the word’s worth: Keeping secrets

By Michele A. Berdy

Published: October 31, 2012 (Issue # 1733)

Ñåêðåò: secret, know-how

One unexpected consequence of having a dog is that you instantly become the go-to person for anyone looking for an address in your neighborhood. You are clearly ìåñòíàÿ (local) or the more slangy çäåøíÿÿ (from around here), so you must know how to get to Polyclinic No. 586 or the much vaguer ìåñòî, ãäå óëè÷íûé ðûíîê ïî âûõîäíûì (the place where there’s a street market on the weekend).

Usually midway through my earnest and detailed instructions for how to get from here to there, it dawns on the lost Russian inquirer that a foreigner is giving them directions. Sometimes that disqualifies me in their eyes and they hurry off to find a real Russian. But sometimes they just grin and thank me, and then ask: Îòêóäà âû, åñëè íå ñåêðåò? (literally, “where are you from, if it’s not a secret?”) That, in turn, always makes me grin. I mean, it’s not 1937. Why would my nationality be a secret?

But here ñåêðåò isn’t really a secret. It’s a bit of information that I may wish to keep confidential. In English, we might express this as: Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?

So what exactly is ñåêðåò, and how is it different from the native Russian òàéíà (secret)? As usual, that’s a bit tricky — but not exactly secret.

Ñåêðåò is any piece of information or object that is confidential, private or kept hidden. Íèêîìó íå ãîâîðè, ÷òî îíà óâîëüíÿåòñÿ. Ýòî ïîêà ñåêðåò (Don’t tell anyone that she’s quitting. It’s a secret for now.) Îí ìíå ñêàçàë ïîä áîëüøèì ñåêðåòîì, ÷òî áóäåò ñîêðàùåíèå øòàòîâ (He told me in total confidentiality that there will be staff cuts). Íå ñåêðåò, ÷òî îíà äàâíî èùåò äðóãóþ ðàáîòó (It’s no secret that she’s been looking for another job for a long time). Íå íàäî äåëàòü ñåêðåò èç êàäðîâûõ ïåðåñòàíîâîê (You shouldn’t make a secret out of staff changes).

Ñåêðåò can also be some kind of know-how that is the secret to success of anything, from a cake recipe to a company’s growth rates. Ñåêðåò ìîåãî ñîóñà — ÷àéíàÿ ëîæêà óêñóñà (The secret of my sauce is a teaspoon of vinegar).

There’s also ñåêðåò íà âåñü ñâåò (an open secret), also called among the literate crowd ñåêðåò ïîëèøèíåëÿ (the secret of Polichinelle, a standard character in French folk theater who always blabs everyone’s secrets).

A mechanical ñåêðåò is some kind of security device. Çàìîê ñ ñåêðåòîì is a security lock. Those special bolts you put on your car wheels to keep people from stealing them are called ñåêðåòêè (disc or wheel locks).

Òàéíà is also something that is hidden or should not be disclosed, but it seems to be used for secrets that are more substantial or would have greater consequences if revealed, like ãîñóäàðñòâåííàÿ òàéíà (state secret).

It can also be secrecy, as in òàéíà èñïîâåäè (seal of confession) or òàéíà ïåðåïèñêè (secrecy or privacy of correspondence).

Òàéíà can also be used to describe know-how, but it’s usually in the plural and sounds a bit lofty: Ýòî òàéíû òâîð÷åñòâà (That’s the mystery of creation).

Unlike ñåêðåò, òàéíà can be something not just unknown or hidden but unknowable, like òàéíà ïðèðîäû (the mystery of nature).

As far as my nationality goes, it’s not hidden, unknowable or even the key to my success. My answer will be: ×òî òàèòü? ß àìåðèêàíêà. (What’s there to hide? I’m an American.)

Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of “The Russian Word’s Worth” (Glas), a collection of her columns.