Let’s Fake It Until We Make It Posted by yelena on Jul 23, 2012 in language
(If you don’t feel like reading the entire post, skip to the end for a fun challenge)
Writing for the Russian blog is, without any doubt, one of the most interesting and rewarding things I’ve done up until now. Not only do I get to better my English (how else would I learn the difference between “enunciation” and “annunciation”) and watching Наша Раша (Our Russia) for hours on end, but I get to improve my native language.
For example, thanks to the blog, I am now reading Слово о словах (A Word About Words) by Лев Успенский (Lev Uspensky), a Russian писатель (writer) and филолог (philologist).
Из всех орудий язык – самое удивительное и сложное (Of all the tools language is the most amazing and complex)
says Uspensky at the beginning of his book. He then adds that to achieve mastery of a tool one must know до тонкостей (to the finest details) how this tool works and what it is made out of.
If you ever wonder about all the inconsistencies and quirks of the Russian language, then this is the book for you. It is available free online, but only in its original Russian. If you know where we can find its English translation (if it even exists), please share in the comments.
I came across this book while reading about the phrase глокая куздра штеко бодланула бокра и кудлачит бокрёнка. Not a single word in this phrase can be found in the dictionary (ok, except for the союз (conjunction) и. And yet, if you know Russian, you will understand the general meaning, the gist, of the phrase. Just like if you know English you will deduce the gist of another famous nonsensical phrase “The iggle squiggs trazed wombly in the harlish hoop”.
Of course, when it comes to non-existing words, nothing comes even close to Бармаглот. Ok, so this one you probably already know. Here’s how it goes:
Варкалось. Хливкие шорьки
Пырялись по наве.
И хрюкотали зелюки,
Как мюмзики в мове.
If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, here’s the original English version you might be more familiar with:
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gymble in the wabe;
And mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Yes, that was Jabberwocky in Russian.
So I discovered Слово о словах (A Word about Words) while reading about глокая куздра which, in turn, I found by way of Бармаглот/Jabberwocky. And I was reminded about Бармаглот while helping with a Russian-language version of Transparent’s new online game.
The Russian version is not ready yet, but you can try out the original English language one, called Which is English, to get an idea of how the game is played. The rules are simple: you are presented with two words or phrases, one real and the other one – fake. You must click on the real word. If you choose correctly, you are given a new, slightly more difficult, pair. The more correct answer you give, the higher your score gets and, consequently, the more difficult the game becomes. Simple, yet addictive.
My role consists of creating fake words for the Russian version. This is not as simple or straightforward as it sounds. Don’t believe me? Well, give it a go then.
Below is a list of 10 real Russian words. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create 10 fake words, similar in length to the real ones. Post your fake words in the comments. The 10 that sound the most like Russian words without being actual Russian words will be used in the game. Their authors will be honored in a pre-release blog post. Ready for the challenge? Here we go:
Example: книга – грежа
- улица
- душа
- утро
- вечер
- пол
- народ
- плечо
- бог
- взгляд
- палец
Don’t worry if you don’t know what these words mean. Just fake them and share your fakes here or on the Facebook page. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
Comments:
Iain:
1.улица – журна
2.душа – бёла
3.утро – внуе
4.вечер – криль
5.пол – ток
6.народ – яштие
7.плечо – грузо
8.бог – хуз
9.взгляд – прещёт
10.палец – дровь
yelena:
@Iain Iain, your дровь word is great! It actually reminds me of бровь (brow). As Rob said, ток is an actual word that means “electrical current”. Криль is also a real word, “krill”.
David Roberts:
1. Улица Каренька
2. Душа Ламя
3. Утро Маня
4. Вечер Носон
5. Пол Брез
6. Народ Поболь
7. Плечо Спальда
8. Бог Жух
9. Взгляд Шпрец
10.Палец Выхот
yelena:
@David Roberts David, I like шпрец – it sounds very believable with its opening salvo of ш, п, р. It also sounds very much like шприц (syringe). Маня won’t work because it can also be a name. Жух is a very interesting case. It’s not really a word even though there are words such as жухлый (withered), жухнуть (to wither). However, жух is sometimes used as onomatopoeia for шорох (rustle).
Rob:
Careful, Iain — ток actually is a word! (Meaning “current,” as of water or electricity.) But I absolutely love прещёт (because it’s totally plausible as a 3rd-person sing. pres. verb and I even found myself thinking “Hmmm, would the infinitive be прескать?”)
Дровь is also quite good and “believable” as a hypothetical derivative of дерево — сf. дрова, “firewood.”
And I’d also vote for David’s suggestion жух, which is very Jabberwocky-ish and made me think of “a ghostly beetle” (i.e., a portmanteau of жук and дух).
Stas:
1.улица – сяпут
2.душа – шклум
3.утро – рбим
4.вечер – весетка
5.пол – пла
6.народ – гнасть
7.плечо – даска
8.бог – люп
9.взгляд – скрычь
10.палец – гравицапа (улётка)
yelena:
@Stas Stas, I love скрычь! Весетка is a fun word, reminds me of барсетка (a small bag, usually a man-purse). Regarding гравицапа, I think we’re on the same wavelength here. Before reading your comment, I was thinking about writing a post about Кин-дза-дза.
Delia Valente:
Hi there!
I was trying to keep the same number of syllables and the same vowels. I don’t know whether that was the idea or not.
1.улица – мукира
2.душа – суфа
3.утро – штуро
4.вечер – керенч
5.пол – фроп
6.народ – шапорн
7.плечо – кферо
8.бог – шпогр
9.взгляд – сфрям
10.палец – гдареш
In Stas’ examples, ДАСКА looks like misspelled ДОСКА.
David:
Pity about Маня! I was trying to keep the same number of syllables and when possible trying to russify similar meaning words from other languages – so маня comes from spanish manana. So instead of маня,how about:
3. Утро – Боре
Kate:
улица-цапия
душа-шадук
утро-рогат
вечер-чорват
пол-лоф
народ-дранаф
плечо-черла
бог-гоф
взгляд-длягуф
палец-цалап
Kate:
oops… I see what you mean, one of mine was a word! So here is a re-submission:
улица-цапия
душа-шадук
утро-грато
вечер-чорват
пол-лоф
народ-дранаф
плечо-черла
бог-гоф
взгляд-длягуф
палец-цалап
Minority:
What a fun game =) Let me try it too) To tell the truth, I tried to make anagrams )))
улица – цыпля
душа – прот
утро – тюня
вечер – рачень
пол – мра
народ – дрона
плечо – полечь
бог – лош
взгляд – встрак
палец – лапец
yelena:
@Minority Great! I’m going to use a couple of these fake words in the game, Minority! I like your systematic approach 🙂
Ana:
I can’t wait for your Russian version Which is English.