Writer A.S. Byatt once said translators are her best readers. They find every little mistake or typo that even the most meticulous copy editors miss. This isn't because we translators are trying to find mistakes. It's just because we work so closely with the text that we notice problems that editors and even authors can glance over.
We also tend to notice changes in the language before lexicographers get to them. Suddenly a word that always meant X is used in such a way that X can't possibly make sense.
Take the word ?·???°???????‹??, which once meant emblematic but now means — oh, just about anything. To figure out what's up with this adjective, I thought I ought to start with the noun it's from, ?·???°??.
?—???°?? doesn't cause too many problems. It is any kind of symbol or sign, like ?????€???¶???‹?? ?·???°?? (road sign), or ?·???°?? ???°?‡?µ???‚???° (sign of quality), or ???????µ?€?????? ?·???°?? (license plate). ?—???°?? can be a more figurative sign, like ?·???°?? ???€???¶?±?‹ (token of friendship). Or it can be a signal, as in the phrase ???°?? ?????µ ?·???°?? (give me a sign). It can be a stand-in for money, like ???µ???µ?¶???‹?? ?·???°?? (bank note or coin). In grammar, it's a kind of punctuation mark, like ???????€???????‚?µ?»?????‹?? ?·???°?? (question mark). In your Microsoft Word statistic options, it's a character, as in ?????»???‡?µ???‚???? ?·???°?????? ?? ???€???±?µ?»?°???? (number of characters with spaces). In astrology, it's the thing you are born under, ?·???°?? ?—???????°???° (Zodiac sign).
Logically, the adjective ?·???°???????‹?? would mean symbolic, emblematic, or indicative. And that's what the dictionaries tell you it means, illustrated with a sentence like, ???µ?€?µ???µ???‹ ?? ???±?‰?µ???‚???µ???????? ?????µ?????? ?????µ???‚ ?·???°???????‹?? ?…?°?€?°???‚?µ?€: ?????? ???????°?·?‹???°???‚ ?€?????‚ ?????????µ?€???°?‚???????‹?… ???°???‚?€???µ?????? (Shifts in public opinion are emblematic of the rise in conservative views).
But in the late 1980s — specifically 1987, according to Google's N-gram — the word went off the charts in frequency of usage. And it seems to have taken on a new meaning, or maybe several new meanings. In some contexts, the meaning of ?·???°???????‹?? seems to have flipped. Instead of describing something or someone that is typical of an era, it describes something or someone that defines an era. So ?·???°???????°?? ?„???????€?° is a seminal figure, someone who has blazed a trail that others are now following. ???? ???µ ???‚???»?????? ?»???‚?µ?€?°?‚???€???°?? ?»???‡???????‚??, ???????»?????? ?·???°???????°?? ?„???????€?°, ?????‚???€?°?? ???????? ???€?µ?‚?µ???????µ?‚ ???° ???µ???‚?? ???????°?‚???€???? (He's not so much a literary figure as a trendsetter who clearly sees himself among the innovators).
Sometimes ?·???°???????‹?? seems to mean "life-changing": ? ???¶???µ?????µ ?€?µ?±?‘?????° — ?·???°???????‹?? ???????µ???‚ ?? ?¶???·???? ???µ?????? (The birth of a child is a life-changing event in a family). ?‘?€???????????? — ?·???°???????°?? ?„???????€?° ?? ?????µ?? ?¶???·???? (Brodsky played a decisive role in my life). Or it apparently means a landmark event or object: ?—?°???€???????‹?? ???????µ?±???‹?? ???????€ ???€?µ???€?°?‚???»???? ?? ?·???°???????‹?? ???€???†?µ???? (An ordinary lawsuit has turned into landmark court case).
It also seems to be used to describe a significant date or celebration, as if people were thinking of the word ?·???°?‡?????‹?? (significant) and mixed up their consonants: ?—???°???????‹?? ???±???»?µ?? — ???°???µ???? ?·?°???????? 10 ?»?µ?‚ (A significant anniversary: Our factory is 10 years old).
Lately I've found completely wacko usages — like a competition for ?·???°???????‹?? ?????µ??????????. What on earth is ?·???°???????‹?? ?????µ??????????? An emblematic snowman? An influential snowman? A superlative snowman? A landmark snowman? The snowmaniest snowman? If anyone can figure that one out, please let me know.
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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