{"id":3927,"date":"2012-10-10T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2012-10-10T08:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=3927"},"modified":"2014-07-17T18:56:17","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T18:56:17","slug":"dreamin-is-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/dreamin-is-free\/","title":{"rendered":"“Dreamin’ is free…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

So goes a line from an old Blondie song — you could translate it as \u043c\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442\u044c \u0441\u043d\u044b<\/span> \u0431\u0435\u0441\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u043e<\/b> (“one pays nothing to dream”).<\/p>\n

And “dreams” are the theme for today, because \u043f\u043e\u0437\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span> \u043c\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439-\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043d.<\/b> (“The day before yesterday I had an oh-so-strange dream.”) Although maybe \u043a\u043e\u0448\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0440<\/b>, “nightmare,” would be more apt!<\/p>\n

\u0412\u043e \u0441\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u044f<\/span> \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0430\u0433\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u00abNASA\u00bb \u0441\u043e\u0431\u0438\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044c \u0437\u0430\u043f\u0443\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/span> \u043a\u043e\u0441\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043a\u043e\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0431\u043b\u044c \u0441 \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u044f\u043c\u0438<\/span> \u043f\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0430\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u0432<\/span> \u043d\u0430 \u0434\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044e\u044e \u0437\u0432\u0451\u0437\u0434\u043d\u0443\u044e \u0441\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043c\u0443.<\/b> (“I dreamt that NASA was preparing to launch a spaceship with hundreds of passengers to a distant star system.”)<\/p>\n

For some reason, they plotted the ship’s trajectory not with state-of-the-art computers, but with an \u043e\u0433\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043e\u0440\u0440\u0435\u0440\u0438\u0439<\/b> (“an enormous orrery”) made out of Legos — a weird detail that’s very characteristic of my own dreams. \u042f \u043d\u0435\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u043e \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0436\u0443 \u0441\u043d\u044b<\/span> \u043e \u0441\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u0447\u0430\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0445 \u043c\u0435\u0445\u0430\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0437\u043c\u0430\u0445 \u0441 \u0431\u0435\u0441\u0447\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u043b\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u043c\u0438 \u0448\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u043c\u0438.<\/b> (“I rather often dream about elaborate clockwork mechanisms with countless gears.”)<\/p>\n

Maybe they should’ve used computers instead of relying on Legos, because something went terribly wrong in the mission: \u041a\u043e\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0431\u043b\u044c \u043d\u0435\u043e\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0430\u043d\u043d\u043e \u0432\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f \u043d\u0430 \u0417\u0435<\/span>\u043c\u043b\u044e<\/b> (“The ship unexpectedly returned to Earth”), \u043f\u043e\u0447\u0442\u0438<\/span> \u0432\u0441\u0435<\/span> \u043f\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0430\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u044b \u0432\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0435 \u0441 \u044d\u043a\u0438\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u043c<\/span> \u0438\u0441\u0447\u0435<\/span>\u0437\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0435\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043d\u044b\u043c \u0441\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043e\u0431\u043e\u043c<\/b> (“almost all the passengers, along with the crew, had mysteriously vanished”), \u0438 \u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f \u043b\u0438\u0448\u044c \u0434\u0435\u0441\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u043a \u0442\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u043f\u043e\u0432, \u0437\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0451\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u043a\u0430\u043a\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u0438-\u0442\u043e \u0442\u0438<\/span>\u043f\u0430 \u0438\u043d\u043e\u043f\u043b\u0430\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u044b\u043c\u0438 \u043f\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u043c\u0438<\/b> (“and there remained only about ten corpses, infected with some sort of extra-terrestrial parasites”).<\/p>\n

And this was just the beginning of a long and meandering dream. It soon became evident that the spaceship’s faster-than-light warp engine had accidentally opened a hole into an \u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0435 \u0438\u0437\u043c\u0435\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/b> (“hell-dimension”) — as in the Doom<\/i> computer games — and things took a rather Lovecraftian turn. At one point, I was being chased by a huge and hungry reptile-spider with a plastic, Barbie-like face.<\/p>\n

