???‚?€?°?… ?? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚: fear and trembling
I have a love-hate relationship with the word ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ (trembling, quivering).
I love that the word catches and magnifies the smallest tremble or quiver in nature, like ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ ?»?????‚???µ?? (the trembling of leaves), ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ ?·?°???°???µ?????? (the rustling of the curtains), or the old-fashioned ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ ?€?µ???????† (flutter of eyelashes). When it is used to describe a person's reaction to something, I love that it brings to the surface the most subtle emotions. It's as if the language is so attuned to the world that it notices the passing of the slightest breeze and almost imperceptible human reactions. Or it's as if Russians experience the most subtle emotions so intensely that they express them physically. Great stuff.
But I hate the word's ambiguity. People can tremble out of fear, awe, reverence, joy or tenderness. Sometimes it's clear what kind of trembling is going on because it's spelled out: ?? ???????‹?‚?‹???°?» ?€?°???????‚???‹?? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ (I trembled with joy.) But often I can't figure out why someone is quivering, quaking, trembling or shuddering. Russians always seem to know. Is it because they understand the linguistic context better than I do, or they have broader historical knowledge, or they know more about the writer? I don't know, but it drives me nuts.
In any case, because English speakers tremble and quiver a lot less than Russian speakers, ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ is often translated by the emotion that causes it. ?? ???????µ?»?°, ???°?? ?????? ?‚?€?????°???†?°?‚???»?µ?‚?????? ???‹?? ???????????????? ?? ?±?µ?·?? ?????????????? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚?° ???±?€?°?‰?°?µ?‚???? ?? ???‚???? ???°?????????? (I saw how my 13-year-old son dealt with the car calmly, without a hint of trepidation.) ??‚???‚ ?…???????¶?????? ???µ ???‹?·?‹???°?µ?‚ ???? ?????µ ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚?° (I'm not at all awed by that artist's work.) ???‹ ???????»???????µ?????? ?? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚???? ?? ?±?»?°???????°?€???????‚???? ???€?µ???‚?? ?“?????????????? (We bow down with reverence and gratitude before the holy cross.) ???€?µ???€?°?????? ??????????, ?? ???°?????? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚???? ?? ???????????‚?€?µ?»?° ???‚???‚ ?????»???‚?„???»???? ?? ???µ?€???‹?? ?€?°?· (I remember how thrilled I was the first time I saw that animated film.) ??‚?? ?????»???°?‚?‹ ???‹?·?‹???°?»?? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ ?? ???€???‚???????????° (Those soldiers made the enemy quake in horror.) ???‚?°?€???????° ?? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚???? ???‚?????????»?°???? ?? ???‚???? ???°?»?µ??????????, ???µ???€?°?????????? ?????±?°?‡???µ (The old woman was so tender with that ugly little dog.)
But what about this: ???µ ???????‹?‚?‹???°?? ???????°???????? ???????±?????? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚?°, ?? ???€?????‘?» ?? ?????????µ?€?????‚?µ?‚ ???° ?????…????????. I came to the university on Mokhovaya Ulitsa without any particular … what? Fear? Excitement? Awe? Intimidation? Delight? Apprehension? Beats me. If I couldn't get clarification from the rest of the text or an omniscient Russian speaker, I'd probably fudge it: I was pretty calm when I got into the university on Mokhovaya.
The verb to describe trembling is ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚?°?‚??. ?? ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚?°?»?° ???€?? ???‹???»?? ?? ?????‚?€?µ?‡?µ ?? ?????? (I trembled at the thought of seeing him.) This shouldn't be confused with the verb ?‚?€?µ???°?‚?? (and its perfective forms ?????‚?€?µ???°?‚??, ?????‚?€?µ???°?‚??), which has a variety of standard and slangy meanings. It can mean "cause something to tremble": ?’?µ?‚?µ?€ ?‚?€?µ???°?» ?»?????‚???? (the wind fluttered the leaves). Or "bring disarray": ???? ?????‚?€?µ???°?» ?µ?‘ ?????»?????‹ (He tousled her hair). Or "wear out": ???? ?·?° ?‚?€?? ???µ?????†?° ?????‚?€?µ???°?» ???????‹?µ ?±???‚???????? (He wore out his new boots in three months.) ?–???·???? ?µ???? ?????‚?€?µ???°?»?° (Life wore him down.)
???€?µ???°?‚?? ???µ?€???‹ is to get on someone's nerves. ???€?µ???°?‚?? ???·?‹?????? is to blab. ?????‚?€?µ???°?‚?? ?‡?µ?»?????µ???° is to beat someone up — what I want to do whenever I see ?‚?€?µ???µ?‚ in a text.
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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