7 typical Russian problems in English speech

The subject of this article is an attempt to systematize cultural differences, and typical mistakes that we make with our foreign colleagues. Most of the examples are taken from the book Russian Problems in English Speech . I took the liberty of a small popularization of the topic, the supply of comments and my own examples.

1. I am right and you are not
The concept of “right” - “wrong” brought many misfortunes to representatives of the USSR in the international arena. The use of these words by Soviet diplomats almost at every step was a constant source of irritation among Western diplomats and an obstacle to the achievement of many agreements. The American linguist Edward Glenn gave a wonderful philosophical explanation for this phenomenon:

“Soviet diplomats often characterize the position of their interlocutor as“ incorrect ”- incorrect. However, they do not accuse their opponents of falsifying the facts, but simply refer to the misinterpretation of these facts. Such an approach is understandable only in the context of the Marxist-Hegelian thinking, which assumes that historical events develop in a certain and predetermined way. Therefore, any approach that does not correspond to history is equally and does not correspond to the truth; it is just as wrong as solving a mathematical problem. And our ideas, on the contrary, usually support compromises ... the idea that each question has two sides is difficult for those who are not familiar with this concept and its influence. ”
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The deep conviction that “everyone is right in their own way”, that “all ideas and values ​​are relative,” the fear of wrongly offending the interlocutor sometimes create for Russians the idea of ​​Americans as mummies and mattresses. In Russian, the word "compromise" has many meanings; it may mean the rejection of certain provisions defended by the two conflicting parties and the acceptance of mutually acceptable concessions. But it also means giving up the fundamental principles, which gives the word a negative connotation. The English compromise is completely devoid of this second meaning - deviation from the “right” path. In English, adopted in the United States, compromise always has a positive meaning.

I put this point in the first place, because I believe that this is precisely what many commentators of habrahabr lack and this point we need to learn. If on the English-language forum we see the expression you're wrong, then with a high degree of probability they will come from the former USSR.

2. Using colloquies

A recent graduate of a Moscow-language high school, she wanted to show her husband that she had mastered his culture well, and began to trump expressions from the vocabulary of people on the street, in buses and restaurants. Instead I'm going, she said I was gonna, and instead I want to - I wanna, that in her husband's ears sounded very simple and rude. Listening to these far-off phrases every day, he was eventually forced to tell his wife that her personality and manner of expressing herself were completely at odds with each other.

Often we try to trump up knowledge and put in conversations: Yap, nope, yeah, man, I'm good. I think it is possible to switch to familiar communication only after the interlocutor shows some markers of familiarity, for example: Wassup man?

3. Two time accounts

People’s communication and mutual understanding largely depend on how they relate to time and what lexical means they express it. Components of an important area of ​​conscious human activity, this attitude and language means change so much from culture to culture that they sometimes cause the serious misunderstandings that occur with native Russian and English speakers. They, for example, differ even in the semantics of such a simple expression as just a minute. Although both in Russian and in English “minute” is a unit of time consisting of 60 seconds, in its meaning and usage just a minute does not coincide with the analogous Russian phrase “one minute”.

How to explain such discrepancies is a question, the answer to which was given by the American cultural expert Edward Hall, who put forward two concepts of time - monochronic and polychronous. In the countries of monochronic culture (USA, England, Germany and in the countries of Scandinavia) time strictly regulates the behavior of people and at the same time the relationship between them. An American, for example, focuses all his attention on a complex problem, solves it and proceeds to the next. For him, the task is more important than the relationship with the people who assist him. He takes his time seriously, appreciates his quickness and does not attach much importance to short-term relationships with the person with whom he made a one-time deal, played a game of tennis and may never meet again.

In other cultures (Russian, in many Mediterranean, Arab, Latin American and some Asian) time is often perceived as polychronic, that is, people's attention is drawn simultaneously to several events: a person knows how to behave flexibly, doing three or four planned cases at once. When something is planned in such countries, friendly relations, not deadlines, are put at the forefront, and personal relationships can prevail over the interests of the cause.

It should be noted that the people of India are also carriers of polychronous culture. So what is the best to clarify on which Monday you agree (from personal experience).

