translation help

[E Wayles Browne]

Ljutor may refer to Martin Luther. If it does, then the title is a pun on
Ljutor and ljut 'fierce'.
-- 
Wayles Browne, Assoc. Prof. of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
Morrill Hall 220, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.

tel. 607-255-0712 (o), 607-273-3009 (h)
fax 607-255-2044 (write FOR W. BROWNE)
e-mail ewb2 at cornell.edu

> Panorama of Russia wrote:
>
>> Dear SEELANGers,
>>
>> I am trying to translate the title of a book by Nikoletta Marchalis into
>> English. Ëþòîðü èæå ëþòü. Ïðåíèå î âåðå öàðÿ Èâàíà Ãðîçíîãî ñ ïàñòîðîì
>> Ðîêèòîé. The best I can manage is Cruel of the cruel. The argument about
>> faith between Tsar Ivan the Terrible and pastor Rokita. My native
>> Russian speaking colleague doesn't accept it, but can't improve it.
>>
>> Can anybody set me straight?
>
> I don't have any problem with your choice of "cruel," but the
> grammatical construction strikes me as non-English if adjectives are
> involved. I'd be more inclined toward "(The) Cruelest of the Cruel,"
> which is a familiar construction (eschewing the humorously anachronistic
> "Mother of All Cruelties"). I would have less objection if these were
> nouns -- "vanity of vanities," though not entirely natural, is at least
> a permitted structure.
>
> I would also find it more natural to use a colon between the two parts
> of the title; a period, while common in Russian, is rare in English.
>
> --
> War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
> --
> Paul B. Gallagher
> pbg translations, inc.
> "Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
> http://pbg-translations.com
>
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-- 
Wayles Browne, Assoc. Prof. of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
Morrill Hall 220, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.

tel. 607-255-0712 (o), 607-273-3009 (h)
fax 607-255-2044 (write FOR W. BROWNE)
e-mail ewb2 at cornell.edu

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