Russian Language Blog

This post was supposed to be up last Friday, but I never had time to put it up. Sorry for keeping you in suspense! In the photo: a movie poster for the seventh and last film – «на русском» [in Russian].

A very bittersweet event took place on July 15, «дорогие друзья» [dear friends]. «Часть вторая» [Part two] of the film «Гарри Поттер и дары смерти» [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] came out. This is «последний фильм» [the final film] of the series. And as someone who has ready «каждая книга» [every book] multiple times, I confess: I was very sad since there will be no more films. In this post, I will be writing about common Harry Potter-related terms, but in Russian. I will try not to have too many spoilers, in case some of you have not read the books.

So, what would it be like to live in Harry Potter’s world? First off, there are «волшебники и волшебницы» [wizards and witches], people who can do magic. Of course, they need «волшебная палочка» [a magic wand] to work magic. (Note that the word «палка» means stick, so that may be an easy way to remember how to say wand.)

Non-magical people are called Muggles (this is such a great word that the translators of Harry Potter into Russian kept the word, so it is «магл» in Russian) and «большинство из них» [the majority of them] do not know that the wizarding world exists. «Исключения» [Exceptions] would be «премьер-министер Соединённого Королевства» [the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom] and «семьи» [the families] of children with magical ability.

«Подруга Гарри» [Harry’s (female) friend (note how Harry’s name does not decline in Russian)] is one such person born into a Muggle family. In fact, I recall that she once says that both of her parents are «зубные врачи» [dentists]. In English, her name is Hermione Granger, but in Russian it becomes «Гермиона Грейнджер». She is one of my favorite characters: «она отличница» [she is a straight-A student] and is «очень умная» [very intelligent].

«Гарри и Рон» [Harry and Ron] do not do as well in school as «Гермиона» [Hermione] but they are also very likable characters. «Гарри» [Harry] is «смелый» [brave] and «Рон» is «верный» [loyal].

«Серия» [The series] is about the adventures of these friends as they make their way through their seven years of magic school at «Хогвартс» [Hogwarts], a prestigious school of magic in England.

Some may dismiss the Harry Potter series as simple «фэнтези» [fantasy], but the series is more than that: it is about «дружба» [friendship] as well.

I know some people who swear by reading novels as a method of learning languages. If you would like to try this, I would definitely recommend Harry Potter. In case you can’t tell, my friends, I am a huge fan.

«Как вы думаете?» [What do you think?] Let me know in the comments!

Finally, «наступило лето» [summer is here]! There are lots of not so good things that are associated with summer – «ураганы» [hurricanes], «лесные пожары» [forest fires], «жара» [heat], «засуха» [drought] and such. But let’s look at the bright side! Summer, above all, is time for «каникулы» [summer break] and «отпуска» [vacations].

Many Russians will be spending their vacations at various «курорты» [resorts]. And as it happens, some will have «курортный роман» or several, depending on their length of stay and the amount of time they spend by the pool or on the beach. The more the better I say!

You see, in Russian the word «роман» can mean either an affair or a novel. I figure, reading a few novels «загорая на пляже» [while sunbathing on the beach] isn’t such a bad way to spend one’s summer.

The question, in my mind, is not «читать или не читать» [to read or not to read], but «что читать» [what to read]. On one hand, there’s light reading, both in terms of «содержание» [content] and «вес книги» [book’s weight].

These usually tend to be easy-flowing pieces such as «любовные романы» [romance novels], «детективы» [crime fiction], «научная фантастика» [science fiction] and various other «книжный ширпотреб» [books that are popular, but not necessarily substantial; run-of-the-mill books].

The compound word «ширпотреб» means «широкого потребления» [items of popular consumption] and is frequently used disparagingly with the meaning of “rubbish” as in

«Я не читаю Коэльо, так как это не интеллектуальная литература, а ширпотреб какой-то»

[I don’t read Coelho because it’s rubbish and not intellectual literature]

(to all Coelho fans out there – it is just an example and does not reflect my personal opinion on the author)

But I digress… Let’s get back to our question of «что читать этим летом» [what to read this summer]. If light reading «вам не по вкусу» [isn’t your cup of tea] then how about choosing some heavier books, both in terms of substance and «число страниц» [page count]?

