PLAYS ON WORDS

Today's column is about a few words and how they can be more powerful than those of usual words and can speak volumes.

"The defiant Saddam Hussein" we read regularly in the press. In the English language, defiant can take on negative meanings, such as antagonistic, obstinate or disobedient. These are the more popular interpretations of the word. However, it can also depict bravery. When the press speaks of a "defiant" Saddam, the inference is of the negative nature. But, many people would translate defiant to mean bravery in Saddam’s case. That is the context in which I use the word.

I don't speak or read Arabic, but I have numerous friends who are from the Middle East and Arabic is their first language. Despite my lack of knowledge of Arabic, I do know one word: manuke.

A few years ago, I was in a business owned by an Iraqi-American who was speaking to a customer of the same background. The name of a local representative of Ahmed Chalabi came up and the customer said, "He's a manuke." The owner laughed and I asked him what manuke meant. Roughly translated it means a male who was the recipient in an act of sodomy. I cracked up and was proud that I knew one vile word in which I could convey a message to Arabic speakers when discussing traitors such as Chalabi.

The word manuke is not intended so much as a literal homophobic remark, but one that indicates the person is a disgusting individual who has no integrity.

Last week, I and about a dozen comrades met at an Iraqi restaurant owned by Shi'ite Muslims. The large-screen TV was on in the background displaying an Iranian satellite channel broadcast in Arabic. The same person who introduced the word manuke to me was watching and a news item about the stooge prime minister of Iraq appeared. My Iraqi-American friend then saw him and said, "Jafari ... manuke." There was that word again. For some reason, it just sounds profound and I am always impressed by one word that is so powerful that its implications can be depicted by many sentences. I have asked many Arabic-speaking friends about the word and they all say it is only used to show contempt and is not to be used in polite conversation.

Now, let's combine Saddam Hussein’s "defiance" and the word manuke.

An article published in the British newspaper The Guardian of November 17, 2005 reported a bizarre incident that occurred in an Iraqi courtroom in which Saddam was being questioned by a judge. According to the article, titled "Saddam Claims Assault by Court Clerks:"

Court clerks at Saddam Hussein’s trial lunged at the former dictator and punched him for insulting Shia saints, it emerged yesterday.

According to an Iraqi television station, the attack occurred when Saddam was being questioned about the suppression of the 1991 Shia uprising in Karbala.

A judge then asked him whether Iraqi forces had attacked the shrines of Imams Hussein and Abbas, two of the most revered figures in Shia Islam.

At first, Saddam pretended not to know who the holy men were. But then he is reported to have said, "Who do you mean? Those manayich (buggers)?"

His remarks angered two court employees, who had been taking notes, and a fight broke out.

Let's get back to words again. The word "manayich" is the plural of the word manuke. At least Saddam was grammatically correct.

The word "buggers" that was included in parentheses was an accurate translation. In Britain, it means the same as manayich, so "bugger" would be an accurate translation of manuke.

Sadly, in the U.S., the word "bugger" has been watered down over time and it is used as a term instead to depict a "jerk" or "moron" or "idiot." Therefore, a U.S. citizen reading the account of Saddam's statement in The Guardian would not understand its strength.

Saddam Hussein is on trial for his life. Most people in his circumstance would be begging to be spared, but Saddam has not followed this route. He believes that he and his country have been unfairly wronged and his integrity would not allow him to cower. Those who opposed him are now calling the shots in his trial, but, even though surrounded by them, he will not acquiesce to their demands. Similarly, he has never said "I give up" to the U.S.

Nobody knows Saddam's ultimate fate. Chances are that he won’t be around too long, but he will not sell out his country. Love him or hate him, you must admit he has "cojones grandes." If you don’t know that those words mean, look them up in a Spanish-English dictionary.