An interesting issue of translate equivalence

[Jules Levin]

On 1/13/2012 7:57 AM, John Dunn wrote:
> 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]
Glad to have the Russian version of obscure Brit slang, but I have 
another question.  Re the phrase

за недавние пару лет, I understand the logic, but wonder what the grammatical norm would be now--why not 'nedavnyuyu paru'--is that considered a) correct but stilted, b) obsolete, c) incorrect, d) other...?

Jules Levin
Los Angeles

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