Archive for 'Culture'
Russian Greetings are Fun Posted by yelena on Nov 19, 2010
You’ve all likely heard an expression “nature abhors vacuum”. You can translate it into Russian quite literally as «природа не терпит пустоты» or more figuratively as «свято место пусто не бывает» [lit: the holy place is never empty]. This last one is especially appropriate when talking about people. And so now we have a new…
Russian Days of the Week Posted by yelena on Nov 9, 2010
«Как прошли выходные?» [How was your weekend?]. Mine was not so hot. And it’s not just the «прохладная погода» [cool weather] that’s to blame, but a nasty case of a 24-hour flu. Well, at least it was supposed to last only «сутки» [24 hours], but as of Monday I was still «в кровати» [in…
Looking for Russian Holiday to Celebrate? Posted by yelena on Nov 3, 2010
«Какой русский не любит праздновать» [What kind of a Russian doesn’t like to celebrate]! Russians celebrate with «смак» [gusto] both the well-established holidays and the newly adopted ones. Holidays that lose their «блеск» [luster] are never discarded, but instead reinvented. And even the ones that get forgotten or cast aside tend to «возрождаться» [reappear]…
Cold Remedies – Tea and Onions and Mustard Posted by yelena on Nov 1, 2010
The approaching winter brings not only «холод» [cold weather], but unavoidable «простуда» [cold]. Everyone around you is sick. «Как дела? Что новенького?» [How’s life? What’s new?] you ask and a friend replies «Всё по старенькому, вот только я, кажется, заболеваю» [Things are as usual, but I think I’m coming down with something]. A passerby, rushing…
Halloween in Russia? Posted by yelena on Oct 27, 2010
When I left Russia back in 1997 we didn’t celebrate Halloween. In fact, we didn’t even know about this holiday. But here I am living in «Штаты» [the US] where this «праздник» is huge and of course we’re sucked into the celebratory frenzy. And of course, I’m not the only Russian in the States…
Есть такое слово! [There is a Word Like This!] Posted by yelena on Oct 18, 2010
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]…
Russian Fairy Tales from A to Z – Part 2 Posted by yelena on Sep 24, 2010
«У Лукоморья дуб зелёный…» – do you know the rest by heart yet? One of the most famous lines from Alexandr Pushkin’s opening to “Ruslan and Lyudmila” does not translate very well into English. “There grows a green oak in Lookomorie…” somehow doesn’t sound nearly as magical, don’t you think? Yes, I’m back with…