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World Cup 2010 Without Russia Posted by yelena on Jun 16, 2010
By now even people who don’t watch TV (count me in), don’t listen to the radio (me again), and donate unopened and unread sports sections of newspapers to local pet shelters (well, I compost mine, but you get the idea) have heard of «чемпионат мира по футболу» [the World Cup]. To my great surprise…
Reading: Master and Margarita – Chapter 1 Posted by yelena on Jun 11, 2010
By now you know that the novel starts off at «Патриаршии пруды» [Patriarch’s ponds], but why there, of all other spooky places in Moscow. While even Bulgakov-ologists don’t know exactly why, the choice appears to be highly symbolic. First of all, there’s the name itself. Don’t you think it’s interesting that Woland and his motley…
Juices, Waters and Bulgakov Posted by yelena on Jun 4, 2010
Do you know that most of Russia has «континентальный климат» [a continental climate]? This means very cold winters followed by short, but very warm dry summers with occasional temperatures “characteristic of tropical climates”. June’s barely begun and «температура» [temperature] is already in the lower 30ies in my native Volgograd. Josefina’s second home, Yekaterinburg, is expected…
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…
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» –…
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…