Reasons to study Russian, or English for that matter!

[Josh Wilson]

James Mallinson wrote: 
>
>"This Russian treasure blends ballet with more than 3,000 Russian 
> nationalistic dances..."
>
>Is it just me, or is "nationalistic" a word that shouldn't be attached to a
>presentation by one of America's leading symphony orchestras?

This is most likely a case of a bad translation or simply improper wording
by a non-native speaker. Most likely they simply meant "national," which
would be neutral and proper. The two words "national" and "nationalistic"
are similar and often confused particularly by non-natives. This was likely
a mistake that no one in the process of editing the website or placing the
ad caught. 

There is another great poor translation at the SVOII airport in Moscow. The
sign plainly says, in English, that it is illegal to import or export
"cultural values" from/to Russia. I've had more than one student point out
to me that it is so strange that Russia would be so protectionist of its
culture as to make illegal the importation of other nations' values, etc. 

Of course, that's not exactly what the Russian "Kulturnye tsennosti"
pertains to. The actual legislation refers to paintings, tapestries, etc. -
the types of physical national treasures that should be carefully guarded by
a country. 

So, this is another reason for advertising execs and PR folks to study
English - before placing ads with potentially negative consequences for
their clients. However, it was likely an honest mistake by the company
itself. 



Josh Wilson
Asst. Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor-in-Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
www.sras.org
jwilson at sras.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------