, but it is considered as racially charged, as in the
Afrikaans, "dit reën ou meide met knopkieries", the word "meide"
refers to black women in a derogatory way.
"Meid" is the word that was used to refer to black and coloured
women during the Apartheid era, and is considered offensive.
Originally, the word came from the Dutch word "meid" for
"maid"/"servant", but as it was only used to refer to black and
coloured women in service to white households here in the Cape
since the 1700s, its usage slowly changed to become an epithet of
sorts.
So, to depoliticise the expression, instead of using "dit reën
ou meide met knopkieries", one could just use "dit reën ou
vrouens met knopkieries", where "vrouens" only means "women". Any
Afrikaans-speaking person would, however, immediately know that
the word "meide" is omitted and insinuated by that omission.
Hi LJ, forgive my forum decorum, first time using this feature...I'm asking the question, of course I know it is not Afrikaans! Have subsequently received an explanation of the term. Thanks for your response!
Explanation: Or: Dit reen ou vrouens met knopkieries
I have heard the expression before but I'm not a native speaker so please don't take my version as gospel. That second e in reen should have two dots above it.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2008-11-14 17:29:56 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Sorry, ou meide should be two words.
Sue Stewart-Anderson United Kingdom Local time: 02:34 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English
Explanation: The expression "raining old women with knob kieries" is indeed an
Afrikaans one, but it is considered as racially charged, as in the
Afrikaans, "dit reën ou meide met knopkieries", the word "meide"
refers to black women in a derogatory way.
"Meid" is the word that was used to refer to black and coloured
women during the Apartheid era, and is considered offensive.
Originally, the word came from the Dutch word "meid" for
"maid"/"servant", but as it was only used to refer to black and
coloured women in service to white households here in the Cape
since the 1700s, its usage slowly changed to become an epithet of
sorts.
So, to depoliticise the expression, instead of using "dit reën
ou meide met knopkieries", one could just use "dit reën ou
vrouens met knopkieries", where "vrouens" only means "women". Any
Afrikaans-speaking person would, however, immediately know that
the word "meide" is omitted and insinuated by that omission.
Mariènne Botha Local time: 04:34 Native speaker of: Afrikaans, English PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Hi Marienne,
I appreciate the help and information you have provided for my question, thanks very much.
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peer agreement (net): +1
