Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
мелкий помещик
English translation:
small landowner, petty landowner
Added to glossary by
Natalia Volkova
Dec 25, 2013 22:18
10 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Russian term
also an attorney with AML background
Native in: English
Works in: Russian to English, English
мелкий помещик
Russian to English
Art/Literary
History
Minor gentry just doesn't seem apropos. From a listing of people in a work of literary non-fiction who were being deported from Bessarabia to Siberia in the early 1940s.
Его родителей, мелких помещиков (в кавычках, так как от помещиков-предков у них осталось пять-шесть десятин земли и полуразрушенная избушка на семью из пяти или больше человек), забрали ночью, а мальчик гостил у бабушки в деревне Боксаны, верстах в пятнадцати от Сорок.
Его родителей, мелких помещиков (в кавычках, так как от помещиков-предков у них осталось пять-шесть десятин земли и полуразрушенная избушка на семью из пяти или больше человек), забрали ночью, а мальчик гостил у бабушки в деревне Боксаны, верстах в пятнадцати от Сорок.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +10 | small landowner |
Natalia Volkova
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| 4 +2 | petty landowner |
Rachel Douglas
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| 4 +1 | belonged to /was the member of the small landed gentry |
Michael Korovkin
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| 4 | petty gentry |
Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
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Change log
Jan 8, 2014 10:07: Natalia Volkova Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+10
3 mins
Natalia Volkova
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Native in Russian
Works in field
Russian Federation
20+ Translated Books Published in Moscow
Native in: Russian (Variants: Standard-Russia, Moscow)
Works in: English to Russian, Italian to Russian, Spanish to Russian, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
small landowner
*
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
7 mins
Rachel Douglas
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Excellent English from Russian originals
Native in: English (Variants: US, British, Australian)
Works in: Russian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
91
petty landowner
Traditional.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Vladyslav Golovaty
: minor, low-level (hardly?), мелкий щебень - finely broken stone:)
10 hrs
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Thanks. "Petty" is traditional.
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| neutral |
Michael Korovkin
: Not quite, alas: ALL pomeschki are nobles, while not all landowners are such. This is a very important distinction! Even if many translators/tions neglect it!+I made a simple and straightforward point:don't translate shark as fish.No need getting fancy.
14 hrs
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But maybe the whole history of поместья and their service-nobility-becoming-hereditary-nobility holders (from бояре and дети боярские through to помещики) needn't be packed into every translation. In this case, one could handle that aspect in the parens.
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| agree |
danya
: I like this one
4 days
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15 hrs
Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
On time, on target, on budget.
Native in: English 
, Polish
Works in: Polish to English, English to Polish, Russian to Polish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
52
petty gentry
Based on Michael's comments and further readings, this should fit the context. A Wikipedia article on Gogol speaks of him as petty gentry.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Michael Korovkin
: I had posted mine before reading a new one here. Anyway, lots – actually a majority – of petty gentry had absolutely no land!
4 mins
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so we are of like mind. I also thought of putting petty landed gentry.
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+1
16 hrs
Michael Korovkin
Italy
Italy
Native in Russian
&
English
Specializes in field
Italy
Native in: English , Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, Italian to Russian, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
36
belonged to /was the member of the small landed gentry
... No matter who and how many on Google and beyond have translated the term as "landowner", it's radically, that is, categorically wrong; and the problem is, I repeat, categorical in the literal sense of the term: As you are dobtless aware, "помещик" in Russian INVARIABLY denotes a noble, whilst a "landowner" (incidentally, "землевладелец") in English simply denotes anyone who owns land. Even in the times of the czars, many a landowner were by no means помещики. Поместье is a manor, no matter how minor :))). Why do I say "categorical"? Because by using "landowner" you'd be translating "shark" as "fish".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
: OK. I vote for gentry. Thanks for your words of wisdom.
8 hrs
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Thanks! That's the attitude of a real Pro! As for wisdom, I'm still struggling under a large load of silliness, but there's still hope! :))
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