(no subject)

[paul-s.livejournal.com]

Thanks to all who helped me last time.  I have another word which is used by the God-forsaken woman in the same text as before that isn't in my dictionary.  What does вкуснятина mean?

Comments

[siberian-cat.livejournal.com]

Something very delicious. It's a colloquial word.

[mopexod.livejournal.com]

A tasty thing. From "вкус" <-> "taste".

[algyschit.livejournal.com]

"Yummy", "tasty".

[tau-lj.livejournal.com]

вкуснятина = вкусная еда = tasty meal

[bloodyweather.livejournal.com]

This noun is derrived from the adjective "вкусный" - tasty, delicious, and doesn't really have a direct translation into English.
E.g. Какая вкуснятина!

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Actually, yes it does: it's "yummy".

[bloodyweather.livejournal.com]

That's true, actually. Apologies.

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Well, does it though? It appears to be a noun, and no one would say "a yummy" in English. Even as an adjective "yummy" is rarely used these days (and only in childish or goofy conversation). A more likely direct equivalent in noun form would be a treat maybe. But, I'm not a Russian expert and don't know the Russian word that well, just a guess.

[wire-shock.livejournal.com]

That's just the same: childish and corny. Don't use it :-)

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Do you mean "treat" is childish and corny? I disagree. It is a bit childish but not as silly. And more importantly, a "treat" is at least a noun, whereas a "yummy" could never be a noun (and the Russian word in question appears to be a noun).

[wire-shock.livejournal.com]

No, I mean the Russian word in question.

[oryx_and_crake]

Don't expect that English nouns will be always translated by Russian nouns and vice versa. Naturally the equivalent to a noun would be "it is yummy" or "a yummy thing". Isn't this kinda obvious?

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Not to me. If you're looking for a direct translation, I would think determining the best fit would be based partially on the part of speech. So if you're translating a noun from Russian to English, finding an English noun that is equivalent would be preferred to finding an English adjective that is equivalent and slapping the word "thing" at the end. Thus, "a treat" might be a more direct translation than "a yummy thing." But this is all just my intuition, I'm not a professional translator nor a linguist.

[oryx_and_crake]

I would think determining the best fit would be based partially on the part of speech
---
And you will be wrong. The main purpose of translation (or expressing yourself in a foreign language) is to convey the meaning. Preserving parts of speech is as unimportant here as preserving the exact number of words in a sentence. "вкуснятина" has a certain corny and childish sound to it of which "a treat" is utterly devoid. So, if I were someone who does not know any Russian and you were explaining to me what the article is about, and if you translated "вкуснятина" with "a treat", I would be at a complete loss what caused the author's wrath about this word.

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

I think "a treat" also has a childish ring (I don't know too many adults who would say this seriously unless addressing a child). But it is arguably in slightly better (but still not good) taste. So I'm not convinced "a yummy thing," which just sounds pretty unnatural, wins here. But I see your point about looking for meaning over part of speech as a general rule. Perhaps in this case there is a third, better alternative.

[oryx_and_crake]

A third alternative in what? In a choice of word(s) to translate "вкуснятина" - maybe so. In a general approach to translation - no, there is no alternative. You do not translate WORDS. You translate MEANING. Word-by-word translation is the worst pitfall into which a translator or a language learner can get. If you translate words, you can produce monstrous phrases like "To me 20 years" ("Мне 20 лет") or "At me is a book" ("У меня есть книга").

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

yes, a better alternative translation (not methodology).

[vargtimmen.livejournal.com]

The most etymologically similar word would be "toothsome", but yes "yummy" is closer to вкусный in its playfulness.

[wire-shock.livejournal.com]

Note that this word is a bit corny. A bit bad taste. To my (native) ear, at least.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

+1. There is a certain vocabulary of this exact kind that makes me sick every time I hear it :)

[paul-s.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is, it's in an article moaning about the state of Russian by some woman that I can only call an 'irritating cow'. http://www.lgz.ru/archives/html_arch/lg112003/Polosy/art6_2.htm

[oryx_and_crake]

She actually gives this word as an example of an annoying tasteless advertising slogan, on which I agree with her 100%. And I must admit the article has a certain point. But the author's own language, while being grammatically correct, is really very heavy and reeks of the very bureaucratese she is condemning.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

What's funny about that? She picks up that word exactly as an example of what is inappropriate in "normal" Russian, and I am heartily agree with that.

[branwen.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend uses the word вкусна all the time to talk about something tasty.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

It's "вкусно," not "вкусна". But this is just a plain word, while the one mentioned here is a tasteless colloquial one.

[tiziana-salgado.livejournal.com]

She's right in many points, but sometimes she goes to far. “скучать по вам”, нужно – “по вас” instantly caught my eye and I was a bit surprised. Then after some research I've found that her allegedly right variant is an outdated one. The right one is the one she puts on the first place of her list of widespread mistakes. http://spravka.gramota.ru/hardwords.html?no=294&_sf=200