Russian phrase

[Edward M Dumanis]

I disagree. The normal literary meaning of "translation of a text" would
be this text's equivalent in another language which is quite different
from word-for-word translation. I would not be puzzled if "word-for-word"
modifier appeared in the original message. If this is what had been meant
there, then I think I answered the question.

Sincerely,

Edward Dumanis <dumanis at buffalo.edu>

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005, Audrey Wood wrote:

> On 9/26/05, Edward M Dumanis <dumanis at buffalo.edu> wrote:
>
> I am puzzled what difference between the meanings of
> 'equivalent' and 'translation' can be drawn.



Mr. Mitrevski is recognizing that many idiomatic phrases (like "Kiss my
ass") do not have the same force of meaning when translated word-for-word
into another language.

If one said to a Russian speaker "ðÏÃÅÌÕÊ ÍÏÊ ____ (insert term of choice
here), I'm sure the perceived meaning would be quite different than the
intended one. Likewise, a direct translation of the equivalent Russian
phrase "ðÏÝ£Ì ÎÁ/× ___" into English comes closer to a much more offensive
phrase.

An equivalent expression has the same level of impact on an audience, while
a direct translation may carry a different meaning or not make any sense.

Sincerely,

Audrey Wood

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