{"id":2257,"date":"2011-08-09T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2257"},"modified":"2018-08-21T20:18:45","modified_gmt":"2018-08-21T20:18:45","slug":"what-makes-russians-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/what-makes-russians-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes Russians Happy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019d like to thank Jarrod for the inspiring comment on our Facebook page<\/a> and to Bob for sending me the infographics<\/a> that started it all. Guys, you rock!<\/em><\/p>\n

A while ago one of the blog readers, Bob, e-mailed me the infographics you see at the top of the post. Honestly, while I really liked the picture, I already had a bunch of posts lined up and decided \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u043b\u043e\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0442\u044c\u044e<\/span> <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0433\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u044f<\/span><\/strong>\u0449\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [to shelf the article].<\/p>\n

Then a few days ago I picked up a copy of Jane McGonigal\u2019s \u201cReality Is Broken\u201d \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0431\u0438\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043e\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [at a local library]. \u00ab\u041e\u0442\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043a\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u0430, \u043a\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0438!\u00bb<\/strong> [By the way, it\u2019s a great read].<\/p>\n

To make the long story short, reading about happiness reminded me of the infographics and led to my asking a question \u00ab<\/strong>\u0427\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u0432\u0430\u043c <\/strong>\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e <\/strong>\u0434\u043b\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> which I translated as \u201cWhat do you need to be happy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jarrod brought up an excellent point by asking why I translated it this way instead of \u201cfor happiness\u201d.<\/p>\n

Would \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u043e\u0441\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [word-for-word translation] be the best option here? Or should I use \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [idiomatic translation]? As a non-native speaker (of either Russian or English), how important is it to you to have a translation that is a close formal equivalent even when a more idiomatic form exists? These aren\u2019t just idle questions since your feedback shapes this blog.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the kicker. Did you see the title of the infographics? It\u2019s called \u201cWhat makes Russians happy\u201d. Now, how would you translate this sentence into Russian? Try it now, but don\u2019t peek\u2026<\/p>\n

………………………..<\/p>\n

Did you write down your answer? Ok, the way this particular research was announced in Russian media was \u00ab<\/strong>\u0427\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> <\/strong>\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u043c <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u0445\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442 <\/strong>\u0434\u043b\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f\u00bb.<\/strong> Wow, that\u2019s like totally different, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

The phrase \u00ab<\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u0445\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [what\u2019s missing] was translated as \u201cwhat makes\u201d. Why?<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s because Russian language has a lot of phrases that use \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> without sounding negative (at least to the Russian ear):<\/p>\n