Language of corruption

What do "beans for the kids" in Kinshasa, "a glass of wine" in Paris, and "little carps" in Prague have in common? The phrases tell you something about local cuisine - but they are also euphemisms for bribes.

The language of corruption differs from one country to the next, but there are also striking similarities, as David Henig (University of Kent) and Nicolette Makovicky (University of Oxford) illustrate in the following examples.

1. Cash for soup (Turkish)

If you are stopped by traffic police in North Africa the officer may well ask you to sponsor his next cup of "kahwe", or coffee. In Kenya you might be stopped by traffic policemen and asked to contribute to "tea for the elders" ("chai ya wazee" in Swahili). But in Turkey, the police would rather you give them "cash for soup", or "chorba parasi" - soup is traditionally eaten at the end of a night of heavy drinking.

2. Respect (Azeri)

Whether it happens on the street, or in the boardroom, corruption rests on the abuse of power and privilege. But popular euphemisms often deny this reality and present corrupt behaviour as altruistic "favours" for friends. In Azeri, the word commonly used for bribe - "hurmat" - is interchangeable with the word for respect. An official requesting a bribe will therefore ask you to "do him a favour" - "hurmatimi ela".

3. A fish starts to stink at the head (Turkish)

The phrase "a fish starts to stink at the head" (balik bashtan kokar) comes from Turkey, reminding us that petty bribes at street-level are often matched by greater corruption at the top of organisations and institutions. Mexican officials looking to earn a kickback for arranging a business deal will demand they are given "a bite" (una mordida), while their Colombian counterparts are said to "saw" (serrucho) off a part of a government contract for themselves.

4. Gratitude (Hungarian/Mandarin)

The term corruption implies both illegal and immoral behaviour. But in some regions, what is technically illegal may in fact be seen as acceptable or even moral behaviour. In Hungary, doctors and nurses can expect a "gratuity" (haalapenz) from their patients in the form of an envelope containing money. In Poland, gifts in kind turn a faceless bureaucrat into an "acquaintance" (znayamoshch) who may be able to "arrange things" (zalatvich spravi) for you in the future. In China, healthcare workers and government officials also expect a "little token of gratitude" (yidian xinyi) for their services. As it is said in Russia, you cannot "put 'thank you' into your pocket" - that's "spasibo v karman ne polozhish".

5. Under the table (English/ French/ Farsi/ Swedish)

Popular phrases used for speaking about corruption are often metaphorical. The well-known English phrase describing money being passed "under the table", for example, also exists in French (dessous de table), Farsi (zir-e mize) and Swedish (pengar under bordet). Other expressions emphasise movement. In Hungary, "oiling money" (kenepenz) is paid to officials to grease the wheels of bureaucracy, while the Russians know it is sometimes necessary to put something on the palm of an official's hand ("polozhit na ladon" or "dat na lapu") in order to move things along.