Flying Carpet

Here is a closeup of a nice handwoven rug I just bought. I hope you can see the airplanes! Does this make it a ковер-самолет? My son certainly thinks so.

Tired Hands, Reading Backwards

I love translating, but my hands get very tired most days. Each particular task comes with its own ache - the first two fingers on my right hand burn after a day of time coding subtitles, my left wrist gives out on me after a couple of hours of fast typing, and the space between my right thumb and forefinger gets sore when I use the mouse to edit. And for a hobby, well, I knit!

Since I want to keep working for many, many years these aches and pains are starting to worry me. I've already tried the fancy ergonomic keyboard. It didn't help. Other translators swear by speech recognition software. I'm kind of a technophobe, so I've put off investigating this possible solution. But I noticed the free Dragon Dictation app in iTunes the other week and decided to give it a spin.

Two observations: 1. The software works surprisingly well. 2. I don't like dictating translations.

Working with Dragon Dictation has made me realize how deeply ingrained my translation habits are. When I look at a chunk of Russian text, I start typing words that I think may be useful in the translation. Not always in order. Then I use shortcut keys to run back and forth between the words, rearranging them and adding new information. To an observer, it probably looks like I'm playing a strange version of the shell game. If I want to use dictation software, I'll have to form complete sentences in my head and then read them aloud. That's doable, but it won't be easy.

I do have one trick up my sleeve, though. When I'm in a big hurry, I do what I call "reading backwards." Longer Russian sentences tend to organize their information "backwards," putting the new or important information at the end. English puts new or important information at the beginning of sentences. So I read each Russian sentence backwards and type it out in English as I read. This works surprisingly well, and it may be a good technique to combine with dictation to save my poor hands some pain.

О шерифах и ментах

Наконец-то решила заняться шерифом. Почему? Потому, что меня часто спрашивают, чем этот шериф отличается от state trooper или police. Попробую ответить коротко.

Шериф появился раньше всех в истории правоохранительных структур в Америке. Власти в Англии назначали шерифов, чтобы следить за порядком и собирать налоги в колониях. После революции, должность шерифа продолжала существовать без особых изменений. В случае надобности, шериф мог призывать местных жителей на облаву преступника, но шерифские будни протекали иначе - содержанием тюрьмы, организацией выборов и собиранием налогов. Такая общая административная работа.

State troopers и police - структуры более современные. Бостон создал первый городской police department в 1838 г. State troopers (они же и Highway Patrol) появились уже в 20-м веке. Должностные инструкции у них бывают разные, в зависимости от штата, но как правило state troopers занимаются движением на трассах и личной безопасностью губернатора, а police просто ловят преступников в черте своего города.

В больших городах, старый шериф теперь всего лишь доставляет подозреваемых из jail в courthouse и обратно. В глухих местах, шериф и его помощники патрулируют за чертой городков и населенных пунктов.

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The Snake Eaters

Hedgehogs are blessed with wonderfully descriptive names in every language. The English name brings to mind a little animal snuffling around under bushes. In German, they are called igel, from an Old Teutonic word for "prickly." In Russian, a hedgehog is a ёж (yozh). I couldn't think what the root would be offhand, so I decided to look it up for fun.

According to Vassmer, the name ёж is like the name медведь (med-VED', "bear") because it is a cyper, in this case meaning "snake eater."

If you look at the Vassmer entry on ёж you, too, may notice something I found strange at first. He says that the Russian name for hedgehog also gave us the word for blackberry - ежевика (ye-zhe-VEE-ka), a spiny hedge if I ever met one! Perhaps hedgehogs got their English name not because they waddle around under bushes, but because they are spiny like hedges.

Thinking about spiny hedges reminded me of the Czech hedgehog, an anti-tank obstacle from WWII.

In parting, here is a Russian hedgehog doing what all Russian hedgehogs are supposed to do when no one is looking - carrying mushrooms on his quills: