Archive for April, 2010
Russian News – It’s All in the Comments Posted by yelena on Apr 30, 2010
When planning what to write about in April, I decided to write one news-related post. With so much going on in the world and in Russia, the task didn’t seem too difficult. Except, of course, that April turned out to be one heck of a month with catastrophes and tragedies piling up on top of…
«Осторожно, русский язык!» [Careful, Russian language!] Posted by josefina on Apr 28, 2010
If only this wasn’t a joke «объявление» [advertisement, announcement; declaration, proclamation; notification] made by some «хитрые филологи» [here: clever philologists], but «правда» [truth, verity, fact] instead! «Перевожу с руского на русский» [(I) translate from Rusian to Russian]. Because sometimes that’s just exactly what we all need, right? Today one foreign student here in Yekaterinburg…
DIY Russian Language Immersion Posted by yelena on Apr 26, 2010
Some time ago we asked just this question – What is the most difficult part about learning Russian? – on our Learn Russian Facebook page. Evidently, the question touched the nerve since we’ve got over 150 responses in just a couple of days. One of our participants, Alice, brought up an excellent point in her…
On the Border: на границе Европы-Азии! Posted by josefina on Apr 25, 2010
«Монумент на границе Европы–Азии» [the (new) monument on the border between Europe and Asia] «на московском тракте» [on the highway to Moscow (from Siberia)]. Have you ever dreamed of being in two places at one and the same time? «На Урале» [in the Ural Mountains] all your dreams can come true – including this one!…
Love Me Russian! or a little something about the diminutive [Part I: Introduction] Posted by josefina on Apr 22, 2010
In English language the grammatical term ‘diminutive’ translates as a diminutive word or suffix word indicating small size (such as “booklet”, etc.), a shortened form of a name or a name indicating fondness and that it can also be used to describe a very small person or a very small thing. In Russian language this…
I Love Volgograd Posted by yelena on Apr 20, 2010
Volgograd, my hometown, is relatively obscure in the West. Most Americans ask me where in Russia I am from and look seemingly lost when I say I’m from Volgograd. The notable exceptions are these three categories: «Знатоки Второй Мировой войны» [WWII history buffs] – «Сталинградская битва» [Battle of Stalingrad] was one of the major battles…
A Russian Post-modern Classic: Венедикт Ерофеев’s «Москва-Петушки» Posted by josefina on Apr 16, 2010
The post-modern pseudo-autobiographical classic «”Москва–Петушки” Венедикта Ерофеева» [“Moscow-Petushki” by Venedikt Yerofeev] has been translated into English as “Moscow to the End of the Line”, “Moscow Stations” and “Moscow Circles” (all of the above are very correct titles). But it should of course be read «в подлиннике» [in the original] – as should all other «произведения…