http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyzIEIbih2s

I’ve been watching a lot of «русские мультфильмы» [Russian cartoons] lately. I justify it as education, not as entertainment. Seriously, cartoons can provide fantastic insights into the real everyday speech. The golden nuggets of linguistic wisdom – phrases, idioms, words – that can be found in many cartoons usually appear in «повседневная речь» [everyday speech], but might not always make it into formal language courses. Besides, what’s more fun – «читать учебник» [to read a textbook] or «смотреть мультик» [to watch a ‘toon]?  

That’s why I felt that my most favorite cartoon of the moment «Крем-брюле» [Crème brûlée] is a perfect example of such “edutainment”:

The story is simple – «Дикобраз» [Porcupine] is on his way to «Тушканчик» [Gerbil] for «новоселье» [a house-warming party] when he comes across «Черепаха» [Turtle]. Turtle decides to come along, lured by the promise of «мороженое крем-брюле» [crème brûlée ice-cream]. She also brings up a question of what «подарок» [gift] to give to Gerbil. Since Porcupine hasn’t thought of a gift, the friends decide to give Turtle herself as an impromptu gift.

Why would Gerbil need Turtle as a gift? «На память, как сувенир» [As a memento, a souvenir], of course! Which in turn implies that the gift is «бесполезный в хозяйстве» [useless around the house]. Fortunately, Gerbil doesn’t see it the same way and seems «искренне рад» [genuinely happy] to receive such a great gift. In turn, Porcupine brainstorms ideas for using Turtle – «как зеркало» [as a mirror], «как диван» [as a couch], «чтобы орехи колоть» [to crack nuts]… Suddenly, realizing how useful a turtle can be around a house, Porcupine changes his mind about his gift and wants to take Turtle back – «подарить не могу… самому надо» [can’t gift it… I need it myself]. Porcupine gets ready to leave and calls Turtle over, resulting in a quick dialogue:

Porcupine: «Черепаха, есть дело» [Turtle, I’ve got a proposition for you]

Turtle: «Не хочу я есть дело. Я хочу крем-брюле» [I don’t want to eat a proposition. I want (to eat) crème brûlée]

So here we go – «игра слов» [wordplay] that’s built on two meanings of the word «есть»:

1. Imperfective of “to eat” (perfective would be «съесть») that can be used in such phrases as

 «Я хочу есть» [I want to eat or I’m hungry]

«Есть, чтобы жить, а не жить, чтобы есть» [To eat in order to live, not to live in order to eat]

«Что лучше есть, когда на улице жара» [What’s better to eat when it’s hot outside]

«Вредно ли есть перед занятием спортом» [Is it harmful to eat before a workout]

 2. Present indicative of “to be” (am, are, is, have, has) that can be used in such phrases as

 «Кто есть кто» [Who’s who]

«Сдача у вас есть?» [Have you gotten any change? (money)]

«Есть такая партия!» [There is such a party!] – this is one of the most famous of Vladimir Lenin’s phrases (ok, not as famous as «учиться, учиться и учиться» [to study, to study and to study]).

«Сила есть – ума не надо» [having muscles for brains]

«Есть ещё порох в пороховницах» [There’s life in the old dog yet] – this is from Nikolay Gogol’s story «Тарас Бульба». Remember Josefina’s last post with an awesome WWTBD sticker?

«Есть женщины в русских селеньях» [There are still women in Russian villages…] – this one is the most famous line from Nikolay Nekrasov’s poem «Мороз, Красный нос» [Frost, the Red nose]. Most Russians know and readily quote this line even if they don’t know the rest of the poem. Most are also aware that it has something to do with galloping horses and burning houses).

«Под небом голубым есть город золотой» [There is a golden city under the blue sky] – this is the opening line from one of my most favorite songs of all time.

Feel free to add your own examples of using the word «есть» or links to other songs by «Аквариум» [Aquarium].