Thread: Translate this

А мы в России народ простой

(from a song)

I guess, my problem is: what exactly do we mean by "простой"?

Originally Posted by ponzu

А мы в России народ простой

(from a song)

I guess, my problem is: what exactly do we mean by "простой"?

IMHO It is meant that we are just as we are indded, having no grudge against anybody, straightforward fellows

Нецеремонный (или необременённый хорошими манерами )

Originally Posted by ponzu

I guess, my problem is: what exactly do we mean by "простой"?

not sophisticated, not pretentious

Translate the phrase.

Yea people, seriosuly stop pussyfooting around the poor persons phrase and just give it to them already.

Translate the phrase.

It means...

'We in Russia are a simple people (nation)'.

Done.

Dogboy, do you know the song I am talking about?

Насколько я помню, в песне эта фраза звучит так: "мы из России народ простой" ~ "We, Russians, are simple folks"

No, sorry, i dont know the song.

Ума Турман!

Dogboy and other foreigners, what do you think of translations.nm.ru's version?

Does "simple" in English properly reflect the meaning of "простой" as "unceremonious"? He sings about having no problem approaching Uma Thurman since "we are from Russia, we're simple".

maybe something like "we're just plain folk."

Originally Posted by ponzu

Dogboy and other foreigners, what do you think of translations.nm.ru's version?

Does "simple" in English properly reflect the meaning of "простой" as "unceremonious"? He sings about having no problem approaching Uma Thurman since "we are from Russia, we're simple".

In my inferior mind, "we are simple people" (simple folks) means "unceremonious", "we don't require much", "easy-going".

So the answer is yes. I wouldn't say "we are simple" but "we are simple people"

You see, kalinka, простой is such a complex word

True, it means all the things you said, but basically whoever sings it brags about having no social inhibitions.

But he does not sing "we are from Russia, we are socially uninhibited", this would sound stupid. So I am trying to think of an English word that is as simple as простой, yet in means "without inhibitions, someone who finds it easy to approach a celebrity on the simple grounds of being Russian".

socially unhibited... hmm... yes, simple would be too broad of a definition for such a specific statement. I would go for the synonym easy-going

It's easy to be famous, because we Russians are easy-going people.

Whaddayasay?

I don't know.

Easy-going is always a good thing. Простой is a mixed bag. Somebody who walks up to your girlfriend and cops a feel is also простой.

You can say "uninhibited to a fault", but again, it's not the type of translation I am thinking about.