Difference between revisions of "Korapsen (Papua New Guinea)"

Officially, there is no equivalent for the word corruption in PNG’s lingua franca, Tok Pisin. The ''Jacaranda Dictionary and Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin''<ref>Mihalic, F. 1983. ''Jacaranda Dictionary and Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin''. Hong Kong: The Jacaranda Press</ref>, the most comprehensive guide on the language, does not include an entry on korapsen.  Nor does the more recent ''Oxford Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin English Dictionary'' (Baing et al. 2008). In turn, translators have avoided using ''korapsen'' in literary works.  The Tok Pisin version of the bible, the ''Buk Baibel'', does not appear to use the word.  For instance, in the English bible, Isaiah 1:4 reads, ‘Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption.’  This line is translated into: ‘''yupela ol manmeri i nogut tru na pasin bilong yu i nogut olgeta''’<ref>The Bible Society. 1993. ''Buk Baibel''. Port Moresby: The Bible Society Papua New Guinea. p.896..</ref>, where ''nogut olgeta'' (completely bad/useless/no good) fills in for the word corruption (John Burton 2009, pers. comm.). Thus, ''korapsen'' is quintessentially an informal word, which is most prevalent in its spoken form, rather than in written pidgin. Nevertheless, the term does sometimes appears in print – particularly at the growing number of anti-corruption events and in Tok Pisin news outlets, such as Radio Australia’s Tok Pisin news service and the local PNG paper the ''Wantok Niuspepa'' – where it is used to describe behaviour and organisations. As an example of the latter, Zimmermann highlights how the Wantok Niuspepa translates the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Squad to ‘''Nesenel Fraud na Enti Korapsen skwat''’ (2010: 124).

Officially, there is no equivalent for the word corruption in PNG’s lingua franca, Tok Pisin. The ''Jacaranda Dictionary and Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin''<ref>Mihalic, F. 1983. ''Jacaranda Dictionary and Grammar of Melanesian Pidgin''. Hong Kong: The Jacaranda Press</ref>, the most comprehensive guide on the language, does not include an entry on korapsen.  Nor does the more recent ''Oxford Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin English Dictionary'' (Baing et al. 2008). In turn, translators have avoided using ''korapsen'' in literary works.  The Tok Pisin version of the bible, the ''Buk Baibel'', does not appear to use the word.  For instance, in the English bible, Isaiah 1:4 reads, ‘Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption.’  This line is translated into: ‘''yupela ol manmeri i nogut tru na pasin bilong yu i nogut olgeta''’<ref>The Bible Society. 1993. ''Buk Baibel''. Port Moresby: The Bible Society Papua New Guinea. p.896..</ref>, where ''nogut olgeta'' (completely bad/useless/no good) fills in for the word corruption (John Burton 2009, pers. comm.). Thus, ''korapsen'' is quintessentially an informal word, which is most prevalent in its spoken form, rather than in written pidgin. Nevertheless, the term does sometimes appears in print – particularly at the growing number of anti-corruption events and in Tok Pisin news outlets, such as Radio Australia’s Tok Pisin news service and the local PNG paper the ''Wantok Niuspepa'' – where it is used to describe behaviour and organisations. As an example of the latter, Zimmermann highlights how the Wantok Niuspepa translates the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Squad to ‘''Nesenel Fraud na Enti Korapsen skwat''’ (2010: 124).

There might be reservations about seeking to understand ''korapsen'' through its vernacular meaning. As homonyms, ‘corruption’ and ''korapsen'' are indeed difficult to distinguish. Even speakers of Tok Pisin would find it difficult to articulate whether they were referring to the English or Tok Pisin meaning; and the research<ref>Walton, G. W. 2009. ''Rural Peoples' Perceptions of Corruption in Papua New Guinea''. Port Moresby: Transparency International Papua New Guinea</ref><ref>Walton, G.W. 2013. 'Is All Corruption Dysfunctional? Perceptions of Corruption and Its Consequences in Papua New Guinea', ''Public Administration and Development'', 33(3):175-190</ref><ref>Walton, G.W. 2015. 'Defining Corruption Where the State Is Weak: The Case of Papua New Guinea', ''Journal of Development Studies'', 51(1): 15-31.</ref> did not try to distinguish the two. However, if one is sensitive to the meaning of ''korapsen'' shared by local communities – whereby the definition of the concept is determined by the views of Papua New Guineans – is it easy to see that ''korapsen'' and ‘corruption’ are related but distinct concepts. The latter focuses on wrongdoing by those in positions of power, where ‘wrongdoing’ is determined by the rules and laws of the state. In a distinctly Papua New Guinean sense, ''korapsen'' is associated with informal practices necessary for the daily workings of the community and reflecting Papua New Guinea’s social, cultural and economic conditions.

There might be reservations about seeking to understand ''korapsen'' through its vernacular meaning. As homonyms, ‘corruption’ and ''korapsen'' are indeed difficult to distinguish. Even speakers of Tok Pisin would find it difficult to articulate whether they were referring to the English or Tok Pisin meaning; and the research<ref>Walton, G. W. 2009. ''Rural Peoples' Perceptions of Corruption in Papua New Guinea''. Port Moresby: Transparency International Papua New Guinea</ref><ref>Walton, G.W. 2013. 'Is All Corruption Dysfunctional? Perceptions of Corruption and Its Consequences in Papua New Guinea', ''Public Administration and Development'', 33(3):175-190</ref><ref>Walton, G.W. 2015. 'Defining Corruption Where the State Is Weak: The Case of Papua New Guinea', ''Journal of Development Studies'', 51(1): 15-31.</ref> did not try to distinguish the two. However, if one is sensitive to the meaning of ''korapsen'' shared by local communities – whereby the definition of the concept is determined by the views of Papua New Guineans – is it easy to see that ''korapsen'' and ‘corruption’ are related but distinct concepts. The latter focuses on wrongdoing by those in positions of power, where ‘wrongdoing’ is determined by the rules and laws of the state. In a distinctly Papua New Guinean sense, ''korapsen'' is associated with informal practices necessary for the daily workings of the community and reflecting Papua New Guinea’s social, cultural and economic conditions.