{"id":1194,"date":"2010-07-30T17:37:31","date_gmt":"2010-07-30T17:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2010-07-30T19:33:52","modified_gmt":"2010-07-30T19:33:52","slug":"you-say-it-best-when-you-say-nothing-at-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/you-say-it-best-when-you-say-nothing-at-all\/","title":{"rendered":"You say it best when you say \u00ab\u043d\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0433\u043e\u00bb [nothing] at all"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Let\u2019s put an end to this kind of boring (and pointless and not to mention plainly weird) conversations frequently used in textbooks on Russian language! Wouldn\u2019t it be much more fun if the policeman had said: \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u041d\u0443 <\/em><\/strong>\u0447\u0442\u043e <\/em><\/strong>\u044d<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u0442\u043e?\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> [Well what is this?] and John at that had answered: \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u042f <\/em><\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u043e\u0431\u0449\u0435<\/span> <\/em><\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/em><\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u044e. <\/em><\/strong>\u042f <\/em><\/strong>\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043f\u043e <\/em><\/strong>\u0438\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u0446\u00bb <\/em><\/strong>[I totally don\u2019t get it. I\u2019m like a foreigner].<\/em><\/p>\n

How often do you start a sentence with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c\u2026\u00bb <\/strong>in Russian \u2013 or with the equivalent \u201cyou know…\u201d in English? How many times a day do you find yourself commenting on something interesting by using only \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [which could be translated when used in this context as \u2018so there we are\u2019<\/em> or \u2018that\u2019s the way it is\u2019<\/em>]? Are you also the kind of person who prefers to express doubt or disbelief in dialogue by saying \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0443\u00bb <\/strong>[well] with a long and stressed \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u00bb<\/strong>-sound (making it sound like \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u043d\u0443\u0443\u0443\u0443\u00bb<\/em><\/strong>)<\/em>? If you are, then you\u2019re welcome to join the club of the rest of us humans! Such small words like the ones mentioned above are known in English as discourse particles<\/a>, or more commonly fillers<\/a> \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re meant to do in every day speech: to fill up the space between \u2018real\u2019<\/em> words that actually have some sort of meaning. Some people frown when others frequently exclaim \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u043e\u0431\u0449\u0435<\/span>!\u00bb<\/strong> [\u2018totally!\u2019<\/em>; the correct pronunciation in this context should be \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0430\u0430\u0449\u0435\u0435<\/span>!\u00bb <\/strong>with both vocals rather extended in length, even though only the \u00ab<\/strong>\u0435\u00bb<\/strong>-sound is stressed and thus also a little bit longer] instead of making the effort to come up with a positive reaction that\u2019ll actually contribute to the conversation. I\u2019m not one of those people. I love fillers! I\u2019m so fond of fillers that I frequently come up with new ones in all three languages in which I\u2019m fluent and then there are some favorites that I rotate with time. But most of the time I start all of my conversations \u2013 be it in Russian, English, or Swedish \u2013 with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [you know\u2026], even though the people I\u2019m talking to obviously don\u2019t \u2018know\u2019<\/em> \u2013 or else I wouldn\u2019t have to talk to them in the first place. Starting by saying that someone \u2018knows\u2019<\/em> when they don\u2019t know at all is the first rule of using discourse particles: it is imperative that they be completely and utterly pointless.<\/p>\n

For a word to qualify as a filler it has to completely lack semantics in the context where you say, hear or read it. For example, like the nonsensical meaning of the word \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043f\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [\u2018like\u2019<\/em>] in the following sentence:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041e\u043d <\/strong>\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043f\u043e <\/strong>\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u043e <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0448\u0451<\/span>\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> [He like walked past].<\/p>\n

You might as well have left this word out of the sentence entirely; the meaning doesn\u2019t depend on it the least. \u00ab<\/strong>\u0422\u0438<\/span>\u043f\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [\u2018like\u2019<\/em>] can also be used in colloquial Russian to give the listener a warning that what is about to follow after it is a quote, i.e. something said by someone else at an earlier point in time. Let\u2019s have a look at how this might sound:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041e\u043d \u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043f\u043e \u044f \u0442\u0435\u0431\u044f<\/span> \u043b\u044e\u0431\u043b\u044e<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [He was like I love you].<\/p>\n

