Russian speakers needed

Tom   Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:17 pm GMT
Hello,

I am transcribing an interview with a Polish WW2 survivor. The problem is that some questions are phrased in Russian and my knowledge of the language is not that good. I was hoping some Russian speakers on this forum (preferably native speakers) could help me figure out what is being said.

Here is an mp3 file with the problematic clips:
http://www.antimoon.com/temp/problemowe.mp3

And here is my current version (with some gaps). Please excuse the romanized transcription. You can reply in Cyrillic if you prefer.

1. Kholost, sorok ___ let.

2. Pochemu vy ___ vyekhali iz Varshavy?

3. Teper vy mne rasskazhite po-polski vsyo to, chto vy pomnite s togo momenta, kak Nemtsy vzyali Varshavu i do togo dnya, poka vas osvobodili v Paryzhe. ?Idite? govorit. <pause> I ne sokrashchayte, govorite vo ?vsekh? ?detalyakh?.

4. Govorite kak khotite, govorite kak vy budete govorit s kem nibud drugim. Vy ___ prosto ?rassgovorivayete?, eto vsyo.


Thank you in advance for your help.

Tom
Mary   Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:02 pm GMT
1. Kholost, soroka trekh let.

2. Pochemu vy yekhali iz Varshavy?
or
Pochemu vy vyekhali iz Varshavy?
or maybe even
Pochemu vy oba (u)ekhali iz Varshavy?
(impossible to tell; can you give the context?)

3. Teper vy mne rasskazhite po-polski vsyo to, chto vy pomnite s togo momenta, kak Nemtsy vzyali Varshavu i do togo dnya, poka vas osvobodili v Paryzhe. Idite govorit'. <pause> I ne sokrashchayte, govorite vo vsej detali.
(the speaker makes mistakes in Russian language)

4. Govorite kak khotite, govorite kak vy budete govorit s kem nibud drugim. Vy schas prosto rassgovorivayete, eto vsyo.
Tom   Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:34 pm GMT
Mary,

Many thanks for your answers.

1. What is the meaning of "soroka trekh let"? Why not "sorok tri goda"?
2. "Oba" (both) does not make sense in the context. The speaker is talking about a single person.
3. What mistakes does the speaker make here?
4. "Schas" = "Seychas", right?

Thanks again.

Tom
Mary   Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:46 pm GMT
Hello, Tom.

> 1. What is the meaning of "soroka trekh let"? Why not "sorok tri goda"?
It's just a fixed structure. In Russian you may say: "девушка шестнадцати лет; ребенок двух лет" etc. It's a formal, bureaucratic style, of course, but sounds more naturally than your variant (which is also correct). If one say "мужчина, сорок три года" - it's also a formal context anyway, and it sounds like one is reading a text or a form with personal data for a first time and doesn't know what it's all about.


> 2. "Oba" (both) does not make sense in the context. The speaker is talking about a single person.
Then it should be #1 or #2. Again, depending on the context. Generally, #1 sounds more naturally. There is an extra sound before "yekhali", but may be it's just because of the speaker's accent.
I may try to explain the difference, if you wish, but I'm not sure I'll manage better than with the para above ;)

>3. What mistakes does the speaker make here?

(Teper [vy] [mne] rasskazhite po-polski vsyo [to], chto vy pomnite s togo momenta, kak Nemtsy vzyali Varshavu i do togo dnya, poka vas <ne> osvobodili v Paryzhe.) -
[vy], [mne] are not needed here; it sounds strage, but comprehensible; [to] can easily be omitted and I would do that;
<ne> is wanted here;

Was the interviewee literally set free in Paris?

(Idite govorit') this doesn't make sense; I would translate it as "go over there and speak" which is strange; may be the speaker wanted to say "go on speaking"?

(govorite vo vsej detali) the grammatically correct version would be "говорите во всех деталях", but still you cant' say this way in Russian. It's better to say "рассказывайте со всеми подробностями".

4. "Schas" = "Seychas", right?
Yep :) a weak form
Mary   Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:02 pm GMT
"рассказывайте во всех деталях" is also ok, by the way :)
Mary   Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:06 pm GMT
I am confused...
I think you may "описАть что-то во всех подробностях" и "показать что-то во всех деталях"; the difference is so subtle...
Tom   Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:31 am GMT
Mary, thank you for your precise answers. Are you are a native speaker of Russian?

No, the interviewee was not set free in Paris, but maybe the interviewer thought so when he was asking the question.

Thanks again,
Tom
Mary   Thu Jul 03, 2008 5:42 pm GMT
Yes, I am a native speaker; so sometimes I know how to say but don't know why ;)
Guest   Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:38 pm GMT
French Spammer this topic is for you. Please write your stupid comments.