Se Faire •Casser
Sta,—I am sorry that Mr. Hare takes exception to my one adverse criticism, a minor one, of his excellent translation of Vigny's master- piece, but I must assert again that in translating the French verb "se faire casser " by " to be broken " he has done violence to the English language. It is quite true that there is an exact equivalent of " se faire casser " in the term "to break an officer," but the English term requires a specialised context and is not widely used or known outside it. For that reason I have no hesitation in saying again that in English to be broken and discharged are different things. To understand why cannot be achieited by mugging up dictionaries so well as by studying idiom and verbal association, for which the spoken word is the only ultimate authority. If Mr. Hare doubts me, let him use the terms " broken " and " discharged " as interchangeable in his speech, and he will in time run into confusion.—Yours faithfully, CHRISTOPHER SYKES. Silton House, Nr. Gillingham, Dorset.
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