Префектура

English translation: Absolutely no need to follow the Russian technical terms verbatim (see expl.)

20:36 Jan 18, 2014
Russian to English translations [PRO]
International Org/Dev/Coop / talking about the recipients of funding from a charitable organization
Russian term or phrase: Префектура
Is is just "the Prefecture"? For some reason I am not sure that this is the correct choice here.

The context:
Целью проекта является обеспечение продуктовыми наборами пожилых людей и инвалидов, переживших блокаду Ленинграда. Наборы включают специальные продукты, направленные на повышение качества жизни пожилого человека. Ежемесячно выдается пятьдесят таких наборов. Ежегодно помощь получают двести пятьдесят человек. «Нам никогда не давали чего-либо настолько хорошего ни в Префектуре, ни в Управах города Москвы», - комментирует Тамара Савосина, блокадница.
Sarah McDowell
Canada
Local time: 15:04
English translation:Absolutely no need to follow the Russian technical terms verbatim (see expl.)
Explanation:
… unless this is a research paper on local government systems or a witness statement to be used as evidence in court, which it doesn’t seem to be.

Besides, terms that describe units of administrative division and respective governance structures vary greatly from country to country, so to find a universal term is a challenging task. In many respects Moscow is a unique case, and the city is H U M U N G O U S!

Therefore, your English readership, not fully cognizant, if at all, of how the City of Moscow is organized, territorially divided, and governed, should stay that way and be grateful to the translator for not overburdening them with Russian city planning trivia, but offering something more easily digestible like this:

“… We’ve never been given anything close to such high quality (foodstuffs) by any of the local government offices (at any level) in the city of Moscow,” says …
Selected response from:

ViBe
Local time: 21:04
Grading comment
Thank you ViBe. Since this is a relatively simple text for a general readership, I went with your option. For a more precise text I would go with what Oleg said.
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2prefecture
Andrey Svitanko
4Prefect's Office
Oleg Lozinskiy
4Absolutely no need to follow the Russian technical terms verbatim (see expl.)
ViBe


  

Answers


40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
prefecture


Explanation:
http://www.lingvo-online.ru/ru/Translate/ru-en/префектура

Andrey Svitanko
Poland
Local time: 21:04
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks Andrey! I saw that in Lingvo but I thought it might be something else because this word is not commonly used in English.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Oleg Lozinskiy
11 mins
  -> Спасибо

agree  Pavel Andrianov: http://www.google.ru/search?q=prefectures of Moscow&newwindo...
11 hrs
  -> Спасибо)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

52 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Prefect's Office


Explanation:
Second option suggested by the hyperlink given by Andrey :-)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 56 мин (2014-01-18 21:33:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The underlying reason is that the Russian red-tape is VERY susceptible to 'words/word-blocks' borrowed from abroad to make them appear 'distinguished'. :-)

Oleg Lozinskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 23:04
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 12
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Absolutely no need to follow the Russian technical terms verbatim (see expl.)


Explanation:
… unless this is a research paper on local government systems or a witness statement to be used as evidence in court, which it doesn’t seem to be.

Besides, terms that describe units of administrative division and respective governance structures vary greatly from country to country, so to find a universal term is a challenging task. In many respects Moscow is a unique case, and the city is H U M U N G O U S!

Therefore, your English readership, not fully cognizant, if at all, of how the City of Moscow is organized, territorially divided, and governed, should stay that way and be grateful to the translator for not overburdening them with Russian city planning trivia, but offering something more easily digestible like this:

“… We’ve never been given anything close to such high quality (foodstuffs) by any of the local government offices (at any level) in the city of Moscow,” says …

ViBe
Local time: 21:04
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you ViBe. Since this is a relatively simple text for a general readership, I went with your option. For a more precise text I would go with what Oleg said.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks ViBe for this suggestion. No, it's not a specific formal document. It's part of an annual report for a charitable organization.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Oleg Lozinskiy: Why not translating Russian 'governance' terms as they appear in the source text? Verbatim? || Don't you have a 'Prefect's Office' in your country?
1 hr
  -> b/c they little add to the message while only confusing the target readership who are not familiar with the way Moscow is organized.//In WHICH of my countries?;) Олег, в каждой стране все эти структуры по-разному называются. А Москва - вообще уникальное о
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search