Russian Language Line-by-Line Analysis of Heated Rivalry (Part 1)
This show is literally the best thing that has happened to me since 2019. So I obviously do not have anything better to do while I rewatch the first 2 episodes for a fifth time. This is my coping mechanism. I’ve started to dissect all of the Russian in the series. Most probably, it will never be finished, beware. I am doing it mostly to get rid of my obsession.
Disclaimer 1. I am actually amazed at times how good the Russian is here, particularly from non-native speakers like Connor. I am sure everyone involved did their best, and I mean no disrespect by any of the below. The whole thing is my personal opinion and I could be totally wrong.
Disclaimer 2. Russian is my native language, but I am definitely no linguist and do not have any formal education in this area. I was forced to study a lot of Indo-European languages throughout my life, and, having no particular talent for it, I mostly rely on analysing their history, pronunciation shifts, and logic to be able to speak moderately decently. English is not my native language. I work for an international company where English is an official language, and I’ve never lived in any English-speaking country. I will never speak English or any of my other non-native languages on the level Connor does Russian in this show.
Russian dialects. Generally, Russian is more homogenous than, for example, English. But it does have dialects and regional particularities. I have a general knowledge of them, but some things that do not sound natural to me could sound natural in some dialects. And also, please keep in mind that when I say Ukrainian/South Russian, I mean Russian spoken by Ukrainians or South Russians, not the Ukrainian language itself. I combine Ukrainian Russian and South Russian because I personally can’t distinguish between them, not because I believe they are the same thing.
Native speakers. The majority of native speakers in this show are either bilingual or have lived abroad for a long time. In this case, their Russian could also not be flawless, especially in intonations and stress positioning. Also, in cases where Russian was their native language but they grew up in an English environment, their language tends to be a little bit childish and outdated. Their parents spoke to them using age-appropriate language that was in use 20 years ago. They are not that familiar with the real language spoken right now by grown-ups. So do not be surprised when even natives pronounce something wrong.
So let’s dig into the first four Russian language scenes in Episode 1.
On the ice
47:07 Сука блядь ты кусок говна! - Not translated. Just some explicit language. Ilya saying it on the ice to another hockey player.
Pronunciation: good. Maybe a longer and deeper “ah” sound than is necessary in блядь (bliats’), but really that’s just me being picky.
46:58 Не хватает скила, яйцами дожмите (not sure about the last word, can’t hear it clearly) - Not translated. You don’t have enough skill, compensate with sheer balls.
Pronunciation: The actor (coach) is a native.
46:55 Розанов! У тебя есть дела более важные? - Rozanov! Is there something more important going on?
Word choice: Nobody is saying it like this. The best choice with the same words would be: У тебя есть дела поважнее? Pronunciation: Good. The intonation is slightly off, maybe because the phrase sounds really strange in Russian and the supposed raising intonation suddenly, abruptly, is even at the end.
46:53 Нахуй я тут распинаюсь? Смотри на меня. - Not translated. - Why the fuck am I even talking here? Look at me.
Word choice: It is ok as it is. But I feel Нахуй я тут распинаюсь? На меня смотри sounds more natural and gives more emphasis on “at me”.
At the draft with his father
44:44 Ты слушай, слушай, тебе говорят. Ты понял? - You listen. Don’t speak. You understand?
Real translation: Listen up, they’re talking to you. Did you understand? Pronunciation: The actor is a native, likely from Ukraine/South Russia, not Moscow. He pronounces G more like H and his vowels are a bit more enunciated than is done in Moscow. So I guess Ilya being half Ukrainian could be canon now.
44:43 Да - Yes
First call with Alexei
39:43 Что за хрень? Почему папа мне звонит? - What the fuck is going on? Why is Dad calling me?
