Thread: Rusalka - HC Andersen

Thanks a lot to everybody for the corrections and the insight on this.. You are all invaluable..

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(1) This story is usually translated with the diminutive Русалочка -- not only because Andersen called her "little," but also because she's cute, young, and lovable, whereas the non-diminutive русалка often implies a creature closer to the Greek sirens (who were beautiful, but not at all lovable, and in fact rather deadly). Possibly the main difference between the Greek sirens and the Russian русалки is that the former lived in saltwater and the latter lived in freshwater rivers or lakes. So it's kind like the difference between lobsters and crayfish -- but they both have painful pinches! Thus, if you're talking about a sweet-natured mermaid, go with the diminutive русалочка. However, it would probably be okay to describe Ursula the Sea Witch from the Disney movie as "a type of русалка," because of that word's more sinister connotations.

LOL I love the way you say it =)

I was worried about that a little bit... The copy of HCA's work I've been translating literally just says "The Mermaid" but I know this is the "little mermaid" story that we all know and (~love) from Disney.. =) I was worried because I first learned the word "Rusalka" from Quest for Glory IV wherein it is used exactly like you say, like a Slavic river-siren story.. when I think of it I can't help but think of The Toadies (YouTube - ‪The Toadies - Possum Kingdom‬‏) =)...

Originally Posted by it-ogo

- В море; на море means actually "on the shore of the sea";
- comparative should be "синее(синей) василька" or "синее, чем василёк". Also construction "такая же ..., как" can be used: "такая же синяя, как василёк" (as blue as...), otherwise "как" and "же" should be removed;
- ясно should agree with the subject: ясна (short form because it is used as predicate);
- но там очень глубоко (the way to translate English construction "it is ...": It is deep. - Глубоко.);
- слишком глубоко, чтобы можно было измерить канатом (no direct equivalent for English construction "for smth. to do smth.");
- "навалены" obviously means "tumbled" and implies horizontal position, "поставлены" is better (it implies vertical position);
- "шпиль" means actually architectural shaft. A steeple building is колокольня;
- они бы не достигли (perfective past only);
- поверхности
There is also punctuation, which is not free in Russian.

Thanks for that, it-ogo.. some of these are what I was worried about.. I'm really stumped on how to AVOID the ";" when translating into Russian from English. English writers, especially from like 1600-1900, loved to use these semicolons; it would be fair, indeed, to say they overused the double-comma thing and the semicolon thing ad nauseam; or, at least, more than necessary; or, if nothing else, enough to make them a bit annoying to read. =) So.. how can I avoid this? Looks like the best solution is just to seperate these sections all into separate sentences.. what do you think?

Also, I struggled with "в море" versus "на море".. my dictionary kept saying "на " but translators changed it to "в " ... guess I went with the wrong choice on this one. Thanks guys! It will get easier as I get a feel for what is more comfortable for Russian eyes to read. =)

EDIT: Thanks again, guys. Some of these notes may seem quick in passing but they do me a LOT of good when I'm going back over what I've done. Thanks for all the help.