Linny said:
Thank you, Yana, for translating. I wish I knew more than one language (if you don't count computer programming languages).
I hear Russian spoken frequently by co-workers. The inflection seems to be different.
Could that explain the difference between Irinia's English inflection and what we read in the Russian translations?
Lin
Hi Linny.
Could you please explain what you mean by "inflection", especially with regard to the way Irina speaks in English? I would say that the everyday Russian tone of voice would differ somewhat from the American English - which also differs from British English. I personally try to "adopt", and it seems to me Irina "adopts" fairly well (i.e., all the excessive smiling and cheerfulness). I know some people from Slavic spoken countries that do not "adopt" very well and seem to some American English speakers as too abrasive, harsh and sometimes arrogant - only because of their tone of voice.
I am not quiet sure how that would explain some of the things she says to Russian media. I obviously read this interview in print (as opposed to seeing it on a video), and see most of her English interviews on TV. Even if you print the English interviews, they would still seem very pleasant and cheery. This one..if it sounded somewhat dark in print, I can only imagine how she may sound like while answering these questions
I have to say that it's not just Irina who say one thing to foreign journalists and then another to her native country's journalists/ Take T&M for example. They like to say how much they feel at home in Chicago, but then are quoted in Russian as to how much they can't wait for the ice rink to open in STP so they could move back home (it is my understanding there is a new one under construction).
Ptichka raised a very good point here. NA journalists simply won't ask "risky" questions - it's always "how did you feel when you fell" or "how did it feel to win", etc.. Maybe if she were to be asked some challenging questions, then maybe she would actually say something that "controversial".
I still have a feeling she is a bit on the "two-faced" side. Take the Olympics for example. She was very composed and "sportsman"-like on NBC..not so to the Russian media! (and heck, I would never blame her for that!) Or, she was always telling ABC about her close friendship with Sokolova, and now she wasn't happy to share a hotel room?
However, it is her right to say what she wants. She obviously has the reason to send an "I am such a pleasant person" message to the American public, after all, that's where she spends her summers touring and making the money, which pay for her and her mother's medications. But isn't that a characteristic of a two-faced person???
Yana
Yep, that's how you handle the Russian Press 
