#6590 #6591
#5 - JRL 6589
From: "Steve Shabad" <steve.shabad@verizon.net>
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002
Subject: Re 6587 - Gerber & Mendelson/
Anti-Americanism
I'd like to offer a linguistic clarification about the PONARS anti-American survey and Marian Dent's response to it. One of the categories used to describe respondents' attitudes is given in English as "with sympathy and interest." Presumably this corresponds to the Russian phrase "s simpatiei i interesom." The problem is that "sympathy" in English and "simpatiya" in Russian are false cognates, i.e. words derived from the same root that sound alike and seem like they would mean the same thing... but don't. "Simpatiya" in Russian essentially means "fondness." ("Sympathy" in English corresponds to the Russian word "sochuvstviye.")
Therefore the phrase in the survey is better rendered "with fondness and interest" -- and Marian Dent's comment, "Sympathy, 9/11 aside, does not appear to be an appropriate feeling towards citizens of a country as politically stable and well off as the US," really doesn't apply here.
Steve Shabad
Russian>English translator
Journalist/editor
Next Article
Dec. 6, 2002:
#6589 #6590 #6591
- Back to the Top -