Word choice: Ok. I need to say here that we are stepping into very nuanced territory. This is mostly my opinion in this particular case. So basically all of this is POSSIBLE in Russian. But I do not believe this is the right choice for those particular people in those particular circumstances. 1. Ilya is calling his dad “папа” (dad). In my experience anybody who is past the age of 5, especially boys, very rarely use “папа” (dad) when talking about him. The more common choice is “отец” (father). I just checked messages with my brother and we used “папа” (dad) the total of 8 times (mostly by me), while “отец” (father) was used 44 times. Sorry, I know it sounds obsessive and like I do not have anything better to do :). So “папа” is closer to “daddy” (but not equal). It is possible that Ilya calls his dad daddy, but they might have a bit better relationship than that. 2. Although in itself “Что за хрень?” is very Russian and nothing is wrong with it, I do not think that Ilya would’ve started the conversation with this. This phrase needs some context before it is used; it is more a reaction to something you just witnessed/heard. I would’ve omitted it altogether and gone to Why is Dad calling me?, but you can just straight up translate “What is going on? - Что происходит?” if you really want to keep the first phrase. It will be without any swear words, but smoother in my opinion. Pronunciation: Almost perfect, really. Connor is really, really talented. Ч is pronounced a little bit harder than needed, in my opinion, and O in звонит a little bit more obvious than needed. Moscow will make more of an A sound. And the overall intonation sounds a little off with a rise in the middle of the phrase. But really, a lot of difficult things were pronounced perfectly there: soft Р and Н in хрень and мне. Russian T.
39:42 O-o-o, Господи! С Новым Годом, братишка! - Baby brother, happy New Year for you, right? Real translation: Oh my God! Happy New Year, baby brother! Pronunciation: The actor is a native.
39:40 C Новым годом, Алексей! Но - Happy New Year, Alexei, but… Word choice: No Russian will ever call his brother Alexei - Alexei. Unless he wants to mess with him and it is part of the joke. Even if their relationship is not the best. It is too formal-sounding. More likely, Ilya will use Лёша (Liosha), Лёха (Lioha) or just omit the name altogether. Russians use the name of a person far more rarely than it is customary in English. Fun fact: There are different subsets of names in Russian. Names like Ilya, Anton, Karina, Marina do not have an automatic diminutive form and can be used as is even between close people. Names like Alexei, Alexander, Svetlana, Ekaterina do have an automatic diminutive form, and the use of the full form sounds really formal/intentional. Pronunciation: Perfect, it’s just that the sound at the end (но) sounded more like a growl than any particular word.
39:36 Как дела, красавчик? - How’s it going, handsome boy? Real translation: Just wanted to mention here that for me “handsome boy” sounds a little bit creepy, like innuendo, and in Russian nothing is creepy in “красавчик”. It is just like saying “dude” with a little bit of additional spice. It is mostly used in a positive way.
39:37 Что с папой, что с ним? - What is going on with Dad? Word choice: Nothing additional, just “папа” (daddy) again.
39:34 Ты чо несешь? Все в порядке с папой. - What the fuck are you talking about? Dad is fine. Pronunciation: Nothing wrong here, just an observation. Alexei pronounces “what” as “чо” (“tcho”), more naturally spoken in many Russian dialects, while Ilya previously pronounced it as “што” (“shto”), more book norm.
39:31 Он все блин мне мне звонит. - He keeps calling me. Pronunciation: It sounds off, for some reason Ilya pronounces мне (me) two times. He is also mumbling a bit, I am not even sure about his exact words.
39:28 Да потому что ты, придурок, проиграл гребаный матч. - ‘Cause you lost a fucking game, idiot. Word choice: I’m impressed :) Pronunciation: Where I am from, we pronounce ГрЁбаный, not гребАный. Never heard this alternative stress position.
39:26 Какого хрена ты от меня хочешь, Алексей? - What the fuck do you want from me, Alexei? Word choice: Definitely not Alexei, as I said. Nothing wrong with this phrase otherwise, just maybe, for me, Че те надо? (What do you need) sounds more natural in those circumstances. Pronunciation: The distinction for soft sounds (ч, н, л) is a little bit off. Nothing major.
