Thread: Married, single, divorced

Thanks Throbert.
I didn't know the case was so complicated and hard to unravel, because in Russian we have more or less constant tinges of these words which don't vary very much regionally.

Originally Posted by Medved

Thanks Throbert.
I didn't know the case was so complicated and hard to unravel, because in Russian we have more or less constant tinges of these words which don't vary very much regionally.

"tinges" here should be "shades of meaning" or "connotations," probably.

Anyway, there are other examples that come to mind. The name "Pussy Galore" (from the James Bond novel/movie Goldfinger) has exactly the same sexual meaning in both the UK and the US -- but it sounds "более пошлый" to American ears than to British ears. And when the UK-produced film was released in the States (this was back in 1964, remember), some movie theaters refused to show it, at least in conservative Southern cities.

On the other hand, the title of the 1999 Austin Powers movie The Spy Who Shagged Me (which was a US production) was "censored" for television advertisements in the UK, where "shag" sounds more vulgar than in the US. Again, the title MEANS exactly the same thing in both countries (i.e., "The Spy Who Had Sex with Me"), but the slang term shag isn't as "dirty" in America.

P.S. The discussion about the word cock being "completely safe for children" in some contexts, but "мат" in other contexts, reminded me of a classic (though untranslatable) joke. To tell it properly, be sure to do your best impression of a rooster's crowing:

Q. What's the difference between a rooster and an inexpensive prostitute?
A. The rooster says Cock-a-doodle-doo!, and the inexpensive prostitute says Any-cock'll-do!

P.P.S. I am also reminded that Мастер и Маргарита has been translated several times once into English -- and in the Pevear/Volkhonsky version, the title of chapter 14, "Слава петуху", is rendered in an exactly literal way: "Glory to the Cock"!!!



Which would be an excellent name for a gay-pr0n website, or for certain bars in Amsterdam's red-light district. Also, Tom Cruise's character from Magnolia would approve of the sentiment. Rumor has it that the real-life Tom Cruise would approve, too.

However, I'm fairly sure this is totally not the effect that Bulgakov was aiming at in this chapter! (The Pevear/Volkhonsky edition has, by the way, been widely praised -- but translating Слава петуху as "Glory to the cock" definitely qualifies as OMG EPIC FAIL.)