Comrade

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
World War I American Red Cross poster by Harrison Fisher, 1918

The term comrade (Russian: товарищ, romanizedtovarishch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term camarada,[1] literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin camera, meaning 'chamber' or 'room'.[2] It may also specifically mean "fellow soldier". Political use of the term was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the West has often associated it with communism.

Background

Upon abolishing the titles of nobility in France, and the terms monsieur and madame (literally, 'my lord' and 'my lady'), the revolutionaries employed the term citoyen for men and citoyenne for women (both meaning '

citizen') to refer to each other.[3] The deposed King Louis XVI, for instance, was referred to as Citoyen Louis Capet to emphasize his loss of privilege.[4]

When the socialist movement gained momentum in the mid-19th century, socialists elsewhere began to look for a similar egalitarian alternative to terms like "Mister", "Miss", or "Missus". In German, the word Kamerad had long been used as an affectionate form of address among people linked by some strong common interest, such as a sport, a college, a profession (notably as a soldier), or simply friendship.[5] The term was often used with political overtones in the revolutions of 1848, and was subsequently borrowed by French and English. In English, the first known use of the word comrade with this meaning was in 1884 in the socialist magazine Justice.[6]

Russo-Soviet usage

In the late 19th century Russian Marxists and other leftist revolutionaries adopted as a translation of the word Kamerad the Russian word for tovarisch (Russian: товарищ) (from Old Turkic tavar ishchi; abbreviated tov.), whose original meaning was "business companion" or "travel (or other adventure) mate", deriving from the noun товар (tovar, 'merchandise')[7][8] as a form of address in international (especially German) social democracy and in the associated parts of the labour movement. For instance, one might be referred to as Tovarisch Plekhanov or Tovarisch Chairman, or simply as Tovarisch. After the Russian Revolution, translations of the term in different languages were adopted by communists worldwide. However, due to its common usage in portrayals of the Soviet Union in Cold War films and books, the term became most strongly associated in public consciousness with communism as known in the Soviet Union, even though many other socialists would continue to use comrade among themselves.[citation needed]

In the early years of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks used Tovarisch when addressing or referring to people assumed sympathetic to the revolution and to the Soviet state, such as members of the Communist party (and originally of other pro-revolution leftist formations such as the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries) and people from the "working masses". The more neutral republican form of address would translate as Citizen. Accordingly, supporters of the White movement in the Russian Civil War would use Tovarisch mockingly as a derogatory term for their enemies – although at the same time, the various socialist anti-Bolshevik forces such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the Mensheviks also used Tovarisch among themselves.[citation needed]

By the mid-1920s, the form of address Tovarisch became so commonplace in the Soviet Union that it was used indiscriminately in essentially the same way as terms like "Mister" and "Sir" are employed in English. That use persisted until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Still, the original meaning partly re-surfaced in some contexts: criminals and suspects were only addressed as "citizens" and not as tovarischi, and expressly refusing to address someone as tovarisch would generally be perceived as a hostile act or, in Stalinist times, even as an accusation of being "Anti-Soviet".[9]

The term Tovarisch (Comrade) is still the standard form of address in the Russian Armed Forces and Police of Russia, where officers and soldiers are normally addressed as Tovarisch Colonel, Tovarisch General, Tovarisch Sergeant, or the like. The term is also used as part of idioms, for example: tovarishch po neschast'yu ('fellow-sufferer', from German Leidensgenosse) or boyevoy tovarishch ([war] buddy), or as a part of such words as tovarishchestvo (partnership) that do not associate with communism.[citation needed]

Chinese usage

In Chinese, the translation of comrade is 同志 (pinyin: tóng zhì), literally meaning '(people with) the same spirit, goal, ambition, etc.'. It was first introduced in the political sense by Sun Yat-sen to refer to his followers.[citation needed] The Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), which was co-founded by Sun Yat-Sen, has a long tradition of using this term to refer to its members, usually as a noun rather than a title; for example, a KMT member would say "Mr. Chang is a loyal and reliable comrade (同志)."[10]

Nevertheless, the term was promoted most actively by the Chinese Communist Party during its struggle for power. It was used both as a noun and as a title for basically anyone in mainland China after the People's Republic of China was founded. For example, women were nü tongzhi ('female comrade'), children were xiao tongzhi ('little comrade') and seniors were lao tongzhi ('old comrade'). However, after the 1980s and the onset of China's market-oriented reforms, this term has been moving out of such daily usage. It remains in use as a respectful term of public address among middle-aged Chinese and members of the Chinese Communist Party. Within the Communist Party, failure to address a fellow member as tóng zhì is seen as a subtle but unmistakable sign of disrespect and enmity.[citation needed]

At party or civil meetings, the usage of the term has been retained. Officials often address each other as Tongzhi, and thus the usage here is not limited to Communist Party members alone. In addition, Tongzhi is the term of preference to address any national leader when their titles are not attached (e.g., Comrade Mao Zedong, Comrade Deng Xiaoping).[citation needed]

