[lbo-talk] Condomleeza Rice

[Carl Remick]

>From: Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu>
>
>Chris:
> > I saw her on Russian TV when she was here a while ago.
> > She speaks Russian abominably badly. "Uh, ya, uh,
> > ochen rada, uh" (wait think, what's the verb "to be"
> > in Russian, "b"-something, oh I remember!) "byt'
> > zdes'!" You'd think someone supposedly an expert on
> > Russia would be able to speak at higher than a
> > first-grade level.
>
>That is not even idiomatic Russian, but a word-for-word translation of the
>English phrase.  Would you think that a person of average intelligence and
>sensitivity would memorize a few stock phrases like that is she wanted to
>impress her hosts?  Even is she does not speak Russian, somebody on her
>staff most likely does, and even if it does not, it is not that difficult 
>to
>find someone who does.  That tells you something about the mind set of US
>policy makers.

[But let's not forget it's *what* Rice says not *how* she says it that's the 
problem.  In a nation of mono-linguists (myself included I must admit) 
Rice's ability to speak four languages, with whatever degree of facility, is 
not the worst thing about her.  She said this about her Russian skills in an 
interview:]

#6 - JRL 7062
Gazeta
February 14, 2003
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: ALL WE NEED IS DETERMINATION
Russia and the United States: dealing with challenges together
Author: Andrei Shchitov

... Question: Everyone knows in Russia that you specialized in our country. 
How is your Russian?

Condoleezza Rice (in Russian): I speak Russian less and less frequently... I 
read a lot. Sometimes, I speak Russian with whoever speaks the language 
here. And of course, I speak Russian whenever I go to Russia.

<http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/7062-6.cfm>

Carl