But then, without warning or fanfare, the dream turned “lucid<\/a>” — which is to say that \u043c\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u0432\u0434\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0433 \u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u043e \u0432\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u043e, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0438\u0449\u0435 \u0438 \u0432\u0441\u0451 \u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043b\u044c\u043b\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0435 \u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0441\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u044f<\/b> (“I suddenly fully understood that the monster and everything else were only part of a dream.”)<\/p>\n

And I thought to myself, “if this is a dream, why shouldn’t I have superhuman abilities like flying and telekinesis?” I mean, \u0432\u043e \u0441\u043d\u0435<\/span>, \u0432\u0441\u0451 \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0443\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u043d\u043e — \u0432\u043e\u0437\u043c\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u043e<\/b> (“in a dream, anything you like is possible”). \u0418 \u0435\u0434\u0432\u0430<\/span> \u044f<\/span> \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0434\u0443<\/span>\u043c\u0430\u043b, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u044f<\/span> \u043f\u0440\u0438\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0451\u043b<\/span> \u0441\u0443\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438!<\/b> (“And no sooner had I thought of this, than I acquired super-powers!”)<\/p>\n

Which was bad news for my opponent, as you might imagine — \u043f\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e \u043c\u043d\u0435<\/span> \u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u043e \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c<\/span> \u0440\u0443\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0439, \u0447\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u044b \u043f\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/span> \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u0438\u0449\u0430 \u0441 \u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0433<\/b> (“I merely had to wave my hand to knock the monster off his feet.”)<\/p>\n

And that, I swear, was maybe only about halfway through my weird dream, but enough about that! Anyway, there are various ways that “to dream” can be expressed in Russian, as I did in explaining my dream.<\/p>\n

The basic imperfective verb is \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b>. (As an etymological note, don’t confuse \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b> with the similar-looking but unrelated \u0441\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f\/\u0441\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b>, which can mean “to come loose and fall off.” In that<\/i> verb, the \u0441-<\/b> is really a motion-prefix and not part of the main root, but in \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b>, the \u0441-<\/b> belongs to the root \u0441(\u043e)\u043d-<\/b>.) Anyway, it conjugates as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Past<\/i><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f, \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u0441\u044c, \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044c, \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0438\u0441\u044c<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nsing.<\/i><\/td>\npl.<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1st<\/i><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u044e<\/span>\u0441\u044c<\/b><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u0441\u044f<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2nd<\/i><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u0441\u044c<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3rd<\/i><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u044f<\/b><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u044f<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Imperative<\/i><\/td>\n\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>(\u0442\u0435)\u0441\u044c!<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And the perfective \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b> conjugates exactly the same way.<\/p>\n

But here’s the part that can be confusing: this verb pair doesn’t mean “to have a dream about”; it means “to appear to someone in a dream,” with the “someone” who is having the dream expressed in the dative (\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443<\/span>-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c<\/b>). Thus, \u044f<\/span> \u0441\u043d\u044e<\/span>\u0441\u044c \u0435\u043c\u0443<\/span><\/b> is NOT “I’m dreaming about him,” but “He’s dreaming about me,” or more literally “I am appearing to him in a dream.” To put it another way, the nominative subject of (\u043f\u0440\u0438)\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b> is not the dreamer, but the characters and objects within the dream, or the \u0441\u043e\u043d<\/b> (“dream”) itself. And, quite often, the verb may be used impersonally in the 3rd person singular (neuter past), without a nominative subject at all. So you can say:<\/p>\n

\u0415<\/span>\u0439 \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f \u043f\u043e\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u0443\u0448\u043a\u0430.<\/b>
\nShe was dreaming about her late\/deceased grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0412\u0430<\/span>\u043c \u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e \u0441\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0441\u043d\u044b<\/span> \u043e\u0431 \u0430\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u0445?\u00bb — \u0441\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0438\u043b\u0430 \u042d\u041b\u0418\u0417\u0410<\/a>.<\/b>
\n“Do you very often dream dreams<\/span> about sharks?” — asked ELIZA.<\/p>\n

\u041e\u0434\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0434\u044b \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044c, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u043c\u044b<\/span> \u0441 \u0442\u043e\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0439 \u0432\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u0443\u0435\u043c…<\/b>
\n\u266a\u266b “I waltzed with you once upon a dream…”<\/i> \u266a\u266b<\/p>\n

