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21:54 Jan 20, 2012
Russian to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Government / Politics
Russian term or phrase:Общественно-политическая газета
Here's another great example of how one sometimes needs to reconcile the irreconcilable, i.e. the different dichotomy employed in two different languages. Remember, naming things (Russian, nouns) vs. naming actions (English, verbs)? From my experience, calling something a newspaper - rather than a tabloid - in itself implies a certain degree of seriousness, and no other descriptive labels are usually required.
I found yet another term, broadsheet, but that's primarily a technical term that largely refers to the full-size format and only then, by implication to the supposedly more serious contents. I don't like this word. For one thing, some of these supposedly more serious broadsheets are not really all that different from sensationalist and hysterical tabloids (New York Times, anyone?) For the other, no one really calls them that, not where I live anyway. I mean, hello, fellow Americans? Broadsheet newspapers, anyone? And finally, this may very well lead to confusion since as far as I remember the contents of perestroika-era Russian newspapers didn't really depend on their size. Some of the best stuff actually WAS in tabloid format. Is it still the case, by the way?
Any other suggestions and discussion entries (uh, the fun!) are welcome, but please do not insult my intelligence by suggesting "societal and political newspaper" or something of that ilk.
Explanation: There is such a term. Not knowing the context beyond what I can surmise from your mention in the discussion of something being published in a paper during the perestroika period, I would go with either just plain "newspaper", or "general audience newspaper". I agree with you that distinctions like tabloid/broadsheet (layout, and the latter isn't used much in the USA) and tabloid/mainstream (alleged qualitative difference in content) are likely not the point. Wouldn't it be more that this one was общественно-политическая and not, say "строительная" or "научно-популярная"? To express that category in English, "general audience" is not too bad.
I was about to go with Alex's "current affairs", and then Rachel came (and saw, and conquered) and blew me away with her most obvious of the solutions. As Stephen King puts it in his new novel, life turns on a dime - and it does. Many thanks, everyone. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
only confirms my original supposition that newspaper by itself is perfectly fine here, all the more so since the author of my text is not really trying to say anything in particular by this. It's just a brief description of a media venue where they had had an article published, one of many. What Alex suggested simply gives me a convenient way to counter a potential charge of having made an omission.
...on what, if anything, the author is attempting to convey by using this term. (What's the context?) If it's not intended to convey anything in particular, I would go with "newspaper," since by definition, all newspapers are (supposedly) about "news": i.e., current affairs. Which means socio-political affairs--as well as, of course, sports, horoscopes, gossip, advice to the lovelorn, comics, and stories about aliens giving birth to two-headed elephants.
If the author is trying to illustrate something moronic about Soviet life, then the more stilted, hyphenated adjectives the better.
For sure, "broadsheet" is not understandable outside the printing industry. "Tabloid" also refers to the dimensions of the paper. The National Inquirer is not a tabloid in size, but its junk character is associated with such tabloids as the New York Post or the New York Daily News.
I was strongly leaning towards just calling it a newspaper for lack of anything more suitable, but this is definitely better and sounds natural enough despite a certain tautological element to it (aren't all newspapers dedicated to "current affairs" by definition?) Anyway, as good Mr. Kobrin pointed out, it doesn't really need to make much sense, and I agree.
Despite the fact that many former 'broadsheets' now publish smaller-sized editions, the term is still commonly used in the UK to refer to the more serious newspapers as opposed to tabloids. But I agree, I haven't seen it used much in the US and I don't know that it has the same connotations here.
In the UK, 'quality' or 'serious' are also often applied to describe the same newspapers. But everyone has their own view of quality of course, and it may not suit what you are looking for in this case.
Explanation: Или socio-political weekly, если издание еженедельное.
Зе Миша, вы хотите чтобы вам перевели советское изобретение под названием "общественно-политическая газета" without insulting your intelligence? А разве можно перевести какой-либо сугубо советский термин without insulting one's intelligence? По-моему, сие невозможно, поскольку советский новояз по определению insults one's intelligence...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 23 mins (2012-01-20 22:18:23 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Quote: "Some of the best stuff actually WAS in tabloid format. Is it still the case, by the way?"
Yes. Why not? Самый удобный формат для чтения в автобусе, троллейбусе, метро... А когда нам еще читать газеты как не в дороге? ;-)
Nikita Kobrin Lithuania Local time: 15:00 Specializes in field Native speaker of: Russian
Notes to answerer
Asker: I totally agree with your take on the moronic nature of the Soviet lore, and the regime in general, to be sure. And yes, sure, there's nothing wrong with the smaller format - that is, if someone still bothers reading newspapers. Yet, I'd hate to drag that hyphenated or compound Soviet monstrosity into a perfectly innocent language. Plus, we don't know if it's a daily. Anyway, thanks for your input.
Explanation: There is such a term. Not knowing the context beyond what I can surmise from your mention in the discussion of something being published in a paper during the perestroika period, I would go with either just plain "newspaper", or "general audience newspaper". I agree with you that distinctions like tabloid/broadsheet (layout, and the latter isn't used much in the USA) and tabloid/mainstream (alleged qualitative difference in content) are likely not the point. Wouldn't it be more that this one was общественно-политическая and not, say "строительная" or "научно-популярная"? To express that category in English, "general audience" is not too bad.
Rachel Douglas United States Local time: 08:00 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 150
Grading comment
I was about to go with Alex's "current affairs", and then Rachel came (and saw, and conquered) and blew me away with her most obvious of the solutions. As Stephen King puts it in his new novel, life turns on a dime - and it does. Many thanks, everyone.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Man, I should have thought of that. General audience, of course, as in for general audiences. Thanks, Rachel.
The translation workplace 
