Below are some excerpts from D R Hofstadter's "Le Ton beau de Marot", section "Mixt Tongues, Blent Names", p. 320. They seem to be very relevant to the recent discussion here:
Blending even the most ordinary word from another culture into one's own language inevitably gives rise to a sense of novelty, of exoticism. There is thus a great gain to be had by indulging in this practice. But there is another practise, quite the opposite of this one, in which a culture tries to absorb or appropriate things outside it, and make them seem more internal than they really are.
Then he goes on with few examples of such appropriation by French: "Michel-Ange", "Jean-Sébastien Bach", etc.
The effect is kind of false image, verging on ludicrous suggestion that both the Italian sculptor and the German composer were French.
He goes on and on with some examples and then asks the question:
What is such appropriating all about? What does it suggest? Could it be that multiplicity of names for J S Bach is some kind of collective recognition that Bach, despite having been German, transcends nationality and is a figure for the world? Or do translated names suck people in?
He then gives some examples and counterexamples taken from music world.
Thus no one ever speaks of "A little Night Music"; rather, Mozart's little night music is invariably referred to in the original German "Eine Kleine Nachtmusic".
Just few thoughts for consideration.
