Archive for May, 2010
More Russian Onomatopoeia or Is It? Posted by yelena on May 31, 2010
It occurred to me that the best way to get a grip on lots of Russian «звукоподражания» [onomatopoeia] is by reading children’s books. After all, onomatopoeia is used by Russian parents and grandparents to teach their little ones the first words. It’s much easier to say «би-би» [honk-honk] than «машина» [car]; «чу-чу» [chuga-chuga] is…
And the winner is… Posted by josefina on May 30, 2010
…«Мастер и Маргарита» [“The Master & Margarita”]! What are the stickers lying next to the book for? Read the post and find out! It was a close race on the poll “Russian literature is better than sex” on our Facebook page, but eventually it was clear to everyone what book had won! The final list…
Russian Onomatopoeia is Fun Posted by yelena on May 25, 2010
Indeed, «русский язык – велик и могуч!» [Russian language is great and powerful.] It has such wonderfully lengthy and unpronounceable words as «Интернационализироваться» – to undergo a process of internationalization «Одиннадцатиклассница» – female 11th grader «Восьмидесятичетырёхлетний»- someone or something who’s 84 years old, presumably the grandfather of the said 11th grader And «водогрязеторфопарафинолечение» –…
«Свой человек»: Unraveling a Possessive Pronoun Posted by josefina on May 21, 2010
«Свой» [one’s; his; her; their] is a «притяжательноеместоимение» [possessive pronoun] just like «мой» [my], «твой» [your (singular)], «наш» [our], «ваш» [your (plural)], «его» [his], «её» [her] and «их» [their]. Not all languages have this possessive pronoun – shout out to all you proud native speakers of English! – and that’s why it is not always…
Billion-Strong Russia Posted by yelena on May 19, 2010
The kind of stuff one can find on Internet without even trying never ceases to amaze me. For example, today I started off at Lenta.ru and drifted over to the brand-new «президент.рф» site, located on one of the first «нелатинский домен» [domain that does not use Roman alphabet]. While at президент.рф, I discovered that…
Are You a Cultured Person? Posted by yelena on May 16, 2010
The other day I was teaching my son not to throw the trash on the ground. «Мусорить плохо» [It’s bad to litter], I said and then added «и некультурно» [lit.: and it is uncultured]. That’s when he asked me what «культурный» means. Good question! Growing up in Russia, I’ve heard the phrase «культурный человек» [a…
Part III: «Казань – литературная» [The Literary Kazan’] Posted by josefina on May 14, 2010
I’m afraid I only managed to photograph «памятник Мусе Джалилю» [the monument to Musa Jalil] – «татарскому поэту–патриоту» [to the Tatar poet and patriot] – from behind while in Kazan’… Even though Tatar literature isn’t really a part of ‘all things Russian’ in the strictest of senses – why be so strict, anyway? «Татарстан» [Tatarstan]…