Олсон о трудностях перевода. Прошу прощения за вульгаризьм
Беседа американского и русского палеонтологов в Палеонтологическом институте в Москве, конец 50-х.
"My Russian included a knowledge of good, solid expletives learned from Matthew Nitecki, of Polish origin, who learned them from his father who did not want his children to learn vulgar Polish. These got mixed up with the coprolites as Dr. Sukhanov and I discussed the day's work on the Museum floor, I told him excitedly about the coprolites,
"Coprolites?" he asked? "Shto oni?" ("What are they?")
"Coprolites," I repeated, louder.
"Ne ponimayu 'coprolites'," he came back. At this cross-tongue impass, I said loudly, as if it might help, "Iskopayamoe govno," which in Russian is the equivalent of "fossil shit." My Polish assistant, Matt, would have been proud of me. Not my Russian aide.
"Ya panimayu," he said, glancing around, red-faced and dragging me away from people who were staring.
"Coproleet!" he explained outside, for there is no "-ite" in Russian and it completely threw him."
(Everett Clair Olson. The Other Side of the Medal". Blacksburg, Virginia, 1990).