May I suggest the following:

• «История государства Российского» [History of the Russian State] by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (if lugging 12 tomes around with you doesn’t sound very appealing, you can always watch its animated version, all 500 episodes of it).
• «Борис Годунов» [Boris Godunov] by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (or watch its subtitled version on YouTube)
• «Мёртвые души» [Dead Souls] by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (the writer, not the fictional KGB general from James Bond movies)
• «Отцы и дети» [Fathers and Sons] by Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (just in time for Father’s Day too)
• «Преступление и наказание» [Crime and Punishment] by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (reading this is a rite of passage for all Russian learners, but if you must watch a movie, here’s a link to a BBC adaptation)
• «Анна Каренина» [Anna Karenina] by Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (either that or «Война и мир» [War and Peace], although why not both?! And yes, you can watch movies as well – Anna Karenina and War and Peace)
• «Мастер и Маргарита» [Master and Margarita] by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (especially if you it’s on your unfinished reading list from last summer)
• And for a healthy dose of humor nothing beats «Золотой телёнок» [Golden Calf] by Ilya Ilf and Evgeniy Petrov (yes, there’s a movie here as well)

This list is by no means all-inclusive as there’s lots more great Russian literature, both prose and poetry, classical and contemporary, with movies and without. The list above is an excerpt from a list of so-called «летнее чтение» [summer reading] for high school students in Russia (grades 9 through 11).

Now, you might note that reading all these books (or even watching all the movies) is very time-consuming. You might argue that reading everything on the list would take up all your free time and none would be left for «курортный роман» in its meaning of a summer fling.

You’re right, of course! But let me tell you, it is so worth it. Remember, «русская литература лучше секса» [Russian literature is better than sex]! BTW, let’s add «Доктор Живаго» [Doctor Zhivago] to the summer reading list.

Whatever you choose to do this summer in terms of «курортный роман», remember to use sufficient protection. Considering the length of these books, I think SPF 100 should do the trick.

So what’s on your summer reading list?

Today is a special day. «Вы знаете, что случилось в этот день в далёком 1799-ом году?» [Do you know what happened on this day in the distant year of 1799?]  If you Google this date in Russian – «6 июня 1799 года» – the top result is the birth of «Александр Сергеевич Пушкин» [Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin].

Pushkin is the Zeus of Russian poetic Olympus. He’s Russian Dante. No, Russian Shakespeare! He is admittedly «величайший русский поэт» [the greatest Russian poet], solely responsible for creating «современный литературный русский язык» [the contemporary Russian literary language]. But don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself in this Wiki page about Pushkin.

Russians start listening to Pushkin’s poetry «с младых ногтей» [from early childhood]. Remember the mythical «Лукоморье»? Pushkin not only defined it in the opening verses of «Руслан и Людмила» [Ruslan and Lyudmila], but wrote many of the now-classic fairy tales, including «Сказка о рыбаке и рыбке» [The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish] and «Сказка о царе Салтане» [The Tale of Tsar Saltan].

To say that Pushkin wrote a lot would be an understatement. In addition to poems he wrote no-less brilliant and famous «романы» [novels], «рассказы» [short stories], «афоризмы» [maxims], and «эпиграммы» [quips]. Russians quote his «бессмертные строки» [immortal lines] in everyday speech, sometimes without knowing the author.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Few Russians can «декламировать» [recite] any of Pushkin’s poems «от начала до конца» [from start to finish]. But if you were to ask to recite «что-нибудь из Пушкина» [some of Pushkin’s works], they will recall at least a line or two. Most popular in my unofficial survey seem to be:

«Я помню чудное мгновенье, передо мной явилась ты» [I remember the magic moment when you appeared to me]

«Мороз и солнце – день чудесный!» [Frost and sunshine: day of wonder!]

«У Лукоморья дуб зелёный» [A green oak grows in Lookomorie]

«Я к вам пишу, чего же боле? Что я могу ещё сказать?» [I write to you - no more confession is needed, nothing’s left to tell]

As for the «крылатые фразы» [popular quotations], the ones I hear or say most often include:

«А счастье было так возможно, так близко!» [And happiness was so possible, so near!]

«И сердце вновь горит и любит» [And the heart once again is ablaze and in love]

«К беде неопытность ведёт» [Inexperience leads to misfortune]

«Ещё одно последнее сказанье» [Just one last tale]

«Кто раз любил, тот не полюбит вновь» [Who loved once shall never love again]

«Любви все возрасты покорны» [To love all ages surrender]

«Я сам обманываться рад!» [I am glad to be made a fool!]

«Быть можно дельным человеком и думать о красе ногтей» [One can be both a sensible person and care about one’s nails]

«Жизнь, зачем ты мне дана» [Life, why were you given me?]

Pushkin has become ubiquitous in Russian life – streets, squares and theaters named after him, children committing his works to memory all through high school, references to Pushkin’s work throughout contemporary Russian literature, etc. So it’s no surprise that when one is expected to do something and doesn’t, he might be asked «а делать кто будет? Пушкин?» [Do you think Pushkin is going to do this?]:

«Коля, кто за тебя будет домашнюю работу делать, Пушкин что-ли?» [Kolya, do you think Pushkin is going to do your homework for you?]

«Сломать-то ты сломал, а чинить кто будет? Пушкин?» [Of course, you broke it, but who’s going to fix it? Pushkin?]

And now I have questions for you:

1. What is one phrase that springs to mind when you hear the name Pushkin?
2. Which American movie features General Pushkin (hint: General Gogol is also in it)?