Thread: Clinton Gives Lavrov Reset Button

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a 'reset button,' however the Russian-language label had the wrong word, and read 'overcharged' instead of 'reset.'

SOURCE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GdLClHAMB0

After inspecting the gift Lavrov noted that the word on the button was wrong. I did my best to figure out what the word was and what the word should have been, but my Russian isn't good enough so that I can be confident and so I'd appreciate the input of those who know the relevant Russian words.

Apparently the button was labeled "перегрузка" when it should have been labeled "перезагрузка." I was able to find "перегрузка" in my Russian dictionary and it means overloading or overcharged. I was also able to find "перезаряжать" which means to recharge, to overcharge, or to reload. Is it the case that "перезаряжать" has a form that comes out to "перезагрузка" or is there another word altogether that I'm not finding in my dictionary? BTW, BabelFish returns "к возврату" for to reset and that is no where near what Lavrov said.

Originally Posted by bobert

Apparently the button was labeled "перегрузка" when it should have been labeled "перезагрузка." I was able to find "перегрузка" in my Russian dictionary and it means overloading or overcharged. I was also able to find "перезаряжать" which means to recharge, to overcharge, or to reload. Is it the case that "перезаряжать" has a form that comes out to "перезагрузка" or is there another word altogether that I'm not finding in my dictionary? BTW, BabelFish returns "к возврату" for to reset and that is no where near what Lavrov said.

"Перезагрузка" is correct, Lavrov knows what he's talking about. (And BabelFish is horrible).
The verb for "перезагрузка" is "перезагружать".

You also could guess form the morphologival structire of these words that "перезагрузка" derives from the noun "груз" (load), and "перезарядка" from "заряд" (charge).

A nice dictionary, like ABBY Lingvo, says:
перезагружать - перезагружать, - перезагрузить; (verb)
(1) (компьютер) reboot, (2) (программу) reload , restart

перезагрузка (компьютера) (noun) - reboot(ing); (программы) reload(ing), restart

перезаряжать - перезаряжать, - перезарядить; (verb)
1) recharge 2) (оружие) reload
перезаряжать - overcharge, recharge, rethread

перезарядка (noun) - recharge, charge exchange , overcharge, overcharging

Thanks gRomoZeka for the very helpful explanation!

I figure that Lavrov knows what he's talking about, but I wasn't entirely sure if I was hearing what he said clearly enough to phonetically locate the words he said in my dictionary.

The key in this language issue lies in the verbs загрузить and грузить, imho

Consider the root "груз" as the equivalent in English of the word "load"

Therefore for simplicity перезагрузка translates as reload and перегрузка as overload. (not reset, or overcharge, for now, but we may extrapolate to include these translations when we work for Hillary. )

Anyhow I believe the key to meaning lies in the following verbs:

загружать, загрузить
1. load
2. тех. feed
3.:
загружать кого-л. (работой) — give smb. a full-time job, keep smb. fully occupied

and

грузить, погрузить
load; (людей — на судно) embark; (в поезд) entrain; (на самолёт) emplane

where the "за" connotes a fullness, as to a mere beginning

Draw your own conclusions about the reversal of the meaning of "за" in nouns as opposed to pervective and imperfective verbs , and you can welcome yourself to my nightmare.

Anyhow, I'm an amateur. I am fully impressed with Lavrov. Hillary's translator should have discussed this with a native prior to his decision. And, I concur with all of the OP's due diligence

Thanks spmiller for an awesome explanation and analysis!

Here's an additional question that might shed some light on the topic. What word is on the Russian equivalent for the reset button in online forms? Often online forms (and computer software in general) will have a reset button to return whatever it is we're dealing with to default values. When such forms appear on Russian websites or in software labeled in Russian, what word is used in this situation? The nice thing about reset is that it's only five letters long. перезагрузка doesn't fit quite as well on a little button!

Originally Posted by bobert

The nice thing about reset is that it's only five letters long. перезагрузка doesn't fit quite as well on a little button!

Сброс will do.

Originally Posted by bobert

Here's an additional question that might shed some light on the topic. What word is on the Russian equivalent for the reset button in online forms? Often online forms (and computer software in general) will have a reset button to return whatever it is we're dealing with to default values. When such forms appear on Russian websites or in software labeled in Russian, what word is used in this situation? The nice thing about reset is that it's only five letters long. перезагрузка doesn't fit quite as well on a little button!

Reset on hardware buttons - "Сброс". But for the diplomatic purposes it is inacceptable because also may mean "drop" (for example drop a bomb).

Reboot, reload - "перезагрузка"

Restart - "перезапуск"

Reset on software buttons - "обновить" (renew), "очистить"(clear up)...

Перегрузка is not that bad. While in English it is more appropriate to label a button with a word for the intended action, in Russian it is just as appropriate to label it with the name of a failure the action is intended to mitigate. Technically, сброс would be the closest, but it has some overtones, as was already mentioned. Перезагрузка would mean reload wich is not the same as reset.

Lavrov's suggestion, however, is completely unacceptable, since it looked like Clinton took it as in "to sell something for much more then it's worth."

Nowadays in talks people often use "перегрузить" word instead of "перезагрузить" for more shortness.