{"id":1378,"date":"2010-09-01T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2010-09-01T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1378"},"modified":"2010-09-01T15:47:39","modified_gmt":"2010-09-01T15:47:39","slug":"part-two-homographs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/part-two-homographs\/","title":{"rendered":"Same-Same but Different III: Homographs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can it really be true that we\u2019ve saved the best for our final, third, part of \u201cSame-Same but Different\u201d? After two posts \u2013 one on \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [homonyms]<\/a> and another about \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0444\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [homophones]<\/a> \u2013 we made it all the way to the truly troubling and trickiest of them all: \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0444\u044b<\/a>\u00bb <\/strong>[homographs<\/a>]. Here and now is when not only your intuition will be put to the test, but also your ability to \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>[impfv.<\/em> to remember, to make it a point to remember; to memorize (it\u2019s perfect \u2018friend\u2019 is \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u043d\u0438\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/em><\/strong>)<\/em>] words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. The last part is imperative because these words differ in meaning depending on how you pronounce them. I\u2019m sure everyone already knows and agrees with me that \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u043d\u0430\u0442\u044c, <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0430\u0435\u0442 <\/strong>\u0443\u0434\u0430\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [to know which vowel is stressed<\/a> (lit. \u2018to know on what vowel the stress<\/a> falls)<\/em>] in Russian words is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d <\/strong>\u0438\u0437 <\/strong>\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u044b\u0445 <\/strong>\u0441\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0445 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u043e\u0432 <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e <\/strong>\u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> \u00a0[one of the most difficult moments of Russian language]. \u00ab<\/strong>\u041e\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0444\u00bb<\/strong> [homograph] comes from Greek and means \u2018written the same\u2019<\/em>. Russian language \u2013 rich as it is in several other ways as well \u2013 has many pairs of homographs. A large number of them are the results of simple morphological coincidence; though it of course would have been much more \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u044e\u0431\u043e\u043f\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [curiously; also:<\/em> interesting] for us had there been more to investigate behind them. Today\u2019s post will only include a very \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e <\/strong>\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0444\u043e\u0432\u00bb <\/strong>[small amount of homographs] to illustrate this complicated \u2013 for non-native speakers, that is \u2013 phenomenon.<\/p>\n

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

Found on a wall in Yekaterinburg during the summer of 2007 (can you guys imagine how long I\u2019ve been searching for a reason to post this picture here?!): \u00ab<\/strong><\/em>\u0421\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043e <\/em><\/strong>\u0437\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>. <\/em><\/strong>\u0421\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0435 \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0438<\/span> \u043d\u0430 \u0434\u0432\u0435\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0445 \u0442\u0443\u0430\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0430 \u0441\u0432\u043e\u0439 \u0441\u0442\u0438\u0448\u043e<\/span>\u043a, \u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> [<\/em>Soon<\/em> (<\/em>it<\/em> <\/em>will<\/em> <\/em>be<\/em>) <\/em>winter<\/em>. Hurry up and write (or: pee \u2013 depending on where you put the stress) your little verse on the walls of the toilet, scribbler (also: poor writer, hack writer)].<\/em><\/p>\n

The highly imaginative and kind of profound graffiti above probably needs to be explained. First of all, it uses two so-called \u2018negative\u2019<\/em> diminutives derived from neutral nouns: \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [both fem. & mas.<\/em>, poor writer, hack writer, scribbler] from \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [mas.<\/em> writer] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0448\u043e<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [little verse, bad poem, poor quality poetry] from \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0445\u00bb<\/strong> [verse; pl.<\/em> poetry, poems]. But it is also partly built around the homographs \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to write] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to piss]. Many foreigners in Russia have confused these two verbs with each other and made a fool of themselves; just as many foreigners will make the same mistake and thus also a fool of themselves in the future. Partly this is because most of us aren\u2019t taught that the \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [to piss] way to pronounce this verb has a WHOLE OTHER meaning and so we don\u2019t know how important it is to pronounce it right, i.e. \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [to write].\u00a0 But only in infinitive form \u2013 and I\u2019m guessing also in imperative because of the graffiti above – are these two verbs true homographs. As soon as you start putting them in first person singular present time, you\u2019ll come to see that it is not really as easy to confuse them with each other anymore:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to write] becomes \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0448\u0443<\/span>\u00bb <\/strong>[I write].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to piss] <\/strong>becomes \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u044e\u00bb<\/strong> [I piss].<\/p>\n

