{"id":4549,"date":"2013-03-06T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T08:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=4549"},"modified":"2014-07-17T19:21:52","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T19:21:52","slug":"lost-and-found-in-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/lost-and-found-in-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"Humor that’s lost-and-found in translation"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned “elephant jokes” as an example of humor that translates well because most of the examples don’t depend on language-specific wordplay. So today, let’s consider some puns and quips that are difficult or impossible to translate into English because they hinge on Russian homonyms or on ambiguities of Russian grammar. After all, one of the satisfactions in studying a foreign language is being able to comprehend idiomatic usages that would totally choke the best translation software.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried to select some simple examples from online that illustrate general points of Russian grammar apart from the humorous content. We’ll start with a fairly straightforward one:<\/p>\n

\u041f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0435 \u0442\u0440\u0451\u0445 \u0440\u044e<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u043a \u043a\u043e\u043d\u044c\u044f\u043a\u0443<\/span> \u0444\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0446\u0443<\/span>\u0437 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0442 \u043d\u0430 \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0443\u044e \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0443, \u0430 \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u2014 \u043d\u0430 \u00ab\u0442\u044b<\/span>\u00bb<\/b><\/p>\n

This one would make total sense in languages such as German, Spanish, or French. It’s just a bit hard to explain to most English speakers, because we haven’t used the “informal thou” for centuries. As a cultural note, some Russians like to officially mark that “switch to \u0442\u044b<\/b>” with a hokey little ceremony known as \u0431\u0440\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0448\u0430\u0444\u0442.<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Anyway, the quip means:<\/p>\n

After three glasses of cognac a Frenchman switches to mineral water, while a Russian switches to \u201c\u0442\u044b\u201d<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Grammar point #1: A \u0440\u044e\u043c\u043a\u0430<\/b> is a “stemmed glass” (as for wine or champagne). In \u043f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0435 \u0442\u0440\u0451\u0445 \u0440\u044e\u043c\u043e\u043a<\/b>, both the number and the noun are genitive, as required by the preposition \u043f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0435<\/b> — and the noun \u0440\u044e\u043c\u043e\u043a<\/b> is genitive plural, not genitive singular.<\/p>\n

Grammar point #2: Since \u043a\u043e\u043d\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043a<\/b> is masculine, you’d logically think that \u043a\u043e\u043d\u044c\u044f\u043a\u0443<\/span><\/b> must be the dative singular. In fact, it’s a special form known as the “partitive genitive” that expresses “a bit of something.” Partitive genitives ending in -\u0443\/-\u044e<\/b> are used ONLY with certain masculine nouns, and nowadays these -\u0443\/-\u044e<\/b> genitives are
\nsometimes considered slightly old-fashioned or rustic<\/span>. So deliberately using \u043a\u043e\u043d\u044c\u044f\u043a\u0443<\/span><\/b> (instead of the normal genitive \u043a\u043e\u043d\u044c\u044f\u043a\u0430<\/span><\/b>) gives it a more folksy\/colloquial sound.<\/p>\n

\u0410\u043b\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c \u0443\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0435 \u0432\u043b\u0435\u0447\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435 – \u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0443\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0430<\/span> \u043f\u043e\u043b \u0438 \u043d\u0435 \u0432\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c.<\/b><\/p>\n

Here, the untranslatable part is that the adjective \u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0439<\/b> can mean either “sexual” or “related to flooring” — because the nouns \u043f\u043e\u043b<\/b> (“sex; biological gender”) and \u043f\u043e\u043b<\/b> (“floor”) are identical in conjugation, despite their different etymologies.<\/p>\n

Thus \u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0435 \u0432\u043b\u0435\u0447\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/b> would normally mean “sexual attraction,” but the second clause takes it in a different direction:<\/p>\n

Alcohol increases [sexual attraction \/ the floor’s attractiveness]<\/i> — you wanna fall on the floor and not get up.<\/p>\n

Grammar point #1: Russian has numerous verbs of adjectival origin prefixed with \u0443-<\/b> and conveying “to make something X-er”. Thus, \u0441\u0438\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/b> is “strong” and \u0443\u0441\u0438\u043b\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0443\u0441\u0438\u043b\u0438\u0442\u044c<\/b> is “to make stronger; to strengthen.” Cf. \u043b\u0443\u0447\u0448\u0438\u0439<\/b>, “better,” and \u0443\u043b\u0443\u0447\u0448\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0443\u043b\u0443\u0447\u0448\u0438\u0442\u044c<\/b>, “to improve.”<\/p>\n

Grammar point #2: Note the use of the impersonal \u0445\u043e\u0447\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f<\/b> (“it is wanted”) where in English we might say “you want” or more formally “one wants”.<\/p>\n

Grammar point #3: Note the stress in \u043d\u0430<\/span> \u043f\u043e\u043b<\/b>, “onto the floor”.<\/p>\n

Here’s another quip based on Russian words that are nearly homonyms (at least in some of their forms):<\/p>\n