Another way of saying the same thing \u2013 and, some might argue, the correct and thus ONLY way \u2013 is:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041e\u043d <\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u043b, <\/strong>\u0447\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0431\u0438\u0442 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [He said that he loves me].<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t believe that there\u2019s only ONE correct way of saying something and that\u2019s why I don\u2019t understand why discourse particles are called \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>–<\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [lit.<\/em> \u2018words-parasites\u2019] in Russian. The word \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [parasite] is such a negative way of looking at them. The phenomenon of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>–<\/a><\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044b<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [\u2018words-parasites\u2019] is not solely \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [negative] and that\u2019s why I\u2019d suggest we call them \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u043a\u0443\u0440\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0435 <\/strong>\u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [lit.<\/em> discourse particles] also in Russian language. Russian grammar uses the word \u00ab<\/strong>\u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> in the same meaning as the English word particle. Of course, discourse particles are not utterly harmless. Sometimes they can \u2013 and indeed they do \u2013 get on your nerves. When I was studying in Russia there was a girl in our group who would start every sentence with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435\u043d\u043d\u043e <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [strictly speaking\u2026] and sometimes she would build up whole arguments solely around frequent repetitions of this one phrase. The result was that I didn\u2019t understand anything of what she was trying to say; only later was I informed by the other Russian students that this was her specialty \u2013 her way to make the professors think she was actually making a point even though she had no idea what she was talking about\u2026 For her it worked \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u043b\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [brilliantly]: she was a straight A student. For me listening to her was a test of my \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u0435\u0440\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [patience] every time she spoke in the classroom, so much that I would sometimes mumble to myself: \u00ab\u201c<\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u201d <\/strong>\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c, <\/strong>\u0430 <\/strong>\u0433\u0434\u0435 \u201c<\/strong>\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435\u043d\u043d\u043e\u201d?!\u00bb<\/strong> [\u201cthere\u2019s \u2018speaking\u2019, but where is \u2018strictly\u2019?!\u201d].<\/p>\n

