How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
So Badly Lost in Linguistic Meaning
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Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia Photo Agency)
by Lora Petrova
It has been an interesting day today for linguistics and politics togheter.
A Slovak news agency published an article with the title "Fico: The nurses are criminals", which refers to our Libya-jailed nurses and the Palestinian doctor. Slovak PM Robert Fico said in an interview for the national radio that he gave a letter to Muammar Qadaffi from the Slovak president where the nurses are referred to as "criminals".
Now the article quoted him saying the word "pachatelov", the plural of "pachatel", meaning culprit, malefactor, offender, trespasser, wrongdoer and finally criminal. I checked the word in the Collins dictionary of English language. Then I triple checked it in a Bulgarian-Slovak, Slovak-Bulgarian, English-Slovak, Slovak-English, Bulgarian-English and English-Bulgarian dictionaries. It took me several hours to convince myself, but yes, I was right.
Later the PM said "pachatel" has double significance - criminal and defendant. I checked again. The Slovak word for defendant is "obzalovany". According to the same dictionary a defendant is a person against whom an action or claim is brought in a court of law. And a criminal someone who has committed (or been legally convicted of) a crime. The difference is obvious.
Since Bulgaria is trying to save them, as they are innocent, such statements are quite inappropriate and politicians and the Bulgarian people were rightfully pissed off.
Fico claimed the word "pachatel" is used in Slovak penal law in the meaning of "defendant" and blamed the SME newspaper for twisting his words. Later he apologized, of course. But that is not the point.
How can a widely spread newspaper write such thing and stir a one-day heated scandal and literally demolish all efforts Bulgaria has made to help these death-sentenced people to be freed?
My point is that it is the newspaper that should apologize and not the Slovak PM.
Such a statement is really dangerous for the lives of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor. Said this way it means that the Slovak president and the PM indirectly acknowledge the medics are indeed guilty and the Libyan court is right in its desire to murder them.
I say cut it off already and learn your own language or at least learn how to quote people's words right. The next time better check words in several dictionaries before publishing an article and do not try to convince us of double meanings, because Bulgarians are literate enough to check words in dictionaries themselves.
It has been an interesting day today for linguistics and politics togheter.
A Slovak news agency published an article with the title "Fico: The nurses are criminals", which refers to our Libya-jailed nurses and the Palestinian doctor. Slovak PM Robert Fico said in an interview for the national radio that he gave a letter to Muammar Qadaffi from the Slovak president where the nurses are referred to as "criminals".
Now the article quoted him saying the word "pachatelov", the plural of "pachatel", meaning culprit, malefactor, offender, trespasser, wrongdoer and finally criminal. I checked the word in the Collins dictionary of English language. Then I triple checked it in a Bulgarian-Slovak, Slovak-Bulgarian, English-Slovak, Slovak-English, Bulgarian-English and English-Bulgarian dictionaries. It took me several hours to convince myself, but yes, I was right.
Later the PM said "pachatel" has double significance - criminal and defendant. I checked again. The Slovak word for defendant is "obzalovany". According to the same dictionary a defendant is a person against whom an action or claim is brought in a court of law. And a criminal someone who has committed (or been legally convicted of) a crime. The difference is obvious.
Since Bulgaria is trying to save them, as they are innocent, such statements are quite inappropriate and politicians and the Bulgarian people were rightfully pissed off.
Fico claimed the word "pachatel" is used in Slovak penal law in the meaning of "defendant" and blamed the SME newspaper for twisting his words. Later he apologized, of course. But that is not the point.
How can a widely spread newspaper write such thing and stir a one-day heated scandal and literally demolish all efforts Bulgaria has made to help these death-sentenced people to be freed?
My point is that it is the newspaper that should apologize and not the Slovak PM.
Such a statement is really dangerous for the lives of the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor. Said this way it means that the Slovak president and the PM indirectly acknowledge the medics are indeed guilty and the Libyan court is right in its desire to murder them.
I say cut it off already and learn your own language or at least learn how to quote people's words right. The next time better check words in several dictionaries before publishing an article and do not try to convince us of double meanings, because Bulgarians are literate enough to check words in dictionaries themselves.
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