Posted by COOT on October 22, 1997 at 10:49:59:
Ahoy!
A recent question from a Japanese ARC member triggered an active discussion
about white bear, sea bear, and polar bear. Another discussion among some of
the Japanese ARC members led to a new question. What do you English native
speakers imagine from the term "wild cat" in "Wild Cat Island"?
1) tomboy girl (like Nancy)
2) wildcat -- specific species of cat
3) stray cat
"Wild Cat Island" was translated into Japanese as "Yamaneko jima." "Yamaneko"
means "2) wildcat". We Japanese never imagine "1) tomboy girls" or "3) stray
cats" from the term "Yamaneko". Peter surprised us by saying that he always
imagined "3) stray cats" from the term "wild cat." How about you? I'd like to
hear as many opinions as possible. You see, I'm not questioning what Arthur
Ransome meant by "wild cat", but I'm curious about what the majority of
English native speakers imagine from the term "wild cat".
Thanks.