Royal Navalese plonge au cœur de la tradition de la Royal Navy avec ce livre relié captivant, méticuleusement compilé par le commandant de la RN John Irving, figure éminente du début du XXe siècle et père du célèbre historien David Irving. Ce livre offre une fenêtre unique sur la vie navale, révélant la langue secrète – ou « navalais » – parlée par les marins de la Royal Navy jusqu'au crépuscule de l'Empire britannique après 1945.
Associée aux illustrations fantaisistes de Beryl Irving, la mère de David Irving sert à la fois d'artefact historique et de lecture vivante. Le livre donne vie à la camaraderie, aux difficultés et à l'humour distinctif qui caractérisaient la vie navale. Chaque terme et expression est présenté avec clarté, souvent accompagné d'anecdotes amusantes qui capturent l'essence de la culture maritime.
Publiée pour la première fois en 1946 et rééditée en 2020 par Focal Point Publications, Londres, cette édition permet aux lecteurs d'explorer les nuances de l'argot naval qui a évolué au fil des siècles, offrant un aperçu de la langue et de la vie de la Royal Navy à une époque charnière.
Que vous soyez un passionné de la marine, un aficionado de la linguistique ou simplement curieux de connaître le lexique unique de l'une des forces maritimes les plus renommées au monde, « Royal Navalese : A Glossary of Fo'csle Language » promet un voyage enrichissant à travers les mots et expressions. qui ont façonné l’identité de la Royal Navy.
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Royal Navy Commander John Irving wrote this glossary of British “Navalese,” –the words and expressions of his service in order to create a souvenir for those who served, and as a way to perhaps entice those who “have yet the privilege of membership in our band of brothers.” Published in 1946, Irving captured the language of his thirty-one years (1914-1945) career of navy life and culture that makes a profession special in its own right. Not a glossary of formal military acronyms for correspondence and use in official documents (although there are some of those acronyms in this book), this is the long standing slang of naval sailor and in some cases the other services. Irving’s presentation of each entry is straight forward with no ostentation, and many of his definition even have a humorous feel to them. At least they did to me, perhaps because there is a fine line between refined British seriousness and humor, and how I imagined the author as being the archetype career officer and British gentleman. Reading though all of them can be done in about an hour, and it is fun to run through them. Having been a US Army soldier myself for 25 year, I was surprised to see a percentage of the words and phrases were common-place slang in my service as well. I realized that common denominator of the language then must be centuries old. I recommend this to anyone wanting to become familiar with the words and expressions of the Royal Navy and its culture. A great resource for civilians as well who might work for the service, and for historians who must educate themselves on what specialized terms mean, and how words are used in this culture. The copy I have is a 2020 printing from Focal Point, and is signed personally by the Commander’s son, David Irving, the renowned WWII historian. Focal Point puts out a high quality product. Sharp in every way.