Instead of \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b>, you can also use the expression \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442\u044c \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043d \u043e \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043c-\u043d.\/\u0447\u0451\u043c-\u043d.<\/b>, “to see a dream about someone\/something,” or you can rearrange this grammatically and say \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/span>-\u043d.\/\u0447\u0442\u043e<\/span>-\u043d. \u0432\u043e \u0441\u043d\u0435<\/span><\/b>, “to see someone\/something in a dream,” or “in one’s sleep.”<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the point that the noun \u0441\u043e\u043d<\/b> (gen.<\/i> \u0441\u043d\u0430<\/b>) doesn’t only mean “a dream”; it’s also “sleep”. And, correspondingly, \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/b> and \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442\u044c \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043d<\/b> cannot refer to “dreams” that you have while awake. For instance, you can’t translate Martin Luther King’s words “I have a dream…” with \u041c\u043d\u0435 \u0441\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044c…<\/b>, because he wasn’t talking about a vision that came to him during REM sleep!<\/p>\n

Instead, you can use the verb \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/b> with the meaning “to have a dream while awake” — in fact, this word used in Russian translations of MLK’s speech:<\/p>\n

\u042f<\/span> \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u044e, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0434\u0451\u0442 \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u044c, \u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/span> [\u0432\u0441\u0435<\/span>] \u0431\u0443<\/span>\u0434\u0443\u0442 \u0441\u0443\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u044b \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e \u0446\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0443 \u0438<\/span>\u0445 \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u0438…<\/b>
\n“I dream, that a day will come, when [everyone] will be judged not by the color of their skin…”<\/i><\/p>\n

Here, \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/b> signifies “to have deep hopes for the future,” but in other contexts it suggests “to fantasize” or “to daydream” or “to wish for” in a more trivial and frivolous way:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0412\u0441\u0451, \u043e \u0447\u0451\u043c \u0442\u044b<\/span> \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c, \u044f<\/span> \u0438\u0441\u043f\u043e\u043b\u043d\u044e<\/span>, \u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0436\u0438<\/span> \u0441\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u00bb — \u043e\u0431\u0435\u0449\u0430<\/span>\u043b \u0434\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043d \u0410\u043b\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0443.<\/b>
\n“Just say the word and I’ll fulfill everything that you daydream about” — the genie promised Alladin.<\/i><\/p>\n

This range of meaning from profound to fairytale-ish is also found in the derived noun \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span><\/b> and its synonym \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/b>. King’s immortal speech is called \u00ab\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> \u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044c \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/b>, but Alladin might respond to the genie: \u00ab\u041d\u0430\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0446, \u043c\u043e\u0438<\/span> \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u044b<\/span> \u0441\u0431\u044b\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0442\u0441\u044f<\/span>!\u00bb<\/b> (“Finally, my fantasies are coming true!”)<\/p>\n

And, finally, as a little point of trivia: the common phrase \u00ab\u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u044f \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/b> — lit., “light-blue daydream” — might nowadays be (mis)understood as “a gay-male daydream.” But historically, the meaning was more like “a starry-eyed, pie-in-the-sky, unrealistic daydream”, and the phrase can still be used in this sense. (Though to say “pie-in-the-sky fantasy” without any double-entendre, you can say \u00ab\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u0443\u0440\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043c\u0435\u0447\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/b>, “azure daydream,” instead!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

So goes a line from an old Blondie song — you could translate it as \u043c\u043e\u0436\u043d\u043e \u0432\u0438\u0434\u0435\u0442\u044c \u0441\u043d\u044b \u0431\u0435\u0441\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0442\u043d\u043e (“one pays nothing to dream”). And “dreams” are the theme for today, because \u043f\u043e\u0437\u0430\u0432\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430 \u043c\u043d\u0435 \u0441\u043d\u0438\u043b\u0441\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439-\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0441\u043e\u043d. (“The day before yesterday I had an oh-so-strange dream.”) Although maybe \u043a\u043e\u0448\u043c\u0430\u0440, “nightmare,” would be more apt! \u0412\u043e…<\/p>\n

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