translation question

[Olga Meerson]

Perhaps the Prussian Military Marching step? May be too clumsy. Robert Chandler would have condemned my attempt here for paraphrasing rather than translating. Whatever I suggest now is measured against his possible criticisms :)
o.m.

----- Original Message -----
From: Vadim Besprozvany <vbesproz at UMICH.EDU>
Date: Monday, July 21, 2008 0:23 am
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] translation question

> The answer of the second question is much obvious: "praporshchik"  
> (Engl. ensign) is a junior officer in an infantry regiment; from  
> "prapor" - "flag, banner" *(cf. with English "ensign"). "Warrant  
> Officer" usually means in Russian "unter-oficer."
> The first question is a much more knotty problem. There are at 
> least  
> two answers: 1) based on a recent common sense that understands  
> ??nemetskii shag? in P'etsukh is a sort of firm ceremonial step 
> that  
> one can observe in German military units; 2) based on Yurii 
> Gryzhanich  
> (?POLITICS,? Part 4): he explains ??nemetskii shag? as a ?crane 
> step?  
> [zhuravlinyi shag].
> 
> Having a right for translator's commentaries, I would explain my  
> understanding (most likely, for the first problem) ? it is always  
> better than any amotivational decision, especially in the absence 
> of  
> unanimity.
> 
> Good luck,
> 
> Vadim Besprozvany
> 
> 
> > Dear SEELANGERS,
> >
> > I'm working on a translation of Viacheslav P'etsukh's novella 
> Novaia  
> > moskovskaia filosofiia due to be published early next year, and 
> am  
> > having trouble with a few things even at this late date.  My  
> > submission today has to do with 2 different military terms.
> > The first is a reference to what is likely the Soviet defensive 
> on  
> > Sept. 30, 1941 against the German offensive against Leningrad.  
> The  
> > context is this: a pedantic but humorous narrator suggests 
> Russians  
> > take their literature for truth. After citing a paragraph from 
> Crime  
> > and Punishment he insists that "even if there had been [a young 
> man  
> > such as Raskol'nikov] he never walked out of the yard toward 
> evening  
> > in the direction of K- bridge, and even if he had, then it wasn't 
> 
> > 'as though in a state of indecision' but, on the contrary, 
> ????????  
> > ????? [nemetskim shagom] ... out of quarters in the Izmailovskii  
> > Regiment, early in the morning of September 30."
> > I thought it was "goose-step," which I've seen since is ??????? 
> ???  
> > [gusinyi shag], and have tentatively settled for "in a military  
> > step."  Any other suggestions?
> >
> > Also, would "Artillery Warrant Officer" be the proper translation 
> 
> > for ????????? [praporshchik ] in the Russian Imperial Army?
> >
> > Thanks so much in advance and warmest regards,
> > Krystyna
> > steiger at can.rogers.com
> >
> >
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