In October 2016, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued a directive urging all 90 million party members to keep calling each other "comrades" instead of less egalitarian terms.[11][12] It is also in the regulations of the Chinese Armed Forces as one of three appropriate ways to formally address another member of the military ("comrade" plus rank or position, as in "Comrade Colonel", or simply "comrade/s" when lacking information about the person's rank, or talking to several servicepeople.)[13]

The SAR territories of Hong Kong and Macau generally use tongzhi as a catch-all term to refer to members of the LGBT community; its use as a word for "comrade" has historically been uncommon due to both territories formerly being under foreign administrations. This definition of tongzhi is becoming increasingly popular among mainland Chinese youth and a growing number of older Chinese people have stopped using tongzhi due to its new association with the LGBT community.[14]

South African usage

During the 1970s and 1980s, comrade emerged as a popular revolutionary form of address in South Africa among those involved in anti-apartheid political activities.[15] For example, members of the African National Congress and South African Communist Party frequently referred to each other as comrade.[16]

Among poor residents of the country's segregated townships, it was also used to specifically denote members of militant youth organisations.[17] These radical activists led consumer boycotts, organised anti-apartheid rallies and demonstrations, and intimidated those suspected of having ties to the South African government or security forces.[17] In this particular context, the English title comrades was also used interchangeably with the Xhosa term amabutho.[17]

Zimbabwean usage

In Zimbabwe, the term is used for persons affiliated with the ZANU–PF political party.[18][19] The state media also use Cde as short for comrade.[20][21] Members of other political parties mainly the Movement for Democratic Change are often referred by their names or Mr, Mrs or Prof.[citation needed]

The revived Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) members also call themselves comrades.[citation needed]

South Sudanese usage

Members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army call each other 'Comrade'.[22]

British usage

The British Union of Fascists used the word commonly to refer to members. The Marching Song, set to the music of the Horst-Wessel-Lied began 'Comrades, the voices'. The writer, E.D. Randall, defended the usage of the word by stating that 'comrades' ‘fittingly and completely expresses the ideal of unity in the service of a common cause’[23]

Cuban usage

In

Compañero Fidel; see Cuban Spanish

In other languages

In popular culture

In

Oceania
refer to each other as comrade.

In Mobile Suit Gundam, citizens of the Principality of Zeon use "comrade" to refer to each other.

In My Hero Academia members of the Shie Hassaikai use "comrade" to refer to each other.

See also

References

  1. ^ Camarade - Académie française[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". etymonline.com.
  3. .
  4. ^ "Louis XVI et le citoyen Capet". L'Humanité. 11 August 2009.
  5. ^ Barrie Pitt; Peter Young (1971). History of the First World War. Purnell – via Google Books.
  6. .
  7. ^ Anrede "Genosse" nicht mehr zeitgemäß
  8. ^ "Schlagworte: Genosse - Genossin". textlog.de.
  9. Kazan University] (in Russian). Kazan. pp. 211–212. Archived from the original
    on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  10. Republic of China presidential election in 2008: 凝聚黨內團結 謝長廷:我決定留到五二五 Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine: "很多同志希望我能夠留到五月二十五日" ("Many comrades hoped that I could stay to May 25". See 中國國民黨第17屆中央委員會第2次全體會議出、列席同志發言須知 Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine ("Rules for speaking for attending comrades at the 2nd plenary meeting of the 17th central committee of the Chinese Kuomintang") for an example of its usage in the Kuomintang
    .
  11. ^ "Xuéxí shíbào" 学习时报 [Learning Times]. dzb.studytimes.cn. Archived from the original on 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  12. ^ "China: Keep using 'comrade', says Communist Party". BBC News Online. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  13. ISBN 978-0415783224. According to regulations, members of the PLA
    address each other: (1) by their duty position, or (2) by their position plus surname, or (3) by their position plus the title "comrade" (tongzhi). When the duty position of the other person is not known, one service member may address the other by military rank plus the word "comrade" or only as comrade.
  14. ^ Qin, Amy (15 November 2016). "Xi Jinping Wants to Be 'Comrade.' For Gay Chinese, That Means Something Else". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  15. .
  16. .
  17. ^ .
  18. ^ "EARLIER: End of an era for President Mugabe ... - The Herald". www.herald.co.zw.
  19. ^ "Mnangagwa flees Zimbabwe - The Zimbabwean". 8 November 2017.
  20. ^ "President Mugabe out, Cde Mnangagwa in - ZBC News Online". www.zbc.co.zw. Archived from the original on 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  21. ^ "Cde Chipanga apologises to ZDF Commander - ZBC News Online". www.zbc.co.zw. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  22. .
  23. .
  24. .
  25. ^ "NSB, Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging". Verzetsmuseum. Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  26. ^ "Esperanto GCSE Wordlist". Archived from the original on 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  27. .
  28. ^ Atilla Çetin. "Garp Ocaklarında Türk Varlığı". Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  29. UNIAN
    (4 October 2018)
  30. ^ Rada approves salute 'Glory to Ukraine' in Ukrainian army, Interfax-Ukraine (4 October 2018)

External links

  • The dictionary definition of comrade at Wiktionary