{"id":1023,"date":"2010-07-02T20:18:46","date_gmt":"2010-07-02T20:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1023"},"modified":"2010-07-02T20:40:47","modified_gmt":"2010-07-02T20:40:47","slug":"russian-language-the-lazy-man%e2%80%99s-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/russian-language-the-lazy-man%e2%80%99s-version\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Language: The Lazy Man\u2019s Version"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some things in Russian language are not so difficult to learn and remember. Like this thing pictured above (the photo cold have been taken \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u0432 <\/em><\/strong>\u0427\u0435\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 <\/em><\/strong>\u043e<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> [in Chelyabinsk Region], but it was not) \u2013 at first I wanted to call it \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> [a tractor], but that\u2019s what happens when you bring a person from the city out to meet nature\u2026 The kind people in the village corrected me and said it was \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u0435\u0440<\/a>\u00bb <\/em><\/strong>[combine<\/a>] \u2013 that\u2019s about as difficult a word to remember as \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u043f\u044c\u044e<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u0440\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> [computer] and \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u0440\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> [scanner]!\u00a0 If you knew what a combine was in English before you met it in Russian, that is…<\/em><\/p>\n

A few days ago Yelena wrote that summer is the perfect time for Russian grammar. Of course, \u00ab\u044f \u0441\u043e\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [I agree], but summer is also the perfect time to give into the almighty \u00ab\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> \u00a0[fem.<\/em> 1)<\/strong> laziness; 2)<\/strong> sloth; 3)<\/strong> idleness; 4)<\/strong> inertia; 5)<\/strong> inactivity; 6)<\/strong> ease]. When Russians are feeling lazy, they put a pronoun meaning themselves \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u043c <\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435\u0436\u0435<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [in dative case] together with \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> and exclaim \u2013 complete with a long, careless yawn – \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c!\u00bb<\/strong> [I\u2019m (too) <\/em>lazy! or:<\/em> I don\u2019t have enough strength (because I\u2019m so overtaken by laziness)<\/em>!]. Today I\u2019m also feeling a little bit \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [fem.<\/em> lazy] and that\u2019s why I thought it would be perfect to dedicate this post to finding out some words in Russian that are easy like Sunday morning \u2013 to learn and remember, that is, because they\u2019re so close to English words! Like the case with \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u0435\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> above, they can sometimes seem easier than they really are. Sometimes they might turn out to be what translators like to call \u2018false friends\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened to me a long time ago when I first came across the Russian word \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u043d\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong><\/a>, a word seemingly so close to the Swedish word \u2018bankomat\u2019<\/em>. \u00ab<\/strong>\u0411\u0430\u043d\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> means a cash machine; I think that the equivalent of it in the US is called an ATM. I remember searching for one of those an entire afternoon in Saint Petersburg, constantly turning to people around me and asking for it. I thought that this task would be easy for me because the Russian word for it was the same as in my native language. Yet nobody that I stopped and asked on the street could direct me to one. At times it even seemed as if they didn\u2019t know what I was asking for\u2026 How come? The problem was that I kept pronouncing the word as it would have been pronounced in Swedish: \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u043d\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0430\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>, with the stress on the \u00ab\u043e\u00bb<\/strong>, though that vowel should have been pronounced\u00a0like an \u00ab<\/strong>\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> instead, making the word sound like \u00ab\u0431\u0430\u043d\u043a\u0430\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> in Russian. I only got one little\u00a0letter wrong, and yet many Russians didn’t understand me at all. So remember that stress is not only imperative, it is CRUCIAL to Russian language! Even when you think some word looks exactly the same as a word in your native language (especially if your native language is English; not only Russian has borrowed plenty of words from that language)<\/em> \u2013 it might be pronounced slightly different. If you don\u2019t pay attention to this, then you might also\u00a0find yourself walking the streets of Saint Petersburg for hours \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u0437 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043a\u0438\u00bb <\/strong>[without a kopeck]\u2026<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of easy-to-learn and even-easier-to-remember \u201cRussian\u201d words (mostly connected with technical stuff for some reason\u2026 which makes me think of how I tried to teach my Russian students of Swedish language what to call all sorts of technical appliances in Swedish and kept asking for them to give me a Russian translation \u2013 and they ended up just saying English words with a Russian accent)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u043f\u044c\u044e<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u0440<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [computer], pronounced \u00ab<\/em><\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043c\u043f\u044c\u044e<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u0440\u00bb<\/em><\/strong>. Often Russians will not say the whole word, but use the shorter \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u043f\u00bb<\/strong>, like in this example:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0422\u044b <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0451<\/span>\u0441 <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u043f?\u00bb<\/strong> [Did you (male)<\/em> bring your computer?]