Archive for March, 2008
Where In Russia Is It Possible To Live? Posted by josefina on Mar 29, 2008
Good question! Of course there’s more to Russia than the Red Kremlin of Moscow and the bridges of Saint Petersburg, though you sometimes tend to forget about the rest, especially if you haven’t been there (which I suppose most tourist haven’t, only in those cities located along the railroad going east from the capitol). Russians…
What Do You Call A Foreign Car in Russian? Posted by josefina on Mar 26, 2008
Today my plan was to comment on one of two news, either «Психолог для грешников» [http://www.izvestia.ru/lpage/article3114416/] or «Православная общественность намерена переименовать Свердловскую область» [http://www.e1.ru/news/spool/news_id286954.html] but during the day my mood changed, from being religiously aware (obviously, if judging by the headlines I chose in the morning) and thus aware of the ‘other’ world, to becoming…
Russian Phraseology: The Русская Душа! Posted by josefina on Mar 24, 2008
Already on the 28th of February 1866 a certain Mr. Fyodor Tyutchev [Фёдор Тютчев] realized what a mystery the Russian Soul is to us ‘non-Russians’ and that’s probably what he was thinking of when he wrote these classical lines: «Умом Россию не понять, Аршином общим не измерить, У ней особенная стать, В Россию можно только…
Meet Russia’s Dirtiest Town: Yekaterinburg! Posted by josefina on Mar 22, 2008
Like any other town with a little bit of self-respect, my Russian hometown at the moment, Yekaterinburg, has its own website with all sorts of indispensable information about the city, enlightening both for locals and visitors. The portal’s address is www.e1.ru and the other day I came across a piece there which screamed out loud…
Russian Phraseology: Head Posted by josefina on Mar 19, 2008
It is a well-known fact among students of any given language that it’s not when you understand what people say or even when you can answer them in a correct enough way for them to understand you that you have mastered the language. You can not say that you truly know a language until you…
How many languages does Russia know? Posted by josefina on Mar 16, 2008
Always the faithful reader of «Русский репортёр» [Russian reporter], I came across a rather fascinating article in the latest number (Nr. 9, 13-20 March 2008) under the headline of «Сколько языков знает Россия?» The article focuses on the 150 small languages being spoken by different nationalities in Russia, and their fate in the future of…
Russian Web Tips: www.gramma.ru Posted by josefina on Mar 10, 2008
In May three years ago I tried to get on a bus in Omsk [Siberia] but was refused entrance by the conductor with the words: «Нет местов!» It was the first time I had ever heard a Russian make a mistake when speaking their native language and that may have been the reason as to…