Momo

[die.ana]

Hello there!
I'm currently trying to compare the French translation of Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange" with the original text and I must confess that I encounter quite a few difficulties.

The first one would be the choice of names, and for that I will transcribe the two fragments to be compared:

"[there was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie and] Dim, Dim being really dim.."

"[Il y avait moi, autrement dit Alex, et mes trois drougs, autrement dit Pierrot, Jo et] Momo, vraiment momo le Momo.."

The question is: what does momo mean? I've been looking for it in Le Petit Robert and all kind of slang dictionaries, but could not find it. Is it possible to come from môme? Or is it chosen "haphazardly" so it can create an alliteration with the rest of the names? (Pierrot-Jo-Momo)

As far as "dim" is concerned, I found it in an English slang dictionary with the meaning "unintelligent" and it's really witty, because the character is both "unintelligent" and "dim" (lacking keenness or vigor etc)

I'd be really grateful if you could give me possible meanings.

Thanks!

 

[Anticlée]

Momo, doesn't mean anything for me neither.
I don't think it comes from môme, no.
The repetition of the same syllable help the word to sound childish.
But it could be a diminutive word for "Maurice" which is a first name, well, that doesn't sound over-smart. When I think of someone whose first name is Maurice I don't imagine an intellectual, I imagine someone rather rough.
Otherwise Momo is a nickname for Mohammed for example, for Maurice too.

 

[die.ana]

Thanks for the reply.
Ya, I knew about the Mohammed possibility, but it doesn't make any sense in the text...

My question is if for a native French reader the choice of translation- Momo- has the same effect as it has for the English reader, if he can grasp the type of character Momo represents. That, taking into account that momo doesn't actually exist as a word of its own.

 

[xtrasystole]

Yes, 'Momo' is a pet name for 'Maurice', or was, since 'Maurice' is much less popular now than it was in the 1950s and 60s. As a matter of fact, it was a typical nickname for a gang member at the time, and an unintelligent and poorly educated one at that. At least, that's the idea the name conjures up. So, I think the translation is not too bad at all.

And yes, nowadays 'Momo' stands rather for 'Mohammed', as Anticlée said.