From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

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wgw
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Joined: 05 Jul 2010 16:08

From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

Post by wgw »

After reading this again, I need to edit it. I need help in understanding the following 2 lines. Can someone translate them for me?

Так что, пожалуйста, поаккуратней с такими стихами, у меня психика после травмы неустойчивая..
Ведь вы бы не стали ничего такого душевного писать, если бы так не чувствовали.

I am in correspondance with a lady, who, after a while, suggested we "move from вы to ты". In response, I wrote a whole bunch of stuff and included Pushkin's Ты и Вы poem, and the above lines are within a letter in which she made her response.

I don't understand whether she (the author) is saying that she is in trauma from Pushkin, or from me (from the way I responded to her) - or from someone/something altogether different. And I don't know whether she feels that I used the Pushkin poem because it says something that I would like to have said myself ....

So, if you can help out here, I would be very grateful

Thank you very much beforehand ... :D
Katya
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Location: Philadelphia, USA

Re: From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

Post by Katya »

Hi,
I don't know how much this will help. I'm not a native Russian speaker, but I went to university there so I do know how Russian girls tend to talk. ;) I assume you already have the literal translation.

Так что, пожалуйста, поаккуратней с такими стихами, у меня психика после травмы неустойчивая..
So, please, be careful how you use this kind of poetry, my emotions, after having been hurt, tend to swing wildly...

Ведь вы бы не стали ничего такого душевного писать, если бы так не чувствовали.
I mean, you would not have written so much from the heart, if you felt nothing.

With травмы she must be referring to something in her past.

-Katya
wgw
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Re: From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

Post by wgw »

Thank you Katya. I think I now really understand what she meant in her letter.

My greatest problem was getting the Так что and the поаккуратней. Why not just, так? And to finally understand "be careful"

Definitely cultural and linguistic problems.

Thank you again.

William
Katya
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Re: From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

Post by Katya »

Glad to help! I have no idea how you would justify the что grammatically in так что, but the combination is used conversationally to mean "And so" or "therefore."
-Katya
wgw
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Joined: 05 Jul 2010 16:08

Re: From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

Post by wgw »

Katya, may I ask you another question?

Поаккуратней - what grammar is that? I mean, аккуратный is punctual, neat. How does it get to become "be careful"?

Thank you for your assistance.

William
Katya
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Re: From Russian to English - can someone help me out here?

Post by Katya »

I'm not really sure. Maybe some of the native Russian speakers here would know exactly what the grammar is. I've heard people say this and always assumed it was from бдуь поаккуратнее (be a bit more careful). My dictionary gives "(informally) carefully, with care" as a second definition of аккуратно.
-Katya
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