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u044d\u043f\u0442\u043e\u043f<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [laptop], I\u2019m confused. Either it\u2019s pronounced \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u044d<\/span>\u043f\u0442\u0430\u043f\u00bb<\/strong> or \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u044d\u043f\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043f\u00bb <\/strong>(I think I\u2019ve heard both used in colloquial speech) <\/em>\u2013 anyone who knows for sure?<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u0440<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [scanner]. Now this word is almost too easy \u2013 except it should be pronounced with an \u00ab<\/strong>\u0438\u00bb <\/strong>sound in the place of the \u00ab<\/strong>\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> letter, because the \u00ab<\/strong>\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> is the only stressed vowel, like \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0440\u00bb<\/strong><\/em>. You may see how this pronunciation can be found in the verb derived from it:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [to scan]. Of course this good and useful noun has had to receive an equally excellent verb to go along with it in Russian language! Use it like this:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0421\u0435\u0439\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441 \u044f \u0441\u043a\u0430\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u0443\u044e \u0442\u0435\u0431\u0435<\/span> \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u0443 \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [Now I’m scanning this page for you].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span> <\/strong>\u043e\u043d\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0438 <\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u0435 <\/strong>\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u0444\u043e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0444\u0438\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [Yesterday they scanned old childhood photographs].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0444\u043b\u044d<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [USB-memory stick; or flash card]. One can easily see that this word comes from the Russian transcription<\/a> of the English word \u2018flash\u2019<\/em>: \u00ab<\/strong>\u0444\u043b\u044d\u0448\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The word \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043a\u0441<\/a>\u00bb <\/strong>can sometimes have a foreigner confused because it translates literally to Xerox, which is a company that makes copy machines. Not only should it be properly pronounced in Russian as \u00ab<\/em><\/strong>\u043a\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u043a\u0441\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> but also applied to all kinds of copy machines, no matter what company has produced them. Someone explained the reason for this to me with that the first copier to be available in the Russian Federation was made by Xerox. Thus the company\u2019s name became what the whole\u00a0phenomenon\u00a0came to be called and known as\u00a0in Russian language. It is not such a good idea to ask someone in Russia where \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043d\u043e\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u043c\u0430\u0448\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [duplicating machine] is… they probably will have no idea what you mean! (And also I don’t think that’s a real word)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s also why the verb for \u2018to make a copy using a copier\u2019<\/em> is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0442\u044c<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [to copy] made \u2013 not very surprisingly \u2013 from the noun \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043a\u0441\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And here are two \u2018bonus\u2019<\/em> words which I think everyone already knew by now:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u043a\u0430\u0439\u043f<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [Skype].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0424\u0435\u0439\u0441\u0431\u0443<\/span>\u043a<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [Facebook].<\/p>\n

Do you know more words like these? I know there must be at least a hundred of them out there in our favorite language.\u00a0 I’m sorry my\u00a0mind isn\u2019t at it\u2019s sharpest <\/strong>today – \u00ab\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043b\u0435 \u0434\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e, \u043f\u0440\u0435\u043a\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0434\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0430 \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435 \u0438 \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [after a long, wonderful day in the sun and out in nature]\u2026 And most of them are very likely to have a different pronunciation in Russian than in the original (English or other)<\/em> language! If you have any other words on your mind, go on and share them in the comments! And let everyone enjoy some easy Russian language learning for once \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Some things in Russian language are not so difficult to learn and remember. Like this thing pictured above (the photo cold have been taken \u00ab\u0432 \u0427\u0435\u043b\u044f\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u043e\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb [in Chelyabinsk Region], but it was not) \u2013 at first I wanted to call it \u00ab\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u00bb [a tractor], but that\u2019s what happens when you bring a person from…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,7828],"tags":[9869,9870,9867,9868,1248,9871,9874,9858,9860,9864,9863,9872,9873,1674,1696,9865,9861,1732,9859,9866,9862],"class_list":["post-1023","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-russian-for-beginners","tag-combine","tag-computer","tag-it-is-really-easy-to-learn-russian","tag-russian-easy-to-remember-words","tag-russian-language","tag-scanner","tag-9874","tag-9858","tag-9860","tag-9864","tag-9863","tag-9872","tag-9873","tag-1674","tag-1696","tag-9865","tag-9861","tag-1732","tag-9859","tag-9866","tag-9862"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1023"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1041,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1023\/revisions\/1041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}