4. Modesty paints only a Soviet person

... explaining her resume in a conversation with the director, she told about where she received her education, about the conditions and underwater reefs of her work, but did not even mention her leadership of the school circle of English, about exciting trips with children outside the city, about their meetings with students language universities and foreigners whom she herself invited to school, etc. I asked my friend why she kept silent about all this. “I was uncomfortable,” she said, “at the first meeting and immediately brag.”

Before me, however, the question arose: how is it that an experienced English teacher from Moscow did not know that when applying for work in the United States, excessive shyness was completely not accepted, that here one who is not assertive enough presents himself from the best side (to present a positive self-image / engage in aggressive style presentation), looks in the eyes of employers as a person who is not very interested in work or does not have the required qualities and qualifications. As they say in America, if you don’t have your own horn,

Legendary entrepreneur Lee Iacocca said that it is always better to hire someone who is trying to bite off more than he can chew than someone who is trying to do less.

5. Request and appeal

In Russian there are many ways to ask politely. This is the subjunctive mood with the “would” particle, modal verbs, diminutive pet suffixes, and the Russian “magic word” of the courtesy “please”. Desire or request is also often expressed through negative constructions.

In English, such "magic" keywords are please or thank you. They are absolutely necessary for any request addressed to the next of kin, friend, boss, colleague, subordinate or waiter, and therefore they are found in English more often than in Russian, where there is a subjunctive mood with denial and other ways of expressing a polite request. But in English, these grammatical forms are much rarer or not used at all, and therefore Americans and Russians involuntarily find themselves in a room of laughter. The first of them, speaking in Russian, often seem to be native speakers of this language and prone to sarcasm: every now and then, they use the “page-asta” to the place and out of place instead of saying “be kind”, “be kind ", Use the question of denial" whether you can not, or restrict the rising intonation. In turn, Russians, when they speak English, neglect the word please, which is the most important reason why they are considered poorly educated in America. As a result, there is a paradoxical situation: when they switch to each other’s language, the representatives of the two cultures cease to sympathize with each other because of differences in their formulas of politeness. This phenomenon was recently noticed by the psychiatrist L. Chorekchyan:

“Russians who live here notice that the new arrivals are somehow not very kind, because for some reason they don’t often say“ thank you ”and“ please ”... English please and thank you are empty words for you because you do not speak or think in English, and of course you don’t feel anything "

The skill to reinforce any request with the word please should be reverted to automatism. Give me five bucks, please.

For the apology, I use the following expressions:
Oops, sorry - clicked somewhere not there.
Sorry for the inconvenience is a standard excuse, if the French are not right, then it is better to apologize just in case.
We extremely apologize for the - The upper scale of apologies. (Randomly formatted customer's hard drive)

6. Optimism, sympathy and condolence, regret and pity

The American mentality has long been the subject of close attention of a large number of thinking people in the Old and New Worlds. One of these people in the last 50 years was a rather influential Protestant activist - New York pastor Norman Vincent Peale, whose book The Power of Positive Thinking, published in 1952, immediately became a bestseller, and its name was catch phrase. According to the author of this book, in Americans from early childhood there is a belief in the power of “positive thinking”, which implies an optimistic attitude and a friendly attitude towards people. “Yes, there are difficult situations in life, but in the end everything will work out, everything will be adjusted, formed” (or “settled down”, as is sometimes joking in Russia), - here, in short, the philosophical credo of theorist of positive thinking. A person who lives in accordance with this creed must always succeed - in relationships with friends and family, at work and at rest.

If, after the interview, the employer gives you a turn away from the gate, you have “not been able to fully understand” (a failure of mutual understanding), and any mass dismissal is called “state optimization” (rationalizing the work force). downsizing). Especially this thoughtless cheerfulness is common in the real estate trade: in their language, “cozy” (cozy) means “there is nowhere to turn” (a tight squeeze, but hole in the wall); and “beautiful countryside” (picturesque / lovely / quaint / rural location / neighborhood / neighborhood) - “you cannot reach one store on foot” (stores in walking distance) ”
The modern “positive-minded” American optimist has never experienced such misfortunes, which in a short time fell to the lot of the Russian people, such as revolution, famine, Stalin’s purges and the fascist German occupation of a large part of the country. For a US resident, failure is something short-term and transitory: better luck next time (“no luck today, luck tomorrow”). This applies to work and personal life. You were fired, so what of it? Find another job - more interesting and highly paid. Divorced after a failed marriage - this is not a tragedy. The proverb says: the second marriage is better than the first. In short, in America, a loser (loser) does not cause such sympathy at all, as in Russia.

