Записка – note

A book on| about birds – книга о жизни птиц

A reference book – справочник

A cheque book – чековая книжка

A ration book – карточки

To do the books – вести счета

Our order books are full – мы больше не принимаем заказов

To be in smb’s good/ bad books – быть на хорошем/ плохом счету

I can read her like a book – я вижу ее насквозь

We must stick to/ go by the book – надо действовать по правилам

I’ll take a leaf out of your book – я последую твоему примеру

He was brought to book for that – за этого его привлекли к ответу.

The translation of a single word doesn’t always coincide with its translations in word combinations. It can be illustrated by the examples from Russian-English dictionary:

Деловая записка – memorandum

Докладная записка – report

Любовная записка – love letter, billet-doux

Закрытый – closed

Закрытое заседание – private meeting

Закрытое голосование – secret ballot

Закрытое помещение – indoors.

Another stumbling block for successful communication is misleading words sometimes called "interpreter’s false friends". These words and word combinations look deceitfully familiar or identical with words and expressions of the native language but they differ from the native words in their meaning or connotations. It is this difference that distinguishes "false friends" from international words which have the same meaning in different languages. The roles of these two lexical layers are opposite: international words facilitate the international communication whereas misleading words make it more difficult. The difference in the meaning of "false friends" can be shown by the following examples. The English word acceleration means "increasing speed" and it is stylistically neutral and common for everyday speech but in the Russian language the word акселерация has the only more specific meaning - "acceleration of growth and sexual maturity of children and teenagers registered from the second half of the 19th century". This meaning may be used derogatively in some contexts. So it is impossible to use the word акселерация for translating the common English word combination car accelerationwithout misunderstanding.

One should be very careful dealing with misleading words because they may differ not only in meaning and usage but also in political connotations. All modern dictionaries of the English language define the word nationalism as "desire of a nationality to form an independent country" which has fairly positive connotations. On the contrary, in Russian the word национализм denotes ideology or politics based on national exclusiveness or superiority and has quite negative connotations. So the communicant who does not know this difference may find himself in an awkward position.

The most serious obstacle for successful cross-cultural communication lies in the combination of language and cultural barriers when they are represented by "equivalent" words having the identical meaning in different languages and correlated with the same objects or phenomena of the reality. Even being so equivalent, words become specifically "coloured" in the course of historical, cultural and linguistic development and arouse different relations for the part of speakers. These relations are national and mostly do not coincide.

The most vivid examples of such non-coincidence may be found in folklore of different nations. The same animals are assessed differently by various nations and have different and even opposite connotations. The Russian and English words козел and goat denoting this animal have different informal meanings - "глупец, упрямец", i.e. "a silly and stubborn person" in Russian and "an old man, especially one who shows a great sexual interest in women" in English. These meanings coincide only in the fact that they are used humorously and derogatively. But in the Chinese culture this animal is treated differently and considered to be miserable and defenseless.

As the language reflects cultural and social life of the nation it’s interesting to find out how different concepts are defined in words. The problem of lexical detalization of notions in different languages can also present a barrier for communication and translation. The study of some concepts in the modern English literature gave the following results. After studying the ways of expressing concepts ‘tasty- tasteless’ it turned out that in English the negative estimation of food is not given in details. The main way of expressing this notion is word combination ‘not good’. It is not by chance that the adjective ‘bad’ which more obviously expresses negative connotation is not used in this context. In modern English society, speaking about food negatively is not accepted and therefore this notion is lexically underdeveloped.

The notion of the positive food estimation is more detailed and more vivid. Beside very often used word ‘good’ the following words are used delicious [вкусный], nice [милый], excellent [отличный], perfect [совершенный], fine [прекрасный], splendid [превосходный], appetizing [аппетитный], savoury [пикантный]. One of the cultural norms of modern society is to praise food even if it doesn’t deserve it. This ethical requirement is reflected in modern English: the notion of the positive food estimation is expressed in a more detailed way than its antonym.

The analysis of social contexts of the statements revealed that middle and upper classes of society are inclined to overstatement of food and representatives of lower classes are inclined to understatement. Both phenomena are easily explainable. For representatives of the upper classes meal is not just a natural function necessary for supporting life in the body but a certain sociocultural ritual the quality of which is very essential.

