12:19 May 9, 2018 |
Russian to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / Joke | |||||||
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| Selected response from: Dmitry Zaikin Uruguay Local time: 10:15 | ||||||
Grading comment
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Summary of answers provided | ||||
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4 +2 | кто? is a viable response for both "what?" and "who" |
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5 +1 | See explanation below |
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Summary of reference entries provided | |||
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в чем смысл шутки "петров амбидекстр. кто? петров" |
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Discussion entries: 14 | |
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кто? is a viable response for both "what?" and "who" Explanation: The second person does not know what амбидекстр means. Because амбидекстр is a noun in Russian, their response means "He's a who?", shortened to "Who?" But it is understood by the first person as "who are you talking about / what's that person's name again?". A literal translation into English doesn't work because ambidextrous is an adjective, not a noun, and therefore the second person would never reply "Who?". I'll keep thinking of a way to word it so that the humor comes across. And yes, it is indeed a very funny joke and one of my favorites. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 hrs (2018-05-09 14:27:02 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- I think the grammar aspect may be the key to solving this translation riddle. We are looking for a noun, not an adjective, that will raise most people's eyebrows when they hear it. It doesn't have to be related to dexterity at all. However, it does need to be at least remotely, err, relevant, so that one person could realistically share such a piece of information with another. Please stay tuned while I look for a suitable candidate :) P.S. Please bear with me, and sorry for persisting in this. Localizing jokes is a hobby that I take more seriously than most :) -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 hrs (2018-05-09 15:16:22 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- How about bibliophile? -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2018-05-10 16:14:24 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- "Did you know Sarah is a bibliophile?" "Who?" "Sarah!" Are you sure this doesn't work? At least in the US, I've often heard folks casually say "who?" in reference to things, not people. |
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Notes to answerer
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5 days confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
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10 mins peer agreement (net): +3 |
Reference: в чем смысл шутки "петров амбидекстр. кто? петров" Reference information: Анжелика Костнер Ученик (96), Вопрос на голоcовании 4 года назад Что-то я не понимаю. В чем смысл анекдота: -Ты слышал, что Петров амбидекстр? -Кто? -Петров. Мария Мазаева 4 года назад Мастер (1333) Ну там собеседник спрашивает, имея в виду, кто такой амбидекстр, а первый думает, что тот переспрашивает. Понятно объяснила?)) https://otvet.mail.ru/question/166826975 |
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