Nikita Khrushchev was infamous for driving his interpreters crazy with impromptu emotional Russian idioms that were impossible to translate. At least his interpreters had an excuse: they had to study English behind the iron curtain, without real practice with native speakers. These days there are so many opportunities for language study and practice that aspiring high-level political simultaneous translators should make use of them. It looks like that would be too logical for Russia.
A few Putin-related things happened at Davos: his surprisingly amicable opening speech (very different from the infamous Munich one) and what all the American/Western newspapers gladly labeled a “huge fight” with Michael Dell.
Well, it’s time to practice your Russian, comrades.
Dell asks the very obviously annoyed Putin: “How can we as an IT sector help you broaden the economy as you move out of the crisis and take advantage of that broad scientific talent you have?”
I am not defending Putin, but if I were a leading woman of the powerful nation who could easily leave Europe freezing and attack/defend myself from a neighboring country, I would be annoyed, too, it a chairperson of the computer company not well-known in my country offered me what sounded like his help.
(I am aware that Dell is the second-largest computer maker in the world. I also believe that the IT has a huge potential to broaden any country’s economy. Technology in general has a great misunderestimated potential in politics, economics etc. Russia also needs some IT improvements. I also don’t know what kind of translation Putin heard from his interpreter, but — see the explanation below — presumably not an excellent one. BUT for Michael Dell to ask a question like that to a leader of the country where any big company is viewed as potential government property has a high explosive potential.)
The simultaneous translation has Putin say this: “We don’t need help. We are not invalids… We don’t have a limited mental capacity.”
He actually said this: “You know, the trick is that you don’t need to help us. We are not disabled. Those who really need help are the poor, one needs to help people who help limited capabilities, one needs to help the retired, one needs to help the developing countries…”
The transcript is published here. For the Russian speakers, here is the same thing in Russian:
“Вы знаете – фокус заключается в том, что нам не нужно помогать. Мы не инвалиды. Реально нужно помогать бедным, нужно помогать людям с ограниченными возможностями, нужно помогать пенсионерам, нужно помогать развивающимся странам…”
This YouTube video has it starting at 1:24. The Russian that is heard in the background sounds like precisely what was published.
The main message of his response was that Russia needs not help, but a full-scale partnership. I believe that I heard from many a Yale professor that one of the main reasons of Russia’s aggressive behavior is that for too many post-Soviet years it was looked down at. I agree. Russia needs her respect. And better translators, apparently.
misunderestimated? are you being humorous here
I always like it when Putin make strong tough remarks.
Putin’s remarks simply reflect who he is and what kind of policies he pursues, and, frankly speaking, they do appear refreshing compared to the uber-polished, careful things many politicians say. For an authoritarian, aggressive leader, his speaking style works well: it pleases the supporters and scares the opponents. As long as Russia’s rockets are not aiming at one, s/he finds the Putinisms cool. Likewise, Berlusconi’s comments appear “cool” as long as you are not one of the people/groups of which he makes fun.
The real translation is of course still a strong statement. It just annoys me when the translators do such a poor job. At least the Bushisms were the ex-President’s, um… original work, not a translation flaw.
He probably also misunderstood Dell remarks
The question was raised because Putin stressed on the fact that protectionism is not the solution, so mr. PC simply asked what role the private sector might have
If the quality of Mr. Dell’s translated remarks is just as bad as that of Putin’s translated comments, than chances are, Putin did not get all of it right.
Putin did emphasize that protectionism is not a solution, but all of his comments were completely taken out of the context, and plastered all over the Internet with a “Putin gets in a fight with Dell” title. It’s so annoying when it happens.
Your thoughtful post made me chuckle as I remembered the hazards of hearing the Chinese world through the voice of my interpreter during a two year posting in Shanghai.
I came away from that posting with enormous respect for my interpreter and great sympathy for the difficulties of her job.
One of the things I learnt was that, since interpreters have their own feelings and biases, I should factor that into the translation.
So what I suspect in this case is that Putin’s interpreter was outraged by Dell’s condescension and in the stress of translation unintentionally coloured the words with his/her feelings.
I actually worked as an interpreper for a seminar on massages in Hong Kong (English< ->Russian, plus a little Chinese). It was quite an experience.
I have read several autobiographies of esteemed interpreters (the ones who worked for famous politicians etc), as I am really interested in foreign languages and considered becoming an interpreter as a career. It is a very difficult job, and its difficulty is often underestimated. But the main message was that the more professional an interpreter is, and the higher rank his/her employer has, the less s/he should factor his/her feelings into his work. English is also such a common language that Putin’s interpreter should have been able to do his job well. On the other hand, remember the recent story with Clinton and Lavrov? Who would have though the Department of State does not have fluent speakers of Russian on hand…
Yes,the Clinton – Lavrov misunderstanding was nothing short of astonishing. And yet I had an experience along these lines that was, well, astounding.
On another continent, some years earlier I went to the office of a senior director of a large multinational national corporation.
His pretty new secretary greeted me politely, no H. WM was not in, would I like to wait? So we chatted pleasantly over a cup of coffee to while away the time. I thought she was English from her fluent, flawless English and excellent London accent, but no, she was a German national who had worked in London as a translator/interpreter German to English for six years. I asked her how she liked her new position, she was enthusiastic about it and then looked up at me with a bright smile and said “I feel so randy”.
Well my mind went into overdrive as I tried to resolve the complex conflicting emotions that overwhelmed me. After all, what is the appropriate response to such a statement in the middle of a corporate environment? No it couldn’t be! So I asked hesitantly, do you know what that word means? “Oh it means I am feeling excited about my work” !!!. Now I had a dilemma, should I disabuse her or simply say nothing. No, saying nothing was too dangerous, someone else might take her quite literally. So I gave her the crude German translation. The poor girl, she was utterly overwhelmed, destroyed by shame and embarrassment.
Who would have thought that a translator/interpreter with such a fluent command of English would make such a mistake?
I bet that the German lady learned somewhere that ‘randy’ means ‘excited,’ but she did not realize what kind of ‘excited’ it was.
That’s the problem with foreign languages — one can memorize all the vocab, perfect all the grammar, work on the pronunciation, and yet there will be an unknown slang work lurking around somewhere. On the other hand, English has so many regional slang words that there are, say, Australian ones, that an Englishman wouldn’t know. There are also native speakers who struggle with their mother tongues; remember Bush’s famous ‘misunderestimate’?
I am glad you told her the truth; I am sure she will have a great laugh sharing that story with her grandkids one day.
I remember mispronouncing ‘crêpe’ as ‘crap’ while ordering lunch back when I first came to the US. It is how one pronounces it in French, but I had no idea that its pronunciation had been Americanized… the waitress was very confused.
This statement – These days there are so many opportunities for language study and practice that aspiring high-level political simultaneous translators should make use of them. – is correct. There is a vital need to have the assurance of high quality translations and interpretations in all fields.
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