Differences in writing styles

[jdk1963]

Ok, I am trying not to read too much into correspondence but I am pretty sure that "Bye bye. Good Luck." has the same meaning from a Ukrainian woman as it does from an American woman.  I am taking it as a polite "not interested". 
Would that be a correct assessment?  I am pretty sure it is correct.  I would think that if she wanted me to write she would say so.  For reasons that I will not go into it is a pretty good idea that I not continue corresponding with this particular woman.  No, she is not a scammer.

How does the translation affect the meaning?  I am sure that depends on the ability of the translator.
Again I am not trying to read too much but I suspect that because of the translation I may be missing something.

Thanks

[ECOCKS]

Maybe, maybe not. Send it over to Anastasia Ash or Tamara and ask for their translation and opinion of the writer's understanding of what she is saying. It's what they do.

[Doll]

It is not about the translation- there is the differences in cultures (that is speech also).
As for "Bye, bye. Good luck"- I can't see anything meaningful in it. It is no more than "Bye, bye. Good luck"

[ECOCKS]

That's why a native speaker should look at the entire letter and let him know their feeling about the proable intent versus the literal translation.

[jdk1963]

The correspondence is through an agency and it is translated by a native speaker.  I am not saying that I would not have another person translate and get their opinion but AFAIK it is not a "literal" translation.

[Wraith]

While your letter is translated through an agency many have several different translators on the staff (usually). I know on some of the letters I have written (and I use only one agency at the present time) it is easy to distinguish the translations between the various translators there. I guess I would measure this in terms of quality of the translation and how well the individual translating can grasp an expression and correctly convey the intended meaning. There is a huge difference from a 2/3 year university student and 4/5 year. Worth a second look if you are really curious about the intent imho.

[Tamara]

The question is difficult to answer as there is not enough information.  I would strongly suggest not to judge the lady's intention based on one sentence, such as "Bye, bye. Good luck."  Both are very common forms of saying good-bye in Russian and do not have other meaning unless the rest of the context proves your idea.  I oftentimes finish my conversation with best friends by saying "Good luck."  In no way do I mean to stop talking/corresponding with them, but instead sincerely wish them Good luck. Same for: Bye, bye. It is commonly used instead of just saying: Bye.  So look at the context of the whole letter before coming to a particular decision.

Like Wraith noted in his post, educational level and understanding of the culture/s vary from one translator to another and can easily affect the meaning.  Translation, at least good one, is not automatic substitution of word in one language into the other language, many words have nuances and subtle meanings, so depending on whether translator knows about them or not you can have the message changed. I find it very important for the translator to know the culture of both countries/languages to convey the right message.

[jdk1963]

I would love to provide more details but even though it is happening to me I still do not believe it.  I will just say that I am most definitely not judging her intentions based on one sentence.

[Doll]

The correspondence is through an agency and it is translated by a native speaker.  I am not saying that I would not have another person translate and get their opinion but AFAIK it is not a "literal" translation.

One more time- it is NOT about the quality of translation, it is the difference in cultures! The translator got this "До свидания. Удачи" and he just translated it properly. "Good luck" can or can not mean something.

[jdk1963]

One more time- it is NOT about the quality of translation, it is the difference in cultures! The translator got this "До свидания. Удачи" and he just translated it properly. "Good luck" can or can not mean something.

Wouldn't that affect the quality of the translation?

[Doll]

Wouldn't that affect the quality of the translation?

Wouldn't what affect?

[jdk1963]

Wouldn't what affect?

If you are going to say that it is not about the quality of translation then you should not make any other comment.  As soon as you stated it is the differences in cultures you negated your original argument.
In short it is the quality of the translation.

[ECOCKS]

jdk:

If you have the Russian version of the letter, send it to Anastasia Ash or Tamara and ask them for a translation and interpretation.

Then you can try to make a more informed decision on your next step.

This is why most of us quickly move away from agency translations.

Good Luck!

Ed

[Doll]

If you are going to say that it is not about the quality of translation then you should not make any other comment.  As soon as you stated it is the differences in cultures you negated your original argument.
In short it is the quality of the translation.

Feel like I am sick Both my original statements and two others (now 3) ARE about the differences in cultures (of the woman who writes to you).

[Shadow]

Your interpretation of the sentence can not be seen from the one sentence.

Example:
I think you are an interesting person and want to know more about you. Bye bye, good luck.
Example:
I think that we are not compatible. Bye bye, good luck.

The end sentence is the same, but the content is very different.

[Doll]

Wouldn't that affect the quality of the translation?

I got you now- I said PROPERLY , not LITERALLY

[jdk1963]

Your interpretation of the sentence can not be seen from the one sentence.

Example:
I think you are an interesting person and want to know more about you. Bye bye, good luck.
Example:
I think that we are not compatible. Bye bye, good luck.

The end sentence is the same, but the content is very different.

I can say with complete and total confidence that if I would have had more than "Bye bye. Good luck."  I would not have asked.

Yes there was more to the letter than "Bye bye. Good luck." but not anything meaningful.  Not anything to indicate anything other than indifference really.  It really is not a problem for me.  I just wanted to get a second opinion in case I was missing something.

[jdk1963]

I got you now- I said PROPERLY , not LITERALLY

No problem

[JR]

If you want to know what she meant, ask her Oh wait, thats just tooooo obvious. No, it's not! Yes it is! No! Yes! Uh-uh! u-Huh! No way! Yes way. Nope, Yep, Doh! Stop, you're confusing me. I am not! R-2! No I am not! S-U-R! WIll you stop with the nonesense? No! I thought not! So now what? Back to the readin between da lines!!!!!

She Luve me...

She luvs me not...

Who cares cuz I don't luv her. Well then why'd you ask? I didn't. S-U-Did. Ah crap, here we go again! Yes, so shut up and hang on!

Oh my head hurts.......

[acrzybear]

If you want to know what she meant, ask her Oh wait, thats just tooooo obvious. No, it's not! Yes it is! No! Yes! Uh-uh! u-Huh! No way! Yes way. Nope, Yep, Doh! Stop, you're confusing me. I am not! R-2! No I am not! S-U-R! WIll you stop with the nonesense? No! I thought not! So now what? Back to the readin between da lines!!!!!

She Luve me...

She luvs me not...

Who cares cuz I don't luv her. Well then why'd you ask? I didn't. S-U-Did. Ah crap, here we go again! Yes, so shut up and hang on!

Oh my head hurts.......

JR

Off the meds again I see 

[krimster]

Hi,
  The "goodbye, good luck" phrase, is a very common, polite form of Russian farewell.  When you receive an impolite one, you will not fail to understand it's meaning!

So, don't be vorried, tovarische!

[jdk1963]

Asking her directly works great if you trust the abilities of the translators in the agency.  Which I am beginning to have serious doubts about their capabilities.  Among other things that are causing me to have doubts.

I had no doubts she was being polite.

tovarische!

I've been seeing this used often in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress