May 28, 2010 12:52
13 yrs ago
French term
Meticulous attention to detail
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Catalan to English
homme-limite
French to English
Social Sciences
Anthropology
This is a term that comes up in a text about shamans, tricksters and other similar religious figures in a number of different societies:
a) Les maîtres du désordre : archétypes du chamane, **homme-limite**, fripons divins, clown sacré, intercesseur, etc.
**L’homme-limite **est l’allié de l’invisible, il compose avec le surmonde et son savoir le rend nécessaire et inquiétant à la fois. Ce spécialiste de l’altérité n’est pas un prêtre ni nécessairement un mystique.
It seems there should be a specific term for this in English, but for some reason I am having trouble locating it. French usage seems to point more to borderline personality disorders - perhaps something like "borderline beings" or "boundary dwellers" but I am loathe to invent terminology.
Anyone familiar with this term?
a) Les maîtres du désordre : archétypes du chamane, **homme-limite**, fripons divins, clown sacré, intercesseur, etc.
**L’homme-limite **est l’allié de l’invisible, il compose avec le surmonde et son savoir le rend nécessaire et inquiétant à la fois. Ce spécialiste de l’altérité n’est pas un prêtre ni nécessairement un mystique.
It seems there should be a specific term for this in English, but for some reason I am having trouble locating it. French usage seems to point more to borderline personality disorders - perhaps something like "borderline beings" or "boundary dwellers" but I am loathe to invent terminology.
Anyone familiar with this term?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | liminal figures |
Jim Tucker (X)
|
| 3 +1 | marginalized men |
Claire Nolan
|
| 3 -1 | hottentot |
kashew
|
Proposed translations
+1
22 hrs
Selected
liminal figures
In anthropology lingo. "Marginals" is also good.
Cf. "The trickster and related archetypes embody many such contradictions"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality#Liminality_in_ethnog...
Cf. "The trickster and related archetypes embody many such contradictions"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality#Liminality_in_ethnog...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you very much."
-1
16 mins
hottentot
*
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Note added at 17 minutes (2010-05-28 13:09:42 GMT)
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With a capital H.
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Note added at 20 minutes (2010-05-28 13:12:33 GMT)
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...dans les utilisations philosophiques et/ou encyclopédiques, une nette polarisation de l'image : chez Rousseau, Voltaire, De Jaucourt, Raynal, Diderot, le Hottentot est à la fois " monstre " et " bon sauvage ". Une figure double, mais néanmoins cohérente à l'intérieur d'un certain dispositif idéologique, qui fait du Hottentot un être intermédiaire, sinon l'être liminal par excellence.
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Note added at 17 minutes (2010-05-28 13:09:42 GMT)
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With a capital H.
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Note added at 20 minutes (2010-05-28 13:12:33 GMT)
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...dans les utilisations philosophiques et/ou encyclopédiques, une nette polarisation de l'image : chez Rousseau, Voltaire, De Jaucourt, Raynal, Diderot, le Hottentot est à la fois " monstre " et " bon sauvage ". Une figure double, mais néanmoins cohérente à l'intérieur d'un certain dispositif idéologique, qui fait du Hottentot un être intermédiaire, sinon l'être liminal par excellence.
Note from asker:
| Thank you - I think the Hottentot is perhaps a specific example of a term that is being used more generally here. |
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
B D Finch
: The word Hottentot is generally considered derogatory, even racist, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoikhoi .
33 mins
|
| neutral |
philgoddard
: I can see where you got this from - the title of a research paper - but I agree with Susan that the Hottentot is just one example of the "homme limite".
41 mins
|
+1
3 hrs
marginalized men
In the discussion of shamanism referenced below, they mention people ''of marginal social categories'', and ''marginalized men''. They also speak of ''peripheral cults''. These expressions are not far from the meaning of ''limite''.
See this reference:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=GYUSx21WrbcC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA9...
See this reference:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=GYUSx21WrbcC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA9...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jim Tucker (X)
: "marginals" (rather than "marginalized", which is more passive)
19 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Jim.
|
Reference comments
45 mins
Reference:
Probably not relevant, but the only time I met this was in "pression limite", which I think is "borderline blood pressure"
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Note added at 50 mins (2010-05-28 13:42:36 GMT)
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believe it or not I have just seen your remarks about "borderline"!!!
honesty I had not read right to the end of your query until this very minute!
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Note added at 51 mins (2010-05-28 13:43:17 GMT)
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Personnalité Limite .Org - Site sur le trouble de personnalité ...
- [ Translate this page ]
12 août 2009 ... Le trouble de la personnalité limite (borderline) serait sous- ..... en Belgique, au Canada, aux États-Unis, en France, au Luxembourg et en ...
www.personnalitelimite.org/ - Cached - Similar
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Note added at 50 mins (2010-05-28 13:42:36 GMT)
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believe it or not I have just seen your remarks about "borderline"!!!
honesty I had not read right to the end of your query until this very minute!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 51 mins (2010-05-28 13:43:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Personnalité Limite .Org - Site sur le trouble de personnalité ...
- [ Translate this page ]
12 août 2009 ... Le trouble de la personnalité limite (borderline) serait sous- ..... en Belgique, au Canada, aux États-Unis, en France, au Luxembourg et en ...
www.personnalitelimite.org/ - Cached - Similar
Note from asker:
| Thank you. |
1 hr
Reference:
homme-limite?
Not a single ghit for "homme-limite", so could it be a neologism of the author's?
Note from asker:
| The term comes up in some work on the tribe hitherto known as the Hottentots, this may be where the author got it from, in which case it should probably be "borderline human". I found some distressing chat topics on living with partners with borderline personality disorders where the term "homme limite" was used... |
Discussion