Tag Archives: gender
Поэт или авторка: Gendered Names of Occupations in Russian Posted by Maria on Apr 17, 2019
Russian is a gendered language, which means that nouns have a grammatical gender (род): feminine (же́нский), masculine (мужско́й), or neuter (сре́дний). True, it can be confusing to grasp why a table (стол) is masculine and a river (река́) is feminine, but it should be much simpler with names of people’s occupations, right? In theory, yes…
March 8 in Russia: Appreciation of Women or Sexist Holiday? Posted by Maria on Mar 9, 2017
Yesterday Russia and several neighboring countries celebrated International Women’s Day (Международный женский день). However, as I was reading coverage of the holiday in Russian-language media, I was reminded that the controversy surrounding the holiday remains. So why do some people think this holiday is outdated or a sham? Background The holiday started as a commemoration of the…
Five Easy Parts of Learning Russian — Part I Posted by Maria on Oct 31, 2016
This is part one of this post. Make sure you read part two when it comes out. Russian has the reputation of a hard-to-learn language. The Foreign Service Institute has placed Russian into category 4 out of 5 for how long it takes native English speakers to learn it. A different alphabet, noun declensions, verb…
Gender Dynamics in Russia Posted by Maria on Jul 14, 2014
Gender dynamics in Russia are a curious mix of patriarchy, old-fashioned chivalry, and female empowerment. Women are expected to look and act a certain way; at the same time, they are a significant presence in industries considered male elsewhere. Eye Candy Women One of the first things visitors to Russia notice is how attractive the…