LOST IN TRANSLATION

Etymological investigation into my native English language often reveals subtlety in meaning that has been lost in common usage. This type of loss is even more apparent when translating from one language to another. For example, our English-speaking Romanian and Hungarian friends used the word "problem" so often that we came to believe that everything here was a problem. Not so - there is a "problem" in the translation to English from both languages. The word "problem" in Romanian AND Hungarian does not carry the negative connotation we associate with it in everyday American usage. It is more like a "problem" in mathematics - something that needs to be solved - no more - no less - no negative aspects. A problem simply needs to be solved; there is no connotation of difficulty. Well - that certainly sheds a different light on the many "problems" that are spoken of here!

We are continually surprised at the number of people that speak English. Since they do not use English between themselves, many Romanians and Hungarians do not know that many of their acquaintances and much of the general population do speak some English. This widespread knowledge of English is not so surprising when one has visited schools at any grade level. We were greatly impressed with the knowledge of English after having attended a high school class presentation of excerpts from the plays and poetry of Shakespeare. There is, however, a problem with fluency when Shakespeare is the model for current communication. A Shakespearean vocabulary with iambic pentameter cadence presents a convoluted and curiously quaint business letter not to mention a unique casual conversation.

Mistranslation is even more prevalent as you watch local television which is saturated with American sitcoms and soaps subtitled in Romanian. These programs provide an easy opportunity to learn English! Peppered with four-letter-words and slang, the subtitles of the dialogue rarely provide accurate information. The politeness of the subtitles would leave one to believe that Americans never use the name of God in vain, do not refer to bodily functions, and never insult someone's mother. Street language is transformed into usage reserved for conversation with one's grandmother. This often provides fascinating conversations with TV and movie buffs - not to mention pop music enthusiasts.

Among the older generations, the knowledge of English is spotty but celebrated with great enthusiasm. Visiting a very small Hungarian community in Transylvania, we were greeted by a village elder who proudly recounted his internment as an American prisoner-of-war in Germany during World War II. He still remembered ONE word in English which he was delighted to share with us - "goddamnsonofabitch". He didn't know exactly what it meant; however, he thought it was a form of greeting! During the conversation he began to remember additional English and came up with the ever present "Hello" used when first meeting someone AND when departing. We had been perplexed over the frequent use of "Hello" instead of "Goodbye". But we learned that in both Hungarian and Romanian, there are words that mean both things. This accounted for the use of the same English word in both situations!

Little kindergartners learning English know the animals - deer, duck, mouse etc., but adults even partly familiar with English often don't. No problem - driving down the road with a local friend, three ducks are in the road - they are immediately identified as "Donalds" - a mouse scampering across the floor is "Mickey" and four stately deer standing on the hillside are "Bambi". Communication would have been almost impossible without what I shall term "Walt Disney English". However, one is put off a little in a restaurant when the waitress finally translates a menu item as "Bambi" or "Donald". I haven't been offered "Mickey" ... yet!

Phraseology is also important. I normally would ask "Do you have Coca-Cola?" in a store or restaurant. The reply engendered would be "Why do you want to know?". The phrase in Romania should have been "I want Coca-Cola". (They are more direct than Americans in this instance.) Also, a store might have something but that something might not be for sale. I have asked "Do you have lumber?" at a lumberyard and told "yes". After a long and difficult conversation, I discovered that although they did have lumber, none of it was for sale.

Among the many problems of translation, one serious consideration occurs when either there is no one directly translatable word and a phrase is required, or there are numerous individual words that have varied meanings but have only one corresponding word in the other language. Both Hungarian and Romanian use "arm" for describing the arm AND hand and "leg" for the leg AND foot. It's as if hands and feet don't exist! The leg bone is not connected to the foot bone, the arm bone is not connected to the hand bone! (Not to mention "Now hear the word of the Lord!")

I don't remember the exact wording of the joke we heard, but the meaning was clear, money in Romania is worthless even as defined by the Romanian word for money. Romanian money has suffered continually from inflation and devaluation: 45%+ this year alone. The joke, as so many are here, is a play on words. "Bani" is the translation into Romanian for "money". "I don't have any money" is "N-am bani de loc." The Romanian currency is the lei (singular "leu")and right now $1.00 equals 4620 lei. A "ban" (singular of "bani") is 1/100 of a leu. That means that one ban is worth $.0000021645 - or one cent is worth 46.2 lei. Bani coins have disappeared from circulation. It's too bad that the Romanian word for money is represented by a worthless coin. And that's the joke and it's really not very funny. A year ago we had American style sheets made by a man who took in sewing at home - the second job for this young husband with two children. He talked about how hard it is to support his family. I asked him what were the good things in his life. His reply still makes me get choked up: "The best time is when I'm asleep and don't think about it."

An American often receives the reply "No". The meaning is the same in all three languages but the connotation can be quite different. In Romania "No", "Nem" or "Nu" is the primary response to a question or request when the American equivalent would more likely be "I don't know", "What you are requesting is not standard procedure" or "I don't want to bother with either you or your request". This appears to be a response occasioned by bureaucratic frustration, fear of approaching something new or a determination that the request is either unimportant or futile. Given a reply of "no", persistence often does pay off and surprisingly does not seem to be held against one.

Similarly, bargaining can entail what would seem to Americans to be outrageous if not insulting offers, but once an agreement is reached, no hard feelings remain. In fact, hard bargaining appears to be viewed as a sign of intelligence and thereby generates respect. This is especially apparent when dealing with gypsies but applies in most all circumstances.