All-Russian Empire?

[Paul B. Gallagher]

R. M. Cleminson wrote:

> Oops, sorry, that message got sent before it was finished.  As I was
> saying...
>
> There is indeed an echo of Greek ecclesiastical titles in the Tsar's
> pre-1721 title (compare, for example, Πατριάρχης τῆς Μεγάλης
> Θεουπόλεως Ἀντιοχείας καὶ πάσης Ἀνατολῆς), no doubt mediated through
> the title of the Russian Metropolitan (Киевский, later Московский и
> всея Руси), but that is no excuse for using "Pan-" in an English
> translation (not least because it is never used in English
> translations of the Greek patriarchates).  If you really must, "the
> Empire of All the Russias", possibly appropriate in certain contexts
> such as the petition mentioned, but since there is absolutely no
> difference in meaning between "Rossijskaja" and "Vserossijskaja"
> Imperija, they should be translated as what they mean, namely the
> Russian Empire.

On a semantic basis, I would agree, the various terms you mention are 
synonymous. But that's not the only factor to consider. If the source 
text clearly intends to be formal and pompous, then the target text 
should be equally formal and pompous. In the same way as "Obama" and 
"POTUS" and "Barack" and "the President of the United States" are 
synonymous, they are still not interchangeable, and the choice should be 
made on stylistic or rhetorical grounds.

-- 
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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