An interesting issue of translate equivalence

[John Dunn]

Occasionally the reporting of foreign news stories can throw up some interesting issues relating to equivalence in translation.  The site newsru.com today reports the unimpressed reaction of one British commentator to the news that Andrei Arshavin, the captain of the Russian national football team, who also plies his trade in London with Arsenal FC, has been elected Russia's sportsperson of the year for 2011.  In Russian translation this reads as follows:

"Может быть, я действительно чего-то не понимаю, но полагаю, что даже самые предвзятые фанаты "Арсенала" согласятся с тем, что за недавние пару лет игра Андрея Аршавина в составе канониров не выдерживает никакой критики." [http://www.newsru.com/sport/13jan2012/imp.html]

A handily-placed link directs us to the original: 

'Maybe we are all missing something here, but even the most strident Arsenal fan will admit that Andrei Arshavin’s performances for the club, over the past year or so, have been utter pants.' [http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/arsenal/105284/russian-sport-hits-new-low-andrei-arshavin-voted-athlete-of-the-year.html]

Well, it does sort of convey the idea, and I am not sure I want to imagine the versions that might have conjured up by someone less attuned to the niceties of British slang.

John Dunn. 

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