Ultraman.
"In Russia today gangsters thumb their noses at the police because they have protection from the very top."
Why "protection from" doesn't mean "protection against" in this sentence?
I know "protection from" often mean "protection against". For example:Issuers of international currencies also enjoy protection from currency volatility.
How do we know if "protection from" means "protection against" or "protection by"?
2023년 10월 12일 오후 5:37
답변 · 10
2
Whenever there's more than one potential meaning for a word or phrase you have to use the context to give you clues. That said, your confusion here is understandable. The sentence could certainly be rewritten to make the meaning clearer:
In Russia today, gangsters feel free to thumb their noses at the police because corrupt authorities protect them from prosecution.
2023년 10월 12일
1
The sentence is poorly worded. It's clearer to say "they receive protection from the very top".
2023년 10월 12일
1
It’s obvious from the context. They are able to ignore the (lower level) police because they are supported by officials above the police.
2023년 10월 12일
It effectively doesn't matter much in this context as long as we know that what they are protected from is legal officials. The protection is against the law, but is also in a sense provided by the law at the same time. Some legal officials at the very top are protecting them from other legal officials, including those at the very top.
2023년 10월 12일
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