The ‘Word of the Week’ that we’ve had here on this blog for a while now is a very good thing (it proved especially good when that “word” was «Барак Обама»), but what about making some changes in the new year and try ‘Proverb of the Week’ instead? If you really want to get to know a people, find out what they think, what they feel, or know well, and not just today (because for that you could read a paper or a book and feel content afterwards), but what this people has felt and known and thought for a long time now, to where should you turn? To the «пословица» [adage, proverb; paraphrase] of course! Phraseology is also important when it comes to this, but phraseology is harder to make use of in a foreign language because it should be a part of the sentence you pronounce, whereas a proverb is already a finished sentence, ready made to be used whenever it seems fit. In Russian proverbs are especially interesting to a foreign ear (and eye!) because they show how deep and far back in the Russian roots the case system and the free syntax lie. This is also true of proverbs in any other language, but let us stick to Russian here. Most Russian proverbs are impersonal, expressed either in second person singular (like «Что посеешь, то и пожнёшь» [‘What you sow, that you harvest’]), or third person plural (for example, «Лес рубят – щепки летят» [‘When they cut down the forest the splinters fly’]. There are also an abundance of Russian proverbs of the type «Муж и жена – одна сатана» [‘Husband and wife – one Satan’, meaning that husband and wife are alike in what they want and think, and always act collectively]. Proverbs are a fascinating part of the language because they show both how people speaking a certain language think and their way of life. In the two first proverbs we sense that they’re from a time when Russia was still largely an agricultural country, and when it comes to the third… it could be from a thousand years ago, but it could also be from just yesterday.

In today’s Russia many proverbs that have served the nation since what seems like forever get a second life when they’re changed with the times. One of the first proverbs I learned how to use and then learned to love in its ‘second life form’ is «С кем поведёшься, от того и наберёшься» [‘Who you make friends with, from them you also accumulate’ (wisdom, experience, habits, and so on and so forth)]. The meaning of it is that you become like the people you surround yourself with, both in a good way and in a bad way. In Russia today everybody knows the original form of this proverb, and that has caused this form to almost become extinct, because people have started coming up with their own versions. Most of them imply that ‘making friends’ with someone often leads to ‘more than friendship’. In the Urals I have only heard «С кем поведёшься, от того и залетишь» [‘with whom you hang out, from them you also get knocked up’]. The verb «залететь» doesn’t only mean ‘to fly in’, but also has the colloquial meaning ‘to get knocked up; to get pregnant’ (stress on the fact that it was ‘unplanned’). But there are many, many variants of this proverb, proving two things: 1. Russians know how strong influence from friends can be, and 2. this influence can take different forms, not only will you accumulate habits and experience but other things as well. Once I heard someone in Perm, I think, say «С кем поведёшься, с тем и посидишь» [‘with whom you hang out, with them you’ll also serve prison time’].

On this site I found the following versions, apparently from «Антипословицы русского народа» [The Anti Proverbs of the Russian People]:

«С кем поведёшься, на того и похожи дети» […like them the children also look]
«С кем поведёшься, от того и забеременеешь» […from them you also get pregnant].
«С кем поведёшься, от того и заболеешь» […from them you also get sick].
«С кем поведёшься, от того и залетишь» […from them you also get knocked up].
«С кем поведёшься, от того и заразишься» […from them you also get infected].
«С кем поведёшься, от того и третий лишний» […from them you don’t also need a third].
«С кем поведёшься, с тем и напьёшься» […with them you get also drunk].
«С кем поведёшься, с тем и переспишь» […with them you also sleep].
«С кем поведёшься, с тем и подерёшься» […with them you also fight].
«С кем поведёшься, с тем и проживёшь всю жизнь» […with them you’ll also live your whole life].
«С кем поведёшься, так тебе и надо» […and that’s also the way you deserve it].
«С кем поведёшься, тот и отец ребёнка» […they are also the father of the child].

What would be a good English translation of this proverb? Is there any English variant of it? In Swedish we have ‘man blir som man umgås’ which can roughly be translated as ‘you become like the way hang out (with other people)’. The meaning is the same as the Russian, though it lacks a second half which could be used for creativity in the way the Russian people has been creative with theirs…