³the incomplete grandiosity of R ussia ²

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Yesterday, I wrote:
> Olga Meerson wrote:
> 
>> Unrealized, possibly. Grandiosity, no. Grandeur. Or greatness.
>> Velichie is NOT a compromised word. In order for the oxymoron to
>> obtain, the words have to retain their respective connotations: the
>> latter, positive, the former, undercutting. But what is important
>> about nesostoiavsheesia is also that it is about something
>> interrupted in time--as if it were almost achieved but in the end,
>> something went wrong. Hence the irony. So I still prefer "aborted
>> grandeur". Plus, then the irony may convey, in English, a little of
>> the sense of turning tables, from Russian nationalists' expression,
>> to Russian nationalism itself.
> 
> For me, "aborted," like "abortive," suggests a conscious, intentional 
> decision not to be great, and I find that inappropriate here. Russia has 
> always had visions (some would say "delusions") of grandeur, and there 
> has never been any intent to forgo them; to the contrary, she has 
> pursued them despite obstacles.
> 
> For this reason, I would suggest something along the lines of "failed 
> grandeur" -- that inability or outside factors prevented Russia from 
> realizing her dreams. A more neutral term (one that does not comment so 
> strongly on intent) would be "unrealized grandeur"; this might even 
> suggest that the possibility remains.

P.S. The passive form несостоявшееся is typically Russian in that it 
does not address causation. As a native speaker of English, I 
automatically imputed intent and causation in my remarks above -- verbs 
like "fail" and "realize" both communicate an intent to cause a desired 
result, none of which is clearly present in the Russian. It's the 
translator's judgment call here as to whether to insert this naturally 
English flavor or to retain the Russian indifference to these matters. I 
find it unnatural in English to say that Russia's grandeur "didn't 
happen" (просто так) without also saying that she wanted it and pursued 
it and something prevented her from achieving it. As a monolingual 
American, I would take such an anomalous approach (leaving intent and 
causation unstated) as the author's conscious choice, and I would 
probably read too much into that because for a Russian author it's the 
default, and he wouldn't have given it much thought.

-- 
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

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------