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March 07, 2009

How do you say "gaffe" in Russian?

Tom Kelley sent me this link on an unfortunate translation error which may further degrade US/Russian relations:

After promising to "push the reset button" on relations with Moscow, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to present Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a light-hearted gift at their talks here Friday night to symbolize the Obama administration’s desire for a new beginning in the relationship.

It didn’t quite work out as she planned.

She handed him a palm-sized box wrapped with a bow. Lavrov opened it and pulled out the gift — a red plastic button on a black base with a Russian word "peregruzka" printed on top.

"We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?" Clinton said as reporters, allowed in to observe the first few minutes of the meeting, watched.

"You got it wrong," Lavrov said, to Clinton's clear surprise. Instead of "reset," he said the word on the box meant "overcharge."

I'm guessing that there'll be a vacancy in the State Department's translation bureau by Monday morning.

Whole thing here.

Posted by Nicholas at March 7, 2009 01:58 PM
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