Food estimating is more detailed and richer lexically expressed in the speech of upper classes:

The feature of the feast was red mullet. This delectable fish brought from a considerable distance in a state of almost perfect preservation was first fried, then boned, then served in ice according to a recipe known to a few men of the world. (J. Galsworthy)[Гвоздем программы на празднике стала красная кефаль. Восхитительная рыба, привезенная издалека, превосходно сохранившаяся, была сначала поджарена, затем очищена от костей и подана на льду, согласно рецепту, известному лишь нескольким людям на свете].

“Delicious!” he said. “Exquisite! Who but a Frenchman could make poetry of fish, I ask you?” (Ch. Gorham)[“Великолепно!» - сказал он. «Изысканно! Кто как не француз мог сделать из рыбы поэму, скажите мне!»].

Different criteria are used to estimate poor people’s food. The words good, tasty, nourishing are usually used.

Any working-class wife who has thin times will have a fine knowledge of those cuts which are inexpensive and nourishing and also tasty. (R. Hogart) [Любая женщина из рабочей среды, постоянно ограниченная в средствах, прекрасно знает о существовании таких недорогих, питательных и в то же время вкусных кусках мяса].

Poor old age pensioners used sometimes to simulate a tasty meal by dissolving a penny Oxo in warm water, and having it with bread (R. Hoggart) [Нищим старикам-пенсионерам приходилось порой создавать себе подобие вкусного обеда, разведя кубик бульона «Оксо» в кипятке, потом выпивая его с куском хлеба].

The ways of expressing food estimation can also be determined by age, gender, level of education. The tendency to overstatement is characteristic of young people and is obvious in the following examples:

A grandmother and her grandson: “Is it a good cake” she asked intensely. “Yes, mam”, he said wiring into it. “It’s fair champion” (A. Cronin) [«Пирог хороший?» - напряженно спросила она. – «Да, мэм, ответил он, вгрызаясь в него. – Прямо пирог-чемпион!»].

A grandfather and his grandson: seated at little marble topped table in the oldestablished confectioner’s, the Rector watched his grandson eat strawberry ice. “Good?” – “Aufully” (A. Cronin) [Сидя за маленьким мраморным столиком в старинной кондитерской, ректор смотрел, как его внук ест клубничное мороженое: «Вкусно?» - «Обалденно!»].

The analysis of concepts ‘dirty – clean’ in modern English literature showed that the concept ‘clean’ is expressed by means of 7 adjectives: clean [чистый], spotless [незапятнанный], antiseptic [антисептический], neat [опрятный, аккуратный], immaculate [безупречно чистый], pure [чистый], clear [чистый], and the notion ‘dirty’ by means of 21 adjectives: dirty [грязный], greasy [жирный, грязный, немытый о волосах], muddy [грязный о дороге], coarse [необделанный о материале, грубый, шероховатый], soiled [испачканный], dusty [пыльный], foul [грязный до отвращения и дурно пахнущий], befouled [запачканный], unsanitary [антисанитарный], grubby [неряшливый, неопрятный], plastered [испачканный известкой], filthy [грязный, немытый], stale [несвежий, затасканный], sooty [покрытый сажей], unclean [нечистый], stained [запятнанный], grimed [испачканный], sordid [грязный, гнойный, отталкивающий], impure [нечистый], non pure [нечистый], mucky [грязный (навозный)]. It is clear that the notion ‘dirty’ is more detailed. In modern English culture the notion ‘clean’ is a norm for a civilized person, therefore the notion ‘dirty’ defines abnormal phenomena and needs more lexical means expressing them. We should also bear in mind that in modern English words expressing notions ‘clean - dirty’ are also used in transferred meaning:

His motives were far from pure (M. Bradbury) [Егопобуждения были далеко от чистых].

I called him every foul name I could lay my tongue to (A. Hailey) [Я обзывал его всеми грязными словами, которые только мог произнести].

Investigating the factors that hinder cross-cultural communication, one should not think that there are no factors facilitating it. Despite some cultural and linguistic differences, a number of associations universal for many languages can be found. Foe example, a male sheep has identical associations in Russian and English culture so the Russian word баран and the English word sheep have the same derogative meaning "someone who is easily persuaded into doing things, who obeys orders without thinking or who acts in a particular way because others are doing so". Moreover, such animal as donkey, ass is universally associated with stupidity and stubbornness in many cultures and hence languages - Russian, English, German, Spanish, Swedish and some others. So, the very existence of such universal psychological and linguistic phenomena give a possibility to ease cross-cultural communication and this may be and should be taken into account by those who deal in foreign languages.