KudoZ home » Russian to English » Poetry & Literature

не танго, а тангишко

English translation: not a tango but a mere apology for a tango

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.

17:33 Nov 26, 2009

Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

Russian term or phrase: не танго, а тангишко

И какое же было моё разочарование, когда мы вошли в здание: обшарпанные стены, «непрезентабельного вида» учитель, отвратительная музыка -- не танго, а тангишко, причем, не живая музыка, а плохая запись.

(героиня описывает сцену в клубе танцев)

жалкое подобие?

Eng-Rus/Rus-Eng KudoZ activity Questions: 58 (2 open) (3 closed without grading) Answers: 95 United States
Local time: 10:34

English translation:not a tango but a mere apology for a tango

Explanation:
ranks were thinned to a mere apology for a parade http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A17FE3F581...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2009-11-26 17:42:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

a pair of the smallest eyes ever set in a human countenance and a mere apology for a nose http://www.classicreader.com/book/2433/18/

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2009-11-26 17:49:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

an easy, good-natured man, but not above mediocrity as a scholar and lawyer, and with but a mere apology for a library.http://books.google.com/books?id=lAE9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA632&lpg=P...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 27 mins (2009-11-26 18:01:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

this has the feeblest plot, in fact a mere apology for a story, and contains more passages which seem unfinishedhttp://books.google.com/books?id=6aLNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA674&lpg=P...

Ну, в общем, вы понимаете, мою мысль. Я думаю, что вы правы - речь идет о жалком подобии танго, которое ни в какое сравнение не может идти с самим танцем.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2009-12-02 00:30:34 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

You are most welcome.

Selected response from:

Angela Greenfield
United States
Local time: 10:34

Grading comment

Thank you all!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +2

instead of tango a cheap/pale imitation

Mark Berelekhis

3 +3

not tango, but some cheap tango schmango

Judith Hehir

4 +1

a pitiful excuse for a tango

Jim Tucker

3 +2

not a tango but a mere apology for a tango

Angela Greenfield

something vaguely tango-ish

Michael Korovkin

not a tango but god knows what

Maria Fokin

a slapstick imitation of the tango

Dan Brennan

Answers

7 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

instead of tango a cheap/pale imitation

Explanation:
English isn't quite as flexible.

Mark Berelekhis
United States
Local time: 10:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Russian,

English
PRO pts in category: 538
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field

8 mins confidence:

not a tango but god knows what

Explanation:
тангишто - чёрти что

Maria Fokin
Italy
Local time: 16:34
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Russian
PRO pts in category: 10

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

not tango, but some cheap tango schmango

Explanation:
An attempt at conveying the negative sense of -ишко by means of the Yiddish prefix. It might fly for some speakers. See note from Translator's Cafe:

"But also take into account that "shm" is a common Yiddish prefix of disparagement or rejection (often humorous), which replaces the initial consonant (if any) of the word. So if I'm at a party and someone says to me that I should be talking to Jacek, but I spy Joanna in the distance and prefer to talk to her, I might say 'Jacek, Shmacek! I want to talk to Joanna!'"
http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/MegaBBS/thread-view.asp?...

Judith Hehir
United States
Local time: 10:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 74
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Angela Greenfield: I like it! ("fancy - shmancy" as my Jewish mother-in-law describes some people who are trying to pretend to be something they are not).

27 mins

-> Yes, I love Yiddish! It's probably my favorite language. It beats them all in its expressiveness.

neutral

Dan Brennan: sounds lovely - I'm another fan of Yiddish - but I don't quite see how it could work here syntactically. I could imagine the following: They were dancing a tango? Tango-shmango! ie They weren't dancing anything resembling a tango!

4 hrs

-> Interesting. I guess I don't see/hear our Yiddishisms as rigid as, say, German syntax.

agree

Nick Grekov: That sounds best of all as you managed to preserve this repetition of "танго" in your translation, and the effect is preserved, too

17 hrs

-> Thank you, Nick.

agree

Tatiana Lammers

21 hrs

-> Thank you, Tatiana.

5 hrs confidence:

a slapstick imitation of the tango

Explanation:
That might work if you want something suitably colourful.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2009-11-27 01:01:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or 'a slapstick rendition of a tango'.... that's better imho.

Dan Brennan
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:34
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12

14 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

a pitiful excuse for a tango

Explanation:
I would avoid the whole "not a tango, but..." construction here in EN, as it is clumsy and superfluous.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 hrs (2009-11-27 07:37:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

But if you insist on using it, what you want is the stronger version:

"no tango, but"

(i.e. not "not a tango" -- too watery)

Jim Tucker
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 43

17 hrs confidence:

something vaguely tango-ish

Explanation:
or pathetically tango-ish

Michael Korovkin
Local time: 16:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Russian
PRO pts in category: 124

7 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

not a tango but a mere apology for a tango

Angela Greenfield
United States
Local time: 10:34
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Russian,

Ukrainian
PRO pts in category: 60

Grading comment

Thank you all!

Return to KudoZ list

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.

Overview

Latest translation questions

Ask a translation question

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

не танго, а тангишко

English translation: not a tango but a mere apology for a tango

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

Answers

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

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.

не танго, а тангишко

English translation: not a tango but a mere apology for a tango

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

Answers

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

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

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.