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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

мол

English translation: См.

15:40 Apr 21, 2013
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Russian term or phrase: мол
An older emigre woman living in Prague is writing letters home. I would use "like" but it makes her sound like a teenagers.

она писала письма своим старым приятельницам, мол, так и так, живу здесь как в раю, но ответов почему-то не получала,

She wrote letters to her old girlfriends, мол, so anyway, it's like heaven here, but for some reason nobody answered.
Deborah Hoffman
Local time: 08:32
English translation:См.
Explanation:
I would count this word as a "word-parasite". You can substitute this in English by "you know", "ah", etc.
Selected response from:

Alexander Teplitsky
Local time: 08:32
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +5См.
Alexander Teplitsky
4 +3as a rule of thumb, omit omit omit
Mark Berelekhis
4 +3say
rns
4 -2allegedly
Pham Xuan Thanh


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
См.


Explanation:
I would count this word as a "word-parasite". You can substitute this in English by "you know", "ah", etc.

Alexander Teplitsky
Local time: 08:32
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Susan Welsh
41 mins
  -> Спасибо
agree  The Misha: Or "well", or both even, like "saying that, well, you know, I am really all set here, except that no one ever wrote back." You are on the right track here, tovarishch :)
5 hrs
  -> Спасибо
agree  Elena Ow-Wing
6 hrs
  -> Спасибо
agree  Roman M
8 hrs
  -> Спасибо
agree  cyhul
6 days
  -> Спасибо
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30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
allegedly


Explanation:
supposedly believed to be so (but not yet proved)
http://quizlet.com/4483147/to-kill-a-mockingbird-vocabulary-...


Pham Xuan Thanh
Local time: 19:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in VietnameseVietnamese
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Susan Welsh: Dear Pham, I've noticed that you often document your responses by citing usages/definitions of the English word you're suggesting. I'm sure Deborah knows what "allegedly" means and how it is used; the problem is with "мол." My suggestion for the future.
19 mins
  -> Let's see.
disagree  The Misha: Let's see what? This is hopeless.
5 hrs
disagree  Mikhail Kropotov: Let's not see
17 hrs
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
as a rule of thumb, omit omit omit


Explanation:
and substitute with something conveying a casual tone. As in,

"she wrote letters to her girlfriends about her goings-on and generally blissful life..."

There. Isn't that a heck of a lot better?

Mark Berelekhis
United States
Local time: 08:32
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 467
Notes to answerer
Asker: I agree completely - I've just never understood the use of this мол to reproduce it in a similar tone. Your input helps.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  The Misha: You know I don't do literary -I write my own, thank you very much. If it doesn't sound right in the target language, it's a no go, regardless of the what the source really says. The reader couldn't care less, the reader just wants to be entertained.Cheers
2 hrs
agree  Mikhail Kropotov: A good solution for sure. But if we had to put a word there, how about "talking of this and that"?
9 hrs
  -> Sure, that works here.
agree  Susan Welsh
17 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
say


Explanation:
"мол" — Употребляется как вводное слово, соответствующее по значению сл.: говорят, дескать.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2013-04-22 05:05:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As in “She used to write letters her old friends saying ‘Well, my life here is like heaven’, usually with no reply.”

Just to illustrate that "мол, так и так" (так, мол, и так), however parasitic or needless it would seem, is here for a reason. It sets pace and rhythm and, as such, can hardly be translated by omission.

rns
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 64

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nikolai Muraviev
0 min
  -> Спасибо.
agree  Maria Popova
22 mins
  -> Спасибо.
agree  Nadezhda Ward
20 hrs
  -> Спасибо.
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