Another translation fiasco and this one reflects poorly on the entire American government body. You would think that the American government would be able to find at least one qualified, English – Russian, professional translator to handle the one-word translation necessary for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to make a statement with a bit of humor while visiting the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey V. Lavrov. She was after a laugh and a laugh is what she got, but it probably wasn’t quite what she had in mind.
The gift, a red button on a yellow base, was a play on a statement that Joseph R. Biden made calling on the two countries to “press the reset button” on their relationship. Clinton presented the “reset” button to Lavov with these words: “We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?” The word printed on the button read “reset” in English. The Russian word was printed below, “peregruzka.” Lavrov’s could only answer with the truth, “You got it wrong.” He went on to explain that the word “peregruzka” actually means overcharged, which gives the red button a whole new meaning.
To read the entire New York Time’s article click here.