The same is true for all other forms of these two verbs in present tense, like in second person singular for example:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to write] becomes \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u044b <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0435\u0448\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [you write];<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u041f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to piss] <\/strong>becomes \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u044b <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0435\u0448\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [you piss].<\/p>\n

Of course it would be embarrassing to realize the next day that you told a Russian \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>[I have to pee (or: I need to pee)<\/em>] when what you really wanted to inform them of was \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e <\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>[I have to write (or: I need to write)<\/em>]. But I\u2019m certain they\u2019ll get over it. Let\u2019s consider another sometimes annoying hompgraph: first person singular in present tense of both \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to pay] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to cry] is written like \u00ab<\/em><\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0447\u0443\u00bb<\/em><\/strong>. Say you asked a Russian girl\/boy out to dinner, they said yes and everything has been going great up until the moment that you get the bill on the table. How do you pronounce the sentence \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u0432\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0433\u0434\u0430 <\/em><\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0447\u0443<\/em>\u00bb<\/strong> so that it means \u2018I always pay\u2019<\/em> and not \u2018I always cry\u2019<\/em> (unless that\u2019s what you want to say)<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Your date will be impressed with your \u00ab<\/strong>\u0429\u0415<\/span>\u0414\u0420\u041e\u0421\u0422\u042c\u00bb<\/strong> [fem.<\/em> GENEROSITY] if you say\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u042f <\/strong>\u0432\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0433\u0434\u0430 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> which is 1st<\/sup> person singular of \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to pay].<\/p>\n

Your date will be impressed with your \u00ab<\/strong>\u0427\u0423\u0412\u0421\u0422\u0412\u0418<\/span>\u0422\u0415\u041b\u042c\u041d\u041e\u0421\u0422\u042c\u00bb<\/strong> [fem.<\/em> SENSITIVITY] if you say\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u042f <\/strong>\u0432\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0433\u0434\u0430 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0447\u0443<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> which is 1st<\/sup> person singular of \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [impfv.<\/em> to cry]<\/p>\n

Has anybody else ever walked up to the counter in a Russian store and asked for \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0443<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [torment], when what you really needed in order to bake cookies was \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0443\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [flour]? That happened to me on a regular basis. In fact it happened so much that I would think I was always saying the word wrong even when I got it right\u2026 Has that ever happened to you?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a tiny little list of other homographs worth memorizing:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0430<\/span><\/strong>\u0442\u043b\u0430\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> [atlas];<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0430\u0442\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> [satin].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [castle];<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043c\u043e<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [lock].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u043c\u00bb<\/strong>: instrumental case singular of \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [sweat].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [(adverb) <\/em>then].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0443<\/span><\/strong>\u0436\u0435\u00bb<\/strong>: short comparative form of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443<\/span><\/strong>\u0437\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [narrow], i.e. meaning \u2018narrower\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0443\u0436\u0435<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [already].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Can it really be true that we\u2019ve saved the best for our final, third, part of \u201cSame-Same but Different\u201d? After two posts \u2013 one on \u00ab\u043e\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0438\u043c\u044b\u00bb [homonyms] and another about \u00ab\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0444\u043e\u043d\u044b\u00bb [homophones] \u2013 we made it all the way to the truly troubling and trickiest of them all: \u00ab\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430\u0444\u044b\u00bb [homographs]. Here and now is when…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,7828,7827,7826],"tags":[10922,10921,78,79,8534,1237,1248,11115,11116,10925,10923,10924,11113,11110,11117,1674,8536,1696,11114,11112,11111],"class_list":["post-1378","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-russian-for-beginners","category-russian-life","category-when-in-russia","tag-difficulties-of-russian-language","tag-homographs","tag-homonyms","tag-homophones","tag-russian-as-a-foreign-language","tag-russian-grammar","tag-russian-language","tag-11115","tag-11116","tag-10925","tag-10923","tag-10924","tag-11113","tag-11110","tag-11117","tag-1674","tag-8536","tag-1696","tag-11114","tag-11112","tag-11111"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378","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=1378"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1386,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378\/revisions\/1386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}