austraLasia #1981
Readers' questions about .....Zefferino, Zeferino, Zeffirino, Ceferino, and so on and so forth
ROME: 9th November 2007 -- It would be no surprise to readers of austraLasia that its coordinator spends more time answering readers' questions or reactions than he does putting together the daily news item - the news item is but the public, visible part, like the iceberg. Underneath that is the daily correspondence, the real 'flow' (not 'floe'!) of news.
One set of questions recently has been in reference to the Salesian student originally from Chimpay, Argentina, to be beatified this coming Sunday 11th November. How are we to write his name? Is it Zefferino, Zeferino, Zefirino or Ceferino?
Let me preface this response by insisting that his real name is none of these! At home he was known as Morales, but as he was leaving Chimpay in accordance with his father's wish, and his own for that matter, his father said: "You will no longer call yourself Morales, but Ceferino". This was his baptismal name of course......
But back to the question - how should we spell the name in English? I put it to Fr Pascual Chávez, a few hours before he departed for Chimpay and the Beatification. Here is his response:
"I think the best spelling to adopt in English is as in Spanish - Ceferino. I can understand the spelling 'Zefferino' in Italian, first because he lived in Italy and then because of the way the sound ('C') is transferred into Italian ('Z'). We should maintain the original".
So there you have it! The Spanish spelling is simple - no double letters, no confusion between 'e' and 'i'. Once we move the name away from its original form and let it loose in Italian (or English for that matter) it begins to stray, orthographically speaking. Let's keep it at 'Ceferino'.
Incidentally, and in answer to another question - has there been a recent bio in English of Ceferino? We recall Aronica's Chief of the Andes, and Lappin's Bury me Deep, but no, there has not to my knowledge been a recent bio in English. There is some good material in Spanish however! One example is a very recent item from Imprenta Salesiana in Peru: a pamphlet, really, simply called Ceferino Namancurá (and that's the other thing - don't forget the acute accent on the á), cleverly put together as an interview with CN, plus other information on his life and an acceptable, less over-the-top interpretation of things (hagiography can be a real pain at times). ISBN 978-603-45106-0-9 or contact boletin@salesianos.edu.pe.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use BoscoWiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xml Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at at http://sdl.sdb.org
Readers' questions about .....Zefferino, Zeferino, Zeffirino, Ceferino, and so on and so forth
ROME: 9th November 2007 -- It would be no surprise to readers of austraLasia that its coordinator spends more time answering readers' questions or reactions than he does putting together the daily news item - the news item is but the public, visible part, like the iceberg. Underneath that is the daily correspondence, the real 'flow' (not 'floe'!) of news.
One set of questions recently has been in reference to the Salesian student originally from Chimpay, Argentina, to be beatified this coming Sunday 11th November. How are we to write his name? Is it Zefferino, Zeferino, Zefirino or Ceferino?
Let me preface this response by insisting that his real name is none of these! At home he was known as Morales, but as he was leaving Chimpay in accordance with his father's wish, and his own for that matter, his father said: "You will no longer call yourself Morales, but Ceferino". This was his baptismal name of course......
But back to the question - how should we spell the name in English? I put it to Fr Pascual Chávez, a few hours before he departed for Chimpay and the Beatification. Here is his response:
"I think the best spelling to adopt in English is as in Spanish - Ceferino. I can understand the spelling 'Zefferino' in Italian, first because he lived in Italy and then because of the way the sound ('C') is transferred into Italian ('Z'). We should maintain the original".
So there you have it! The Spanish spelling is simple - no double letters, no confusion between 'e' and 'i'. Once we move the name away from its original form and let it loose in Italian (or English for that matter) it begins to stray, orthographically speaking. Let's keep it at 'Ceferino'.
Incidentally, and in answer to another question - has there been a recent bio in English of Ceferino? We recall Aronica's Chief of the Andes, and Lappin's Bury me Deep, but no, there has not to my knowledge been a recent bio in English. There is some good material in Spanish however! One example is a very recent item from Imprenta Salesiana in Peru: a pamphlet, really, simply called Ceferino Namancurá (and that's the other thing - don't forget the acute accent on the á), cleverly put together as an interview with CN, plus other information on his life and an acceptable, less over-the-top interpretation of things (hagiography can be a real pain at times). ISBN 978-603-45106-0-9 or contact boletin@salesianos.edu.pe.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use BoscoWiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xml Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at at http://sdl.sdb.org