\u0421\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c – \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e \u0432\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043c\u044f, \u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/span> \u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430 \u043c\u043e\u0447\u0438 \u0443\u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0442 \u043d\u0430 \u0430\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0438\u0437\u044b.<\/b><\/p>\n

The noun \u043c\u043e\u0447\u044c<\/b> means “strength; might”, but \u043c\u043e\u0447\u0430<\/span><\/b> is the polite\/clinical term for “urine”! And their genitive singulars are homographs, but the stress is different — \u043c\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0438<\/b>, “of strength,” but \u043c\u043e\u0447\u0438<\/span><\/b>, “of urine”. Thus, depending on how one reads the joke out loud:<\/p>\n

Old age — that’s the time when half of your [strength\/urine]<\/i> goes for laboratory tests.<\/p>\n

Grammar point: Although \u0443\u0445\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c\/\u0443\u0439\u0442\u0438<\/b> is literally “to go away on foot,” the construction \u0443\u0445\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c\/\u0443\u0439\u0442\u0438 \u043d\u0430 \u0447\u0442\u043e-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c<\/b> is figurative — it means “go into” or “go toward” in the sense of “to be exclusively dedicated to.” \u041c\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e\u0442\u044b \u0443\u0448\u043b\u043e \u043d\u0430 \u0431\u043e\u0440\u044c\u0431\u0443 \u0441 \u0440\u0430\u043a\u043e\u043c<\/b>, “A lot of work has gone into\/toward the fight with cancer.”<\/p>\n

Of course, not all wordplay is deliberate. We’ve all seen those Internet lists of “unintentionally funny ads” or “actual answers from students’ exams” (e.g., “an angle greater than 90 degrees is called obscene<\/em>“).<\/p>\n

Well, that genre of humor is equally popular in Russian, and provides more examples of humor that relies on peculiarities of Russian, such as its flexible word order:<\/p>\n

\u041f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u044e<\/span> \u043a\u043e\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0443 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u043d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0434\u0451\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/span> \u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u0433\u043e \u0446\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0430.<\/b><\/p>\n

Here, \u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u0433\u043e \u0446\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0430<\/b> (“of a blue color”) is obviously meant to modify \u043a\u043e\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/b> (“small cart; baby carriage”), but the writer was rather careless about the phrasing and it appears to modify \u043d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0434\u0451\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439 (\u0440\u0435\u0431\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a)<\/b>, “newborn [child]”. The nearest thing in English would be writing “I’m selling a blue-baby carriage” instead of “a blue baby-carriage.”<\/p>\n

And this next one defies translation — it’s funny because the distinctively Russian idiom \u043d\u0430 \u0440\u0443\u043a\u0430\u0445 can sound ambiguous:<\/p>\n

\u0414\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0438 \u0434\u043e \u043f\u044f\u0442\u0438\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0435\u0433\u043e \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0437\u0440\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u044f\u0442 \u0432 \u0446\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043a \u043d\u0430 \u0440\u0443\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0445.<\/b><\/p>\n

Interpreted literally, it says “Children under the age of five may walk into the circus on their hands.” However, the idiomatic meaning is “Children under the age of five may be carried into the circus in a parent’s arms.” (With the implication that, once inside, the child will sit on the parent’s lap — i.e., they won’t be charged for a seat).<\/p>\n

Grammar point: The verb \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0445\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c\/\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0439\u0442\u0438<\/b> is quite often heard with the meaning “enter” or “come on in!”, even though more literally it’s “pass; walk by.”<\/p>\n

Finally, let’s consider a few more examples of deliberate puns. The fictional \u0428\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446<\/b> (Shtirlitz)<\/a> is a sort of Soviet\/Russian James Bond who appeared in a popular series of novels and films — he was a patriotic Soviet superspy (real name: Vsevolod Vladimirovich Vladimirov) who infiltrates the Nazi SS under the German pseudonym \u041c\u0430\u043a\u0441 \u041e<\/span>\u0442\u0442\u043e \u0444\u043e\u043d \u0428\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446<\/b>. And he inspired a huge number of jokes — mostly in the form of one-line quips based on (usually untranslatable) Russian wordplay, where an ambiguous word in the first clause takes on an unexpected meaning in the second clause.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u0428\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446 \u043f\u043e\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u043b \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0443, \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430 \u0441\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043b\u0430. “\u0421\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e” — \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0443<\/span>\u043c\u0430\u043b \u0428\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446, \u043f\u043e\u043f\u043b\u0435\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0432 \u043d\u0430 \u0443\u0442\u044e<\/span>\u0433.
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Here, \u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c\/\u043f\u043e\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c<\/b> can mean “to press (clothing)” but also “to stroke\/pet (an animal’s fur).” An analogous joke would be:<\/p>\n

James Bond was pressing<\/i> the Enter key when it suddenly caught fire and melted. “That’s strange,” thought Bond, spitting on the hot iron.<\/p>\n

