Fwd: Teffi puns

[Eric NAIMAN]

We've got two sources of communication:  Bullshevik Broadcasting from
Moscow, and the Ukrainian Telegrapht. And we've got our own western,
multinational program:  Eurology.

Don't blame the messenger, or the perevodchik.


On Tue, Nov 5, 2013 at 1:33 PM, Robert Chandler <kcf19 at dial.pipex.com>wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Am asking this question because a friend has asked me to.  My own view is
> that her solution is good and unlikely to be improved on.  But if anyone
> can do better, we would all be delighted!
>
> All the best,
>
> Robert
>
>
> Can anyone help with translating some puns from Teffi's 'Que faire?'?
>
> This is Teffi's text:
> - Да откуда же вы это узнали?
> - Из радио. Нас обслуживают два радио - советское <<Соврадио>> и украинское
> <<Украдио>>. И наше собственное первое европейское - <<Переврадио>>.
>
> Elegant, subtle. You almost don't notice they're puns till you get to the
> end.
>
> This, I'm afraid, is the best I and some really good translators here
> could come up with:
> "Where on earth did you find all this out?"
> "On the radio. We get two stations, Bullshevik Broadcasting from Moscow and
> Radio Phoney from Kiev. And now we've got our own pan-European station -
> Euro-garble News."
>
> As well as trying to find equivalent puns I've also tried various ways of
> expressing the humour otherwise than in a pun, but couldn't find a solution.
>
> It's been delivered to the publisher, and the editor has come back saying,
> quite correctly, that my version lowers the tone horribly.
>
> I don't have much time left and now I'm even thinking of simply
> transliterating the radio stations and explaining the joke in a footnote --
> but that would leave the story very flat at a point where it should really
> be getting pretty wild.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas? Even a single pun? Or a different strategy?
>
>
>
>
>
> Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD
>
>
>
>
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