Congress-water

[ladorada]

In Chapter 26 from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", Mark Twain uses the expression "Congress-water". The context of the dialogue in which it occurs is humorous and I am not sure what is he referring to. I am trying to find an equivalent in my language. The fragment is available here:

http://www.literature...ead/huckfinn-196.html

[jno]

Congress water, a saline mineral water from the Congress
spring at Saratoga, in the State of New York.

[Ankou]

for a little more as to why huck finn might find it worthy of note......

http://www.rootsweb.a...ato/Stone/Chap15.html

its a bit like going to lourdes to get some holy water from the grotto when evian supply it directly to your local supermarket (well almost like).

[jno]

no wonder they need spas

http://www.saratoga.com/winter/chowderfest.cfm

[ladorada]

A previous translator used the expression "eau de cologne", which has a French-German-Italian history. Translated into my language, "eau de cologne" sounds like "colony water", a pun which makes sense in Twain's text, as he writes about England and America. The connection with Saratoga springs makes sense too, as Twain mixes things up (referents from the two countries). Well, I would have to see if there is another possibility of translating the pun...

[jno]

the joke Twain is making is whether you would have to go to Congress - ie the legislative body in Washington DC - to get the water. If you made it eau de Cologne, the question might be whether you had to go to Cologne Cathedral / Kölner Dom to get it. What language are you working with?

[The Builder]

Any help to you??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agua_de_Sevilla

[ladorada]

In Romanian, "eau de cologne" is "apă de colonie" (apă = agua, aqua etc.). To use the neologism "congres" from "congress" would be a bit far-fetched. I'll probably keep this translation and add a footnote in order to mention Saratoga springs.

[The Builder]

Ooops, sorry Ladorada................ from your name, I was guessing Spanish :o(

[Calibax]

Your equivalent might be something like not having to go to Borsec to get Borsec Water