Grammar point: The verb \u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c\/\u0441\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c\/<\/b> (past (\u0441)\u0434\u043e\u0445<\/b>, (\u0441)\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043b\u0430<\/b>) means “to die” and is polite and neutral when used in this way about non-human animals. But it’s considered rather crude and tacky to say it in reference to humans. (It’s like using “carcass” for a human body.) For this very reason, \u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c<\/b> is common in jokes, and you may also see the phrase phrase \u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c \u0438 \u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c<\/b> (“puff up and die”).<\/p>\n

Another Shtirlitz classic where the ambiguity of a word is humorously resolved in the second half of the joke:<\/p>\n

\u0428\u0442\u0438\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446 \u0448\u0451\u043b \u043f\u043e \u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0443 \u0438 \u0443\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044b<\/span>\u0435 \u0435\u043b\u0438. \u041f\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0439\u0434\u044f<\/span> \u043f\u043e\u0431\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0436\u0435, \u043e<\/span>\u043d \u0443\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443<\/span>\u0431\u044b\u0435 \u043d\u0435 \u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438, \u043d\u043e<\/span> \u0438 \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0438.<\/b><\/p>\n

Literally, this can be read as:<\/p>\n

Shtirlitz was walking through the forest, and saw some light-blue spruces. Approaching a bit closer, he saw that the gay men were not only eating, but drinking, too.<\/p>\n

Huh?<\/p>\n

The two key points here are (a) \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0439<\/b> is literally “light blue” but colloquially “a gay man”; and (b) \u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438<\/b> is the nominative plural of the noun \u0435\u043b\u044c<\/b> (“a spruce tree”) and the past plural of the verb \u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c<\/b> (“to eat”). You could eliminate the ambiguity by using the conjunction \u043a\u0430\u043a<\/b> — \u043e\u043d \u0443\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044b<\/span>\u0435 \u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438<\/b> can only mean “he saw the gay men eating.” (On the other hand, \u043e\u043d \u0443\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b, \u043a\u0430\u043a\u0438<\/span>\u0435 \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044b<\/span>\u0435 \u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438<\/b> could only mean “he saw how light-blue the spruces were”.)<\/p>\n

Although it’s impossible to translate the word-play, one can devise a somewhat analogous English joke:<\/p>\n

Once more, James Bond noticed the woman with the arrogant gaze<\/i>. “She’s pretty — too bad that all her friends are snobbish homosexuals,” he thought.<\/p>\n

And finally, an untranslatable Shtirlitz joke that is slightly off-color (but not excessively dirty) — and therefore, of course, enormously popular with Russian children:<\/p>\n

\u0428\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446 \u043e\u0442\u043a\u0440\u044b\u043b \u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u0444 \u0438 \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u0449\u0438\u043b \u0437\u0430\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0443 \u041c\u044e\u043b\u043b\u0435\u0440\u0430. \u041c\u044e\u043b\u043b\u0435\u0440
\n\u0432\u0437\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u043b<\/span> \u043e\u0442 \u0431\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0438.<\/b><\/p>\n

Shtirlitz opened the safe and pulled out one of M\u00fcller’s memos. M\u00fcller howled in pain.<\/p>\n

What the heck’s going on here, and why is M\u00fcller screaming?<\/p>\n

First, as a usage note: \u0432\u044b\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u0449\u0438\u0442\u044c<\/b> can literally imply “to drag out something heavy” (as in pulling someone up from a well), in contrast with the more neutral \u0432\u044b\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\/\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c<\/b>, “to pull out.” But colloquially, the two words are often synonymous.<\/p>\n

Second, \u0437\u0430\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/b> is “a note, memo” — deriving, of course, from \u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/b>, “to write.” But \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0430<\/b> (with a soft-sign) is a childish anatomical term equivalent to “willy, peter, ding-a-ling”. (Deriving from \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044c<\/b>, “to pee”.)<\/p>\n

Third, the accusative construction \u0437\u0430 \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0443<\/b> can be compared with \u0434\u0435\u0440\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/span>-\u0442\u043e \u0437\u0430 \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u043a\u0443<\/b>, “to hold someone by the hand”.<\/p>\n

Thus, \u043e\u043d \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u0449\u0438\u043b \u0437\u0430\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0443 \u041c\u044e<\/span>\u043b\u043b\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span><\/b> is “he hauled out a memorandum by M\u00fcller,” but with a slightly altered pronunciation, \u043e<\/span>\u043d \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u0449\u0438\u043b \u0437\u0430 \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0443 \u041c\u044e<\/span>\u043b\u043b\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span><\/b> would mean “he dragged M\u00fcller out by his wiener”!<\/p>\n

P.S. Don’t feel at all sorry for \u041c\u044e<\/span>\u043b\u043b\u0435\u0440<\/b> — while \u0428\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043b\u0438\u0446<\/b> was a totally fictional Soviet spy, the \u041c\u044e<\/span>\u043b\u043b\u0435\u0440<\/b> in question is real-life Gestapo chief Heinrich M\u00fcller.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned “elephant jokes” as an example of humor that translates well because most of the examples don’t depend on language-specific wordplay. So today, let’s consider some puns and quips that are difficult or impossible to translate into English because they hinge on Russian homonyms or on ambiguities of Russian grammar…<\/p>\n

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