Have you ever wished for a time machine? What would you use «машина времени» for if you did have it? The protagonists of Soviet «научная фантастика» [science fiction] were always using time machines for various noble deeds, such as dinosaur research or, say, trying to save «одно из семи чудес света» [one of the seven wonders of the world]. Such «наивные паиньки» [naïve goody two shoes] these idealistic heroes were!

That’s why I immediately fell in love with «Назад в будущее» [Back to the Future] and all its sequels. I mean, here were folks using a time machine for their private, practical goals. And while the goals weren’t always perfect or even very ethical, they were realistic and refreshing.

All this goes to say that if I were to have a time machine, I would had used it to find out «что день грядущий мне готовит» [what tomorrow holds for me] and place my bets accordingly.

Like I wouldn’t even worry about travelling «в далёкое будущее» [to the distant future]. Instead, if I were to get a hold of «машина времени» today, I’d go to «2 августа этого года» [August 2^nd of this year].

That’s the day when we’ll know for sure whether the US will default on its foreign debt, an event that, if it happens, will have tremendous impact on economies around the world.

Now, before I go any further, this is not a blog about politics or economics. This is a post about Russia and all things Russian. So while I can’t change the big picture, I can at least «использовать эту возможность» [use the opportunity] to go over some vocabulary.

You might remember that Russia went through its own «дефолт» [default] back in 1998. That’s actually the year the word itself entered everyday Russian conversations. Another way to translate “default” is «отказ от уплаты долга» [refusal to pay off debt] or «нарушение обязательств по выплате долга» [breach of obligations on debt repayment].

Moving on to the verb “to default”, things get a bit muddier. Here’s an example: «российский дефолт был объявлен в августе 1998-го года» [Russia defaulted in August of 1998].

“To default” can be translated as «объявить дефолт» or «прекратить выплату долговых обязательств» [stop repayment of debt] or «отказаться от выплаты долга» [refuse to repay debt]. And that’s how «пресса» [print media] reports it. But on the Internet, in chat rooms and forums, a word «дефолтнуть» has started to appear, meaning “to send into a default”.

The verb «дефолтнуть» is pretty interesting mostly because it is formed with a suffix «-ну-». Lots of Russian verbs use this suffix, but they can be categorized into 2 very different groups.

In the first category are verbs such as «гибнуть» [to perish], «мокнуть» [to become wet], «крепнуть» [to gain strength], «мёрзнуть» [to get cold], «слепнуть» [to lose eyesight], «вянуть» [to wither]. These verbs have corresponding adjectives and in general indicate a process of undergoing some sort of change.

 

Adjective	-ну- Verb	Sentence
Гиблый	Гибнуть	Коралловые рифы гибнут по всему миру. [All around the world, coral riffs are dying.]
Мокрый	Мокнуть	Пустынные аллеи мокнут под дождём [Deserted avenues are getting wet in the rain]
Мёрзлый	Мёрзнуть	Если у тебя мёрзнут ноги, одень тёплые носки [If your feet are cold, put on warm socks]
Слепой	Слепнуть	Продолжайте это делать и вы будете слепнуть [Continue doing this and you will be going blind]
Вялый	Вянуть	Почему цветы вянут, если их не поливать [Why flowers wither without watering]

In the second category are the verbs such as «прыгнуть» [to jump], «отдохнуть» [to rest], «стукнуть» [to hit], «глянуть» [to look], «зевнуть» [to yawn]. These verbs are perfective, formed from other verbs, and denote non-recurring or instantaneous actions.

 

Verb	-ну- Verb	Sentence
Прыгать	Прыгнуть	Кот прыгнул и поймал кузнечика. [The cat jumped and caught a grasshopper]
Отдыхать	Отдохнуть	Вернусь из коммандировки и отдохну по полной программе [I’ll rest for real after I get back from a business trip]
Глядеть	Глянуть	Глянул я в зеркало, а на меня оттуда морда небритая таращится [I took a look in the mirror; an unshaven mug stared back at me]
Зевать	Зевнуть	Что будет если чихнуть, кашлянуть и зевнуть одновременно? [What happens if you sneeze, cough, and yawn all at once?]

Even though «дефолтнуть» is not formed from a verb, it does carry the sense of non-recurring action. It is also a transitive verb, so an object this verb acts on will be in the accusative case as in «Грецию могут дефолтнуть» [Greece might be sent into a default].

Here’s something else super-interesting and special about the suffix «-ну-». Every Russian elementary school student knows that “All Russian words have «корень» [a root]”. That’s the rule. Of course, «нет правил без исключений» [there are no rules without exceptions]. Same here – in the whole Russian language there is ONE word that doesn’t have a root. It only has a prefix and 2 suffixes. One of these suffixes is «-ну-». Can you name the word?

As for default, I don’t have much else to say, except to post a list of words that just might come in handy come August 2^nd:

«экономический кризис» – economic crisis

«мировой финансовый кризис» – world financial crisis

«подрыв доверия» – erosion of credibility

«падение уровня жизни» – drop in the living standards

«потолок госдолга» also «планка госдолга» – government debt ceiling

«резкое падение» – sharp fall, collapse

«крах» – crash

As for the dream of a time machine, it looks like the classic said it all:

Что день грядущий мне готовит?

Его мой взор напрасно ловит,
В глубокой мгле таится он.
Нет нужды; прав судьбы закон.

 

[This day to come, what will it bring?

My eyes in vain seek out the thing

That’s veiled in deepest mystery.

No matter: a just fate awaits me.]