Bringing her little son to the playground, the American mother does not tell him: “Look, do not fall,” “Carefully, do not get dirty,” but releases him with the wish: Have fun! You can do it! (“Come on!”)

Therefore, for the same feeling, you can get different comments depending on the culture:
- You have a great product!
- Your product did not cause me unpleasant feelings.

7. False Translator Friends

Problem . The words “problem” and problem do not exactly match each other in all shades of meaning. In both languages, this word may mean a question, or dilemma, requiring solution. But in a specific context, this Russian “problem” takes on a different meaning, and then it is much more relevant to issues or questions.

During business trips to Russia, Americans often hear from a Russian colleague that they will have to discuss or solve a number of problems with him, and then they wonder why, from their point of view, there were no problems. It turns out that the one who offered to get together wanted to discuss what the series of questions, topics, agenda items mean, and in English is called: issues, questions, subjects, topics, agenda items, elements (for discussion). As for the word problem, for the English-speaking it means a question on which there are serious differences in the positions of the parties or which will be difficult to solve. If there are no such controversial or complex issues, then it is better not to frighten the interlocutor and warn not about “problems” (problems), but to say:

Ok . Unfortunately, many foreign guests in the United States not only consume, but sometimes also abuse OK. This happens when they want to express their approval or agreement on an issue and automatically put too much “positive charge” on the OC. As a result, this word is so often used by foreigners that in a number of cases it loses all meaning. As one Italian journalist, who lived in America for a year, wrote recently, his compatriots, barely getting off the plane, fall asleep to those who meet with a whole hail of OK, regardless of whether they agree with the interlocutor and understand what they are talking about.

Although OK is not as popular among Americans as in other countries, the United States is probably the only place on the planet where the semantics of this word is not distorted. Here it is not on duty, even though it is very colloquial in style. In a businesslike, formal environment, OK is usually not used. For example, in response to a request from a superior: Could you please have this memorandum ready by 2:00 this afternoon? the answer is not recommended: OK, sure, it is better to say: Yes, of course / Certainly / Will do. In an informal setting, OK often serves as confirmation of an already agreed arrangement: So we meet at 6:00 am at? - OK / Fine, see you later / then.

The Russians often overlook the polysemy of OK, believing that this word always means only a statement - yes, all right, in the sense of “yes, I agree.” But it also matters Did you understand me? (“Did you understand me?”), And ignorance of this leads to frequent oddities, one of which happened to my acquaintance from Russia. He was in the US, but had to go to Caracas. And to get a visa to Venezuela went to her consulate, located in a major American city. The consulate was closed. It's open from ten to twelve, ok? “Open from ten to twelve, OK!” Said the guard. - No, that's not OK, I need a visa - “Nothing's OK. I need a visa, ”he objected.

Not at all. One of the markers of soviet English school. As our speaker Jonathan noted:
guys, can I make a friendly suggestion?
please somebody, please say something other than "not at all" when somebody says ... I like it, I’m making it a little bit different.
"Not at all" would be a good response to somebody asking "do you mind if .....?"

Although I usually prefer to write "you're welcome!"

Used Books:

1. Vladimir Jelvis, These Weird Russians (Moscow: Egmont Russia Ltd., 2002)
2. Lynn Wisson. Authorized translation from English: “Where are the Russians?”: Lynn Visson. Per. from English Ed. 3rd, stereotypical. - M .: R.Valent, 2005
3. L. Chorekchyan, Revelations of a Russian psychotherapist on American soil (Moscow: KSP +, 2001)
4. English without fools. real-english.ru
5. Alexander Dragunkin, 33 "features" of the English language. (Publishers: ANDRA, Anglo-European Publishers, 2005)

UPD. Humor. 25 mistakes, which are most often made in English by former students of Soviet schools and institutes. in pictures
Video:
Robert Dempsey - Distributed Agile in a Multicultural World

PS My name is Anton Marchenko, I have no linguistic education, but I worked for two years as Head of Customer Care Department in the www.targetprocess.com project (70% of US and Canadian clients). I will tell you about my experience of establishing processes in the technical support team next week.
UPD. The experience of forming a support-team and a little about SMM