Fillers can be used in several different ways \u2013 not only to fool professors into thinking you know something that you haven\u2019t got a clue about. The key to start using them every here and there is to know which they are and what they mean. Once you got that down you should be fine contaminating your \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0435\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [\u2018great and mighty\u2019<\/em>, i.e. Russian language] on your own with any parasite-words of your fancy. And that\u2019s why I\u2019ve collected some of the most common Russian discourse particles in this list below (you can thank me later)<\/em> together with examples on how to use them in sentences. I am aware of the fact that \u2018correct\u2019<\/em> Russian spelling demands me to place commas before and after each discourse particle, but because I wanted to keep these sentences looking like they sound I didn\u2019t. Just so you know!<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0433\u043c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [er\u2026]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0422\u044b \u0433\u043c \u0443<\/span>\u0436\u0435 \u0433\u043c \u043a\u0443\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u0442\u0430\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u044e \u0433\u043c \u0448\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u043a\u0443?\u00bb<\/strong> [You er already er bought that er thing?]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span>(<\/strong>\u0442\u0435)\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [fancy\u2026; just imagine\u2026]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041e\u043d <\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u0432\u0437\u044f\u043b <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u043a\u0443\u0440\u0441 <\/strong>\u0444\u043b\u0430\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u043a\u043e<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [He just imagine went and signed up for a flamenco<\/a> course].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [you know…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u042f \u043f\u043e\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c \u043d\u0435 \u0437\u043d\u0430\u043b, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0435\u043c\u0443<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [I you know didn\u2019t know what to tell him].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0437\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u0442\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [so…; then…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u044b <\/strong>\u0437\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u0442 <\/strong>\u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u0438 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u0435 <\/strong>\u0432\u0441\u0451 <\/strong>\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [So we spent all summer in the dacha].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043a\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [by the way…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041e\u043d\u0430<\/span> \u043a\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0438 \u043c\u043d\u0435 \u0442\u0430\u043a \u0438 \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0437\u0432\u043e\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [She by the way didn\u2019t call me].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0434\u043e\u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [let\u2019s suppose…; say…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span> <\/strong>\u043c\u044b <\/strong>\u0434\u043e\u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043c <\/strong>\u043a\u0443\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0438 <\/strong>\u0431\u044b <\/strong>\u0434\u0432\u0430 <\/strong>\u0431\u0438\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0438<\/span>\u0445\u00bb<\/strong> [Yesterday we would\u2019ve bought say two tickets instead of three].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0442\u0430\u043a\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [so…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0422\u0430\u043a <\/strong>\u0442\u044b <\/strong>\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u044f\u043b <\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span>?\u00bb<\/strong> [So you understood me?]<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0442\u0430\u043a \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [so to speak…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0430 <\/strong>\u0442\u0430\u043a <\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0434\u043e\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [Vera so to speak got accepted to the doctoral program (or: graduate school)<\/em>].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0447\u0442\u043e \u043d\u0430\u0437\u044b\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [as they say…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u044b <\/strong>\u0447\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0437\u044b\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0435\u043b\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [We as they say got ourselves a cat].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043f\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u043c\u043e \u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u043c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [let\u2019s be frank…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u042d<\/span><\/strong>\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u043c\u043e <\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u043c <\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0433\u043a\u043e<\/span> <\/strong>\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0447\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0435\u0437 <\/strong>\u0410\u0442\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [It is let\u2019s be frank not easy to cross the Atlantic Ocean (by some kind of boat, or \u2013 let\u2019s go wild \u2013 to swim across it)<\/em>].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0448\u044c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [you won\u2019t believe it…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0418 \u043e\u043d \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0448\u044c \u0441\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u043d\u0435 \u0445\u043e\u0447\u0443<\/span> \u043b\u0438 \u044f \u0437\u0430 \u043d\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> \u0437\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0443\u0436\u00bb<\/strong> [And he you won\u2019t believe it asked me if I wanted to marry him].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0434\u0443 \u043f\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u043c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [incidentially…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0412 \u043f\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043b\u043e\u043c \u0433\u043e\u0434\u0443<\/span> \u044f \u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> \u043c\u0435\u0436\u0434\u0443<\/span> \u043f\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u043c \u0434\u0432\u0430 \u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u0430 \u0432\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0435\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0430 \u0432 \u0441\u0438\u043d\u0430\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [Last year I incidentially met him two times in the synagogue].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043f\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0434\u0435 \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [to tell the truth…]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0418 <\/strong>\u043c\u044b <\/strong>\u043f\u043e <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0434\u0435 <\/strong>\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0448\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u044c <\/strong>\u0445\u0430\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u043c\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [And we to tell the truth didn\u2019t get along (or literally: \u2018our characters didn\u2019t agree with each other\u2019)<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Using fillers like this is another way of saying \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [nothing] at all. Or \u2013 which is perhaps an even better way of putting it \u2013 what you say when you\u2019re not saying anything at all. Which Russian discourse particles do you like the most? Which ones do you find yourself frequently using? Which ones would you like to get rid off?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Let\u2019s put an end to this kind of boring (and pointless and not to mention plainly weird) conversations frequently used in textbooks on Russian language! Wouldn\u2019t it be much more fun if the policeman had said: \u00ab\u041d\u0443 \u0447\u0442\u043e \u044d\u0442\u043e?\u00bb [Well what is this?] and John at that had answered: \u00ab\u042f \u0432\u043e\u043e\u0431\u0449\u0435 \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430\u044e. \u042f \u0442\u0438\u043f\u043e…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,7828,7827,7826],"tags":[10412,10413,1248,10408,10406,10409,10411,10410,1696,10405,10407],"class_list":["post-1194","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-russian-for-beginners","category-russian-life","category-when-in-russia","tag-discourse-particles","tag-fillers","tag-russian-language","tag-10408","tag-10406","tag-10409","tag-10411","tag-10410","tag-1696","tag-10405","tag-10407"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194","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=1194"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1198,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1194\/revisions\/1198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}