Bumper-sticker wisdom in Russian Posted by Rob on Mar 19, 2013
Are you getting tired of telling the driver behind you to Save the Pygmy Hippos? Or maybe you’re thinking that it’s time to scrape off that Re-Elect Carter 1980 bumper-sticker? Well, allow me to offer 10 Russian остроты (“aphorisms; witticisms; quips”) that’d be perfect for a custom-made bumper-sticker. Or a (нагрудный) значок (“pin-on lapel button”)…
Three Whales and Other Russian Phrases for Counting to Ten Posted by yelena on Mar 13, 2013
I am trying to figure out a way to talk about the три кита русского мата (the three whales of the Russian obscenity) without crossing the line yet without having to use so many *** that it makes the post unreadable. If you have any ideas on how to do this, let me know. In…
How to Curse Like a Russian Kindergartner Posted by yelena on Mar 7, 2013
Today, my friends, is the day to learn some Russian curse words. The signs are all here – the Chelyabinsk meteor, the asteroid flyby, the unbelievable видео с авторегистраторов (dashcam videos). These videos alone make you want to curse a blue streak. However, keeping in mind that just like the great and mighty Russian language…
Humor that’s lost-and-found in translation Posted by Rob on Mar 6, 2013
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned “elephant jokes” as an example of humor that translates well because most of the examples don’t depend on language-specific wordplay. So today, let’s consider some puns and quips that are difficult or impossible to translate into English because they hinge on Russian homonyms or on ambiguities of Russian grammar…
Shouldn’t, oughtn’t, can’t, better not: Negative “modals” in Russian Posted by Rob on Feb 27, 2013
Long before Hollywood pop-culture began flooding from “Pindostan” into the ex-USSR, the distinctively Latin American genre known as telenovelas (теленовеллы or телесериал) had attained cult status in Russia (particularly, but not exclusively, among women). So in this post, let’s picture a scene from an imaginary теленовелла. Our beautiful (but naive) heroine María Simplemente has just…
Q: What’s huge, gray, and shines like a light-bulb? Posted by Rob on Feb 20, 2013
A: An electric elephant. Or, in Russian: Что это: Огромное, серое, и светит как лампочка? — Электрический слон. The Elephant Joke genre occurs in many different languages — generally, these jokes tend to “travel well” because their humor rarely depends on untranslatable puns, or on pop-culture references that quickly go stale. And one finds them…
Cards and Women, but Mostly Cards Posted by yelena on Feb 15, 2013
Well, the Valentine’s Day is over and done with. But if you are following Russian calendar, you know there are two more holidays coming up that give men a perfect excuse погусарить. Гусар, гусарство, and гусарить are the words that are low on the priority list of most language learners. Which is surprising since…