«Давайте принесём Булгакова на пляж!» [Let’s bring Bulgakov to the beach!]

Russians – like most people that live in geographical regions where the longest season of the year is «зима» [winter] – can’t afford «пренебрегать летом: солнцем и теплом» [impfv. to neglect (also: to scorn; disdain; disregard; ignore) the summer: the sun and the warmth] considering how brief it is. It is over even before you’ve had enough time to dust off your bikini/bathing shorts! Can you believe that it is already «конец июля» [the end of July] and soon all we’ll have left of the summer of 2010 is our «загар» [suntan]? If we managed «загореть хорошенько» [pfv. to get sunburned properly (also: thoroughly)], that is. When feeling torn as to what to do: stay inside «и читать» [and impfv. read] or go outside – for example, «на пляж» [to the beach] – «и загорать» [and impfv. to sun-bathe (in this sense the verb is used only in impfv.)], why not combine the two? If you’re like any other «северянин или северянка» [northerner (male and female)], then your biggest concern with «чтение под солнцем» [reading under the sun] is that «загар будет неровным» [the suntan will become uneven]. But that’s not a good enough reason as to not give it a try, right?

What does all of this have to do «с восьмой главой» [with the eight chapter] «в Мастере и Маргарите» [in “Master and Margarita”]? Well, not much – except that I myself read it earlier while I was «на пляже» [at (lit.: on) the beach] trying «загореть» [pfv. to get (or become) sunburned]. The good thing about bringing a Russian book with you to the beach – if this beach happens to be somewhere in Russia (why not pretend that we’re all currently soaking up the sun «на Байкале» [at Lake Baikal]?) – is that you can ask native speakers around you to explain difficult words that you do not understand. Let’s use a word from chapter 8, entitled «Поединок между профессором и поэтом» [The/A Duel between the Professor and the Poet], to illustrate how helpful Russians can be while at the beach. You’re reading the sentence «…Иван едва руками не всплеснул от развязности женщины и молча ткнул пальцем в пижаму из пунцовой байки» […Ivan almost threw out with his hands because of the woman’s familiarity and silently pointed his finger at the pajama made from…] and suddenly find yourself unable to translate anymore in your head for you must ask yourself «что такое пунцовая байка?» [what is ‘puntsovaya baika’?]. And not asking it out loud – even more so because you left your «словарь» [dictionary] at home – will not get you anywhere. So how do you ask? You might want to try any one of these phrases:

This is the most neutral question: «Извините, можно у вас спросить?» [Excuse me (lit.: forgive me), may I ask you a question (lit.: is it possible to pfv. ask you)?]

This is for being a little bit more specific: «Простите, вы можете ответить на один вопрос?» [Excuse me (lit.: forgive me), can you pfv. answer one question?]

This one is for those not afraid of publicly displaying desperation: «Будьте добры, помогите мне с русским языком!» [Be kind, pfv. help me with Russian language!]

This one is for those always in need of being explicit: «Не могли бы вы объяснить мне одно трудное слово из “Мастера и Маргариты” Булгакова?» [Could you pfv. explain one difficult word from Bulgakov’s “The Master & Margarita” to me?]

This is to be used only if you think they speak your own language: «Вас не затруднит перевести для меня одно слово?» [Could you (lit.: will it not pfv. bother you to) pfv. translate one word for me?]

Now that you’ve asked the question – any of the five suggested above should do the trick and get the attention of the native speaker of Russian – you must concentrate yourself even more for now comes the «ответ» [answer]! Don’t be ashamed to say «повторите, пожалуйста!» [repeat, please!] or «говорите ясно и медленно, пожалуйста!» [speak clearly and slowly, please!] if you do not understand what the person’s «ответ» [answer] was. But first what they say might not be more difficult than the following (and forgive me, but these examples are all positive – for in my world Russians are a helpful people):

The most obvious: «Да» [Yes].

And also rather obvious: «Что?» [What?]

The polite answer: «Слушаю» [I’m listening].

An even more polite – so polite it is sometimes used ironically – answer: «Чем могу быть полезен/полезна?» [How can I be of help (lit.: with what can I be useful?)]

Also very polite or a little bit ironic: «Я к вашим услугам» [I’m at your service].

If the addressee is not sure that it is he or she you’re addressing, the response may be: «Вы меня?» [Are you talking to me? (lit.: You me?)]

Now that you’ve got both the native speaker’s attention as well as her or his willingness to help, it is high time to ask what it is you’re wondering about:

«Что значит “пунцовая байка”?» [What does ‘crimson colored flannel’ mean?]

To such a question you might receive many answers and varied explanations. You might hear the very heart-wrenching:

«Я не знаю» [I don’t know].

Or the equally disappointing: «Не могу сказать» [I can’t tell you].

But you might also get lucky and happen to ask a person who is not only very helpful and willing to help, but also rather good at explaining Russian words in Russian. An explanation from such a person might sound something like: «Ну, байка – это вид ткани, довольно тёплый и мягкий. А пунцовый – это вариант красного цвета» [Well, flannel is a kind of fabric, rather warm and soft. And crimson – that’s a variant of the color red].

Of course, if you’re going to ask about every word that you come across in chapter 8 of “Master & Margarita” – you’ll probably be at the beach long after sunset! But then again, that’s the time for «шашлыки» [pl. shashlik; shish kebab]! Happy sun-bathing and happy reading and happy bothering the native speakers with all your most annoying questions on grammar and vocabulary, everyone! Remember: «скоро всё это закончится» [soon all of this will be over]… With «это» [this] I mean «лето» [summer] – nothing else!