39:22 Слушай, тут такое дело. Ты можешь мне еще денежку кинуть? Ну, пожалуйста. - Let me think about it! Can I have more money? Please… Real translation: Listen, the thing is… Can you send me some more money? Pleeeease. - The way they translated it to English is more pushy than it sounds in Russian. In Russian, only Pleeeease sounds kinda too much. Word choice: It is very good casual Russian.
39:15 У меня больше нет денег, Алексей. Мой бонус закончился, братан. Ты почти весь его вынюхал - I have no more money, Alexei! My bonus is done, man. You snorted most of it! Word choice: 1) To see Алексей and братан together is like having both Mr. Rozanov and bro in the same sentence. And BTW too many words to address a person for natural Russian speech. It could not be used in every sentence, it is too much. 2) Also too many possessive adjectives for Russian. It should be more like: Денег нет. Бонус закончился. Pronunciation: I think I heard лучше (better) instead of больше (more). Some problems with soft sounds, but very minor.
39:10 Ой ути-тюти, унылый ты педик, Илюшка - Wah-wah, you whiny faggot. Word choice: Whoever wrote this line did their best. I personally have never heard this particular curse word (педик - faggot) used in such an inventive manner (with унылый - depressing/whiny) but I can truly believe it could be used that way. Also a little observation: note that Alexei uses a diminutive from Ilya here - Илюшка (Ilyushka) - not translated for some reason.
39:08 Иди на хер! - Go fuck yourself! 39:07 Да пошел ты, блядь, нахуй! Обалдеть - Go fuck yourself, bitch. Real translation: Go fuck yourself! Holy crap! - Блядь (bitch) is used here as an interjection, not an address. They also did not translate Holy crap! (обалдеть) after Andrei ended the call.
Call with his father
38:56 Привет, отец! - Hello, Father. Word choice: Отец (father) sounds really formal here. They do not have the best relationship, so it could be intentional.
Pronunciation: Wrong soft в (v) in Привет (privet). It sounds like priviet. Pretty common mistake for foreigners. The T in отец is supposed to be soft, not hard. E vowel sounds too far back for me. But again, I am impressed.
38:55 O! Вот он и отвечает! - And so he answers! Word choice: This is just English Google Translate and a stark contrast with the previous conversation with brilliant Russian word choice. At a minimum it should be past tense, not present: O! Вот он и ответил! But to me even this sounds a little bit lifeless and business-like.
38:52 Прости, отец. - I am sorry, Father. 38:50 Извинись перед Россией. Проиграть чехам. Позорище! Завтра - Apologize to Russia. Losing to the Czechs. Disgusting. Real translation: Позорище - total embarrassment, not disgusting. Also at the end he says Завтра (Tomorrow). Pronunciation: Again. Very, very obvious Ukrainian/South Russian accent.
38:47 Мы сделаем шведов, папа. - We will beat Sweden, Father Pronunciation: I listened to it multiple times and could not understand if he was trying to pronounce Swedes or Sweden, in both cases it ended up sounding wrong.
38:46 Извинись перед Россией. - Beat Sweden? Real translation: Apologize to Russia. - Yes, it was repeated again. Nothing about Sweden.
38:44 Придется, иначе ты - You will have to! Otherwise, you will 38:41 Я знаю. Мы уже не играем за золото. Но, но мы все сделаем - Not play for gold. I know, Father. We are all trying. Real translation: I know. We already do not play for gold. But we will do everything. Pronunciation: He mispronounced уже, said without the first vowel. Also, he pronounced золото with all three O vowels, the last two should be closer to a schwa sound.
38:36 Мне плевать на “мы”. Ты, ты ему не проиграешь. - I don’t care about “we”. You! You will not lose to him. Just an observation: I do not get who this mysterious “him” is they were talking about. They just discussed the Swedes!
