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It's not just about words: what problems in English speech spoil the life of Russian-speaking immigrants in the USA

'22.06.2021'

Lyudmila Balabay

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When we study English, we take a responsible approach to mastering grammar, building vocabulary and memorizing idioms. But at the same time, we often underestimate cultural differences, trying to speak English, and as a result, without realizing it, we insult the interlocutor, lose the coveted job and do not understand why our requests are not fulfilled. About what cultural peculiarities it is worth paying attention to when speaking English in the USA, said the publication “Life hacker".

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Most of the examples are taken from the book “Russian Problems in English Speech” by Lynn Visson, an American translator of Russian origin.

1. I am right, but you are not

The concept of "right" and "wrong" brought a lot of trouble to the representatives of the USSR in the international arena. The use of these words by Soviet diplomats at almost every step was a constant source of irritation among Western diplomats and a hindrance to many agreements.

Soviet diplomats often characterize the position of their interlocutor as “incorrect”. At the same time, they do not accuse their opponents of falsifying facts, but simply mean the misinterpretation of these facts. But in the USA there is no idea of ​​a “wrong” vision of the situation, each point of view deserves attention and a compromise must be sought.

The deep conviction that “everyone is right in his own way”, that “all ideas and values ​​are relative”, the fear of unjustly offending the interlocutor sometimes creates in Russians the idea of ​​Americans as mumbles and mattresses.

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In Russian, the word "compromise" is ambiguous; it may mean abandoning some of the provisions defended by the two conflicting parties and accepting mutually acceptable concessions. But it also means giving up fundamental principles, which gives the word a negative connotation. The English compromise is completely devoid of this second meaning - a departure from the "right" path. In English, adopted in the United States, compromise always has a positive meaning, so the American never says that his interlocutor is wrong or that his opinion is incorrect, unless it is about an error of fact or incorrect initial data.

2. Use of vernacular

You should not rush to adopt expressions from the vocabulary of people on the street, on buses and in restaurants in the United States. Many people can say I gonna instead of I'm going or I wanna instead of I want to. But this is something like an American surzhik and does not say anything good about the level of your education and culture. Therefore, you need to learn to feel the moment before using such phrases.

Often we try to trump knowledge and insert yap, nope, yeah, man, I'm good into conversations. You can switch to familiar communication only after the interlocutor shows some markers of familiarity, for example, asks: "Wassup man?"

3. Modesty is a dignity only in the understanding of a post-Soviet person

Our people are accustomed to the fact that it is not good to talk about their achievements, others should themselves notice and acknowledge your merits. But in the States, excessive shyness is completely unacceptable, especially when it comes to hiring or looking for business opportunities.

Someone who is not assertive enough to present himself from his best side (to present a positive self-image / engage in aggressive style presentation), during an interview in the United States looks like a person who is not very interested in the work or does not have the required qualities and qualifications. As they say in America, if you don't blow your own horn, no one will do it for you.

Legendary entrepreneur Lee Iacocca said it was better to hire a person who tries to bite off more than he can chew than someone who tries to do less.

4. Request and appeal

There are many ways in Russian to make a request politely. These are the subjunctive mood with the particle "would", modal verbs, diminutive-affectionate suffixes, as well as the Russian "magic word" of politeness "please".

In English, these “magic” keywords are please or thank you. They are absolutely necessary for any request addressed to the next of kin, friend, boss, colleague, subordinate or waiter, and therefore are found in English much more often than in Russian.

Russians have a subjunctive mood with negation and other ways of expressing a polite request, but in English these grammatical forms are much less common or not used at all. Therefore, Americans and Russians unwittingly find themselves in the "room of laughter." The first of them, speaking in Russian, often seem to the native speakers of this language strange and prone to sarcasm: they now and then, in place and in the wrong place, use "paazhaala-asta" instead of saying "be kind", "be kind ", Use a question with the negation" can you ", or limit yourself to ascending intonation. In turn, Russians, when they speak English, neglect the word please, which is the most important reason why they are considered poorly educated in America. As a result, a paradoxical situation: switching to each other's language, representatives of two cultures cease to sympathize with each other due to differences in their formulas of politeness.

5. Optimism, empathy and condolences, regret and pity

From early childhood, Americans have a belief in the power of "positive thinking", which implies an optimistic attitude and a benevolent attitude towards people.

“Yes, there are difficult situations in life, but in the end everything will work out, everything will work out, it will work out,” - this, in short, is the philosophical credo of the positive thinking theorist. A person who lives in accordance with this credo must certainly be accompanied by success in everything - in relations with friends and family, at work and rest.

If, after the interview, the employer gives you a turn, you “did not have a complete understanding” (failure to achieve / reach / there was a lack of mutual understanding), and any mass dismissal is called “rationalizing of the work force / downsizing). This thoughtless cheerfulness is especially prevalent in the real estate industry: in their language, “cozy” means “nowhere to turn” (a tight squeeze, a hole in the wall); and picturesque / lovely / quaint / rural location / neighborhood / community - “no stores in walking distance”.

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The modern "positive-minded" American optimist has never experienced the troubles that befell the Russian people in a short time: revolutions, famine, Stalin's purges and World War II. For a US resident, failure is something short-term and transient: better luck next time.

This applies to both work and personal life. You got fired, so what? You will find another job - more interesting and highly paid. Divorced after a failed marriage is not at all a tragedy. The proverb says: the second marriage is better than the first. In short, in America, a loser does not generate the same sympathy as in Russia.

Bringing her little son to the playground, the American mother does not tell him: “Look, do not fall”, “Careful, do not get dirty”, but lets him go with a wish: Have fun (“Have fun!”), You can do it! ("Come on!")

Therefore, you can get different comments on the same feeling depending on the origin of the client:
- You have a great product!
- Your product did not make me unpleasant.

6. False friends of the translator

Problem. The words "problem" and problem do not exactly match each other in all shades of meaning. In both languages, this word can mean a question or a dilemma to be solved. But in a certain context, this Russian "problem" acquires a different meaning, and then issues or questions correspond to it much more.

During business trips to Russia, Americans often hear from one or another Russian colleague that they have to discuss or solve “a number of problems” with him, and then they wonder why, from their point of view, there were no problems.

It turns out that the proposer wanted to discuss what in fact means a number of questions, topics, agenda items, and in English it is called: issues, questions, subjects, topics, agenda items, points, elements (for discussion). As for the word problem, for the English-speaking it means an issue on which there are serious differences in the positions of the parties or which will be difficult to resolve.

Ok. Unfortunately, many immigrants in the United States not only use, but sometimes abuse OC. This happens when they want to express their approval or agreement on some issue and automatically put too much "positive charge" into OK. At the same time, the word OK is not as popular among Americans as in other countries. The USA is probably the only place on the planet where the semantics of this word are not distorted. Here it is not on duty, even though it is very colloquial in style.

In a business, formal setting, OK is usually not used. For example, in response to your boss's request: Could you please have this memorandum ready by 2:00 this afternoon? not recommended answer: OK, sure, better to say: Yes, of course / Certainly / Will do. In informal settings, OK often acts as a confirmation of an already agreed agreement: So we'll meet at 6:00 at John's place for drinks? - OK / Fine, see you later / then.

Russians especially often forget about the polysemy OK, believing that this word always means only the statement - yes, all right, in the sense of "yes, I agree." But it also matters Did you understand me? ("Do you understand me?"), And ignorance about this leads to frequent curiosities.

Not at all. One of the soviet English school markers. Our people, who are accustomed to saying “not for anything” in response to gratitude, in the USA, when they hear Thank you, blur out Not at all. Don't do that. Better to say You are welcome.

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