Fluffyhatguy
Fri, 19/02/2021 - 02:40
Hello, I believe that "лестничной клетке" should be more accurately translated to "stairwell" instead of "staircase". This song is actually sung in Belarusian NOT Russian and it would be more accurate to say stairwell instead of staircase.
Igeethecat
Fri, 19/02/2021 - 03:33
Песню поют на русском языке, не на белорусском, поверьте. And I, personally, do not see any problem with staircase. There is a play of words in the original, and it is not easy to translate
Клетка -- cage
Лестничная клетка - stair-whatever
There's also an allusion to an old Russian song "где эта улица, где этот дом..." that is lost in translation too
pnielsen
Mon, 26/04/2021 - 15:59
I totally agree! However, I think the English song title should be Stairwell and not Cage, since the word "cage" is not mentioned anywhere in the English translation and makes no sense at all unless you understand Russian.
However, I guess that's something that can be discussed until the end of days ;)
pnielsen
Wed, 01/03/2023 - 01:54
Correct, 100%
The Russian word kletka is short for lestnichnaya kletka, which means stairwell. The English word staircase does not convey the same meaning; there is a difference between staircase and stairwell. From https://grammarhow.com/ :
The difference between a “Stairwell” and a “Staircase” is related to the proportion of each. “Stairwell” usually refers to the shaft we see in high buildings, where the stairs are located. “Staircase”, on the other hand, commonly refers to a flight of stairs that is properly structured.
pnielsen
Tue, 21/03/2023 - 23:33
Both cage and staircase are incorrect translations.The English word is stairwell. From https://grammarhow.com/ :
The difference between a “Stairwell” and a “Staircase” is related to the proportion of each. “Stairwell” usually refers to the shaft we see in high buildings, where the stairs are located. “Staircase”, on the other hand, commonly refers to a flight of stairs that is properly structured.
Oh, and if you wanted to make it short for poetic reasons, the short version is "well" not "cage"
Dima Krutyx
Fri, 30/06/2023 - 01:06
I tend to agree with the translator here. The word "cage" is the one to be used here somehow, otherwise an important aspect of the song's lyrics is lost. Indeed, stairwell is the most closest English word to Russian "лестничная клетка". However, here you have to choose if you're after correct translation of words or if you want to express atmosphere and actual meaning of the song. In most cases they can't come together.
pnielsen
Fri, 30/06/2023 - 18:56
I translated the song title to "Well"
The Russian word kletka is short for lestnichnaya kletka, which means stairwell. Kletka by itself means cage or cell. A confined space. So in order to preserve the relation between title and the word kletka as it is used in the song, I chose to translate the song title "kletka" (cage - a confined space) to "well" (a deep water hole in the ground - also a very confined space). This translation retains the correlation intended by the writer: kletka = well and lestnichnaya kletka = stairwell.
David Burda
Hodoyoku
* 'лестичная клетка' literally translates to 'staircase cage'