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Putin Beware: Negotiations Are a Minefield

Alexei Druzhinin / Reuters

???????»?°???????°?????µ: coming to an agreement


Years ago when I was working on a big communications project and people asked me what the hardest part of my job was, I would say: ???????»?°???????°?????µ!

Now when people ask me the hardest part of my job, I say: Figuring out how to translate ???????»?°???????°?????µ. ???????»?°???????°?????µ means "the process of coming to an agreement," which in the context of my job meant getting 10 people in six organizations — state, non-governmental, Russian and American — to all agree on a text.

I guess I'd translate this as getting everyone's approval or maybe getting everyone on the same page. But that doesn't really convey what the work entailed. Actually, getting them all to agree on something was like herding cats.

???????»?°???????°?????µ is the noun associated with a verb pair you probably use all the time: ???????»?°???°?‚??????/???????»?°?????‚??????. Translation isn't tough here: ?? ???‚???? ?€?µ???µ?????µ?? ?? ???µ ???????»?°?????»???? (I didn't agree with that decision). ?? ?? ?????? ?????»???????‚???? ???????»?°???µ?? (I completely agree with him).

Sometimes, however, you might stray a bit from a literal translation: ???° ???°?????? ?????µ?€?‚?? ???????»?°???????? ???????€?µ?µ, ???µ?¶?µ?»?? ???° ?‚?€?µ?±?????°?????µ ???°???µ! (I'd rather die than agree to your demands!)

But in the workplace, ???????»?°???????°?????µ is a more complex process — see above — and can be trickier to translate. For example, when several authors edit a text, the miserable process of producing one version everyone agrees on is called ???????»?°???????°?????µ ?‚?µ?????‚???? (text harmonization).

When you have all the authors sitting around the table to work on it, you can call it ???€???†?µ???? ???????»?°???????°?????? (negotiating process). As you explain to one author why another author's ideas should be represented, you might refer to ???????»?°???????°?????µ ?????‚?µ?€?µ?????? (accommodation of interests).

If authors or bosses cannot be brought together in one room, you might pass around ?»?????‚ ???????»?°???????°?????? (sign-off sheet). And after you get everyone to agree, you might write up ???€???‚???????» ???????»?°???????°?????? (memorandum of agreement).

This process might concern more than texts. For example, sometimes organizations have to carry out ???????»?°???????°?????µ ?????»???‚?????? (policy alignment or harmonization). Or a consultant might sit down with a project head for ???????»?°???????°?????µ ?€?°?±???‚ (determining the scope of work). Some companies even have ???»?°?????‹?? ???µ???µ???¶?µ?€ ???? ???????»?°???????°???????? (general approvals manager) or ???€???µ???‚???°?? ???€???????° ???? ???????»?°???????°???????? (project approvals group), or even ???‚???µ?» ???????»?°???????°?????µ (compliance department). The people who work in them are called ???????‚?‹?µ (saints).

If your task is getting a bunch of organizations to work in harmony, you can call it ???????€?????????€?????°?????µ: ???‹ ?????»???‡???»?? ?€?°???????€???¶?µ?????µ ???€???±?‹?‚?? ???° ???????µ?‰?°?????µ ???»?? ???????€?????????€?????°?????? ???µ?????‚?????? ?????µ?… ???°???‡???‹?… ???‡?€?µ?¶???µ?????? (We were ordered to attend a meeting to coordinate the work of all the scientific institutions).

In the world of diplomacy, the word ???€?µ?????»???€?????°?????µ (settlement, dispute resolution) is often used: ?“?»?°?????°?? ?·?°???°?‡?° — ???‚?? ???µ ???????????‚???‚?? ???€?‹?? ???€???†?µ?????° ?????»???‚???‡?µ?????????? ???€?µ?????»???€?????°?????? ???????„?»?????‚?° (The main task is to prevent a breakdown in the process to find a political settlement for the conflict). In other contexts, ???‚?€???????° (sorting out), from the verb ???‚?€?????°?‚?? (to shake out), comes in handy: ???????° ???»?° ???‚?€???????° ???µ?‚?°?»?µ??, ???°?‚?° ?????????‡?°?‚?µ?»?????????? ???‹???????° ?????????? ???€???±?»???¶?°?»?°???? (While the details were being ironed out, the date for the final troop withdrawal was growing close).

If you are an optimist, you can simply say: ???µ ?±?µ????????????????! ?’???‘ ???‚?€?????‘?‚????! (Don't worry! Everything will work out fine).

Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.

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