What sounds right or wrong in a language often has no rhyme or reason. One may be able to translate a phrase from Russian into English word for word, but it will most likely make no sense, or at least sound unnatural.
One reason for this is that different languages express the same basic ideas in entirely unique ways.For example, the sentences “Sorry for being late. I was standing in a traffic jam.” are grammatically correct. However, the second sentence might sound strange to a native English speaker as it is a direct translation from Russian, where such phrasing is commonly used.
Whereas in English-speaking countries, people would probably opt for more natural alternatives such as “I got stuck in traffic,” “I got caught in traffic,” or “I hit a lot of traffic.”
A corollary concept to this is that native speakers tend to express common ideas in arbitrary set phrases.In English, for example, it is normal to say:
- heavy rain but not strong rain;
- fast car but not quick car;
- good morning but not pleasant first half of the day;
- please marry me but not please become my spouse;
- plastic surgery but not plastic operation.
Compare the two groups of sentences:
- Last night, we ate dinner at home. I cooked chicken. After dinner, my husband washed the dishes.
- Last night, we had dinner at home. I made chicken. After dinner, my husband did the dishes.
While the sentences in the first group are clear and acceptable, they may come across as somewhat stilted or as if they were translated directly from another language. This is due to a lack of certain set phrases that would make them sound more natural and culturally distinctive.
In contrast, the second group of sentences provides a more authentic representation of real-life communication by using collocations such as “had dinner,” “made chicken,” and “did the dishes” instead of “ate dinner,” “cooked chicken,” and “washed the dishes.”
The problem, however, does not end here because not only do different languages express the same ideas in different ways, but different languages also express different ideas in the first place.The English verb “to flow” in the sentence “A golden crown was upon my head, and my gown was flowing” does not have a direct one-word equivalent in Russian.
The specific nuance of “flowing” in relation to the movement of fabric requires a more descriptive phrase such as “развеваться на ветру” or “ниспадать струящимся потоком,” with the latter being a metaphorical expression.
The same is for the Japanese word “即答 (sokutō)” which literally translates to “immediate reply” or “instant response.” It is often used in conversational settings to describe a response that is given without hesitation or delay.
A: “What do you think about going to the beach this Saturday?”
B: “即答! That sounds amazing! I’m definitely in!”
In this scenario, B gives an immediate reply to A’s suggestion about going to the beach. The quick and enthusiastic response indicates that B is excited about the idea and has decided without hesitation.
Clearly, some things that native speakers say sound more natural than others, regardless of whether those others are grammatical or not.