Heavenletter #5029 The Music of the Heart
Dear Gloria,
I tried to find out what "dosie-doe" means but the way you wrote it does not seem to exist. According toe Wikepedia the correct spelling is: Dosey Doe
I thank you for accompanying Me in this Palace of Being, for being with Me through thickness and thin. Of course, there is nowhere else for you to go or be, and, yet, at the same time, you are not hemmed in. You are free to fly anywhere, and you can only bump into yourself, seemingly your little self, ultimately your Holy Self. Ultimately, We (and I speak of thou and I as One) simply are tripping the Light Fantastic through this Wonderland called Life in the World. We dance, don’t We? We sing, don’t We? We cavort. We engage. We dosie-doe. The We becomes One. Whee! How happy We are.
Love,
Luus
Hi Luus~ Gloria is super
Hi Luus~ Gloria is super busy and may not see this for awhile. Go ahead and make it Dosey Doe for now. That's probably the way it needs to appear in translation and anyone not knowing will have to look it up. Maybe in italics if the language has that convention for indicating a foreign word or phrase. I don't know how non-European translators will handle it except maybe a phonetic transliteration. There are other spellings, but Dosey Doe probably gives people the best chance of figuring it out.
This is where a footnote would be appropriate in translation explaining what it means. "*A certain step in American folk Square Dancing." Gloria can change it back later if she decides to. I spelled it wrong myself when I posted this and then edited it. Dosey.
Thank you, Charles. I made
Thank you, Charles. I made it Dosey but I would not dare to add an explanation without Gloria's consent.
Charles and Luus, thank you
Charles and Luus, thank you both so much for all you do.
This isn't the first time God has used Dosey-doe and that I've gotten it wrong! I hope I got it right just now!
Thanks so much for your fine input and caring, dear friends.
The suggestion for a footnote is intelligent, yet I am reluctant to use footnotes. I suppose because a footnote puts an emphasis on intellectual understanding rather than God's true message.
Charles, yes, italics for dosey-doe. I'll put italics in right now..
A thousand blessings,
Gloria
Beloved Luus and Charles, I
Beloved Luus and Charles,
I just italicized dosey-doe on the Heavenletter itself. I also noticed it was capitalized. I couldn't get any answer from Google about capitalizing it at all. I couldn't see a reason for capitalizing it and made it small case as we mostly would. in a sentence. Just to let you know, dear ones.
Gloria and Luus, italics
Gloria and Luus, italics should only be used if it is a foreign word or phrase. I meant it for translators writing in another language in which case Dosey Doe would be foreign. But the phrase is as American as square dancing, even if both come from other cultures to us, and even if only an American sub-culture would use it. So it shouldn't be italicized in English, tho Brits might disagree since they probably are as puzzled as the Chinese. And I have no idea whether other languages use italics or some other means to indicate a foreign word anyway.
There is no one way to spell Dosey Doe. I took Luus' experience with it as the best indication of how to find it online, but I just searched dictionaries online myself and am revising my opinion. Yes, you can find Dosey Doe in Wikipedia, but the definition is kind of confusing and you can also find Do-si-do there with a much better explanation, tho still somewhat confusing because of all the variant spellings and usages.
The Oxford Dictionary does not recognize Dosey Doe but does recognize Do-si-do. Same with American Heritage Dictionary and others found on The Free Dictionary. So I now think the Heavenletter should use "do-si-do" and translators should use that as a foreign word unless their culture has a word that corresponds. Wish Normand was up and running since apparently the word started out as French dos-a'-dos meaning back to back.
It may be that young Americans no longer understand what do-si-do means. Outside of older America, the world is going to need all the help it can get in figuring out what this strange phrase means. To you and me, Gloria, it is plain as plain can be. Not so to others. I'm also revising my opinion about italics in English since the word has a foreign flavor to it even in English.
Lot of words here as I think this out. At this point I think the sentence should read "We do-si-do." As to italics in English, I don't know as it would make a big difference either way. Maybe italics would alert anyone not familiar with the word that yes, here is a word you need to look up. And I now think the spelling "do-si-do" would give people the best chance of finding it. Small "D" because it only is capitalized in a dictionary or Wikipedia entry.
I looked it up in my Merriam
I looked it up in my Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary and you are quite right, Charles, it should be do-si-do. So I will correct it right now.
By the way, I did not translate the do-si-do but put a kind of Dutch dance instead, which will be more clear to the readers.
The Dutch dance?!? Just
The Dutch dance?!? Just kidding, Luus. I agree with you that using a familiar dance term is probably the best way to go, especially if it is a country or folk dance, which is what square dancing is in America. Comes from rural and mountain areas and is popular in the rural west which is cowboy country. But also urban folks may get together to practice it as an older cultural expression.