{"id":524,"date":"2010-02-17T14:20:54","date_gmt":"2010-02-17T18:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=524"},"modified":"2010-02-17T14:20:54","modified_gmt":"2010-02-17T18:20:54","slug":"%c2%ab%d0%9a%d0%bb%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%81%c2%bb-on-the-importance-of-calling-things-by-their-proper-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/%c2%ab%d0%9a%d0%bb%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%81%c2%bb-on-the-importance-of-calling-things-by-their-proper-names\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00ab\u041a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441!\u00bb – On the Importance of Calling Things by their Proper Names"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are days when \u00ab\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>[the dictionary] is not you best friend. It might still be \u00ab\u0434\u0440\u0443\u0433\u00bb<\/strong> [a friend] of yours, \u00ab\u043d\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u044b\u0439 \u043b\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u0448\u0438\u0439 \u0434\u0440\u0443\u0433\u00bb <\/strong>[but not the very best friend]. Why is that? Because on these particular days the dictionary fails to explain certain words to you. Or explains them in such a way that makes it impossible for you to understand why they’re used in one (or many) <\/em>sentence in such a (seemingly)<\/em> strange way. Today our example of this will be the word \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong>. If you look up \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> in an average dictionary you’ll see that it translates as \u2018class; classroom; status; section, department; genus, category; kind, type’. So… alright. Have you memorized that? Good, because we’ll keep this translation in mind when trying to understand the following dialogue:<\/p>\n

\u0421\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0430 \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0442: \u00ab\u042f \u043a\u0443\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430 \u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0430\u043b\u044c\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u043c \u0417\u0435\u043c\u0444\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u044b<\/a>!\u00bb <\/strong>[Sasha says: I bought Zemfira<\/a>‘s new album!]<\/p>\n

\u041f\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u044f \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442: \u00ab\u041a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441!\u00bb<\/strong> [Petya answers: … wait a minute – Class!<\/em> No, that can’t be right, can it?]<\/p>\n

Understanding the word \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> as \u2018class’<\/em> will work fine when you’re, for example, reading \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u044f \u041c\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u0441\u0430, \u042d<\/span>\u043d\u0433\u0435\u043b\u044c\u0441\u0430, \u041b\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0430, \u0421\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin] in Russian because these guys were really talking \u2018class’<\/em> and nothing else. When they write \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430\u044f \u0431\u043e\u0440\u044c\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> you know this should be translated as \u2018class struggle’<\/em> or \u2018the struggle between classes’<\/em>. Whenever you come across the adjective \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439\u00bb <\/strong>you know that it belongs to the noun \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> as in \u2018class (Politics)’<\/em>. As a matter of fact, while reading most \u00ab\u043d\u0430\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [scientific works] that were published in the Soviet Union, you’re bound to simultaneously find out a lot \u00ab\u043e \u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0439 \u0431\u043e\u0440\u044c\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u00bb <\/strong>[about class struggle]. Back in the days of the USSR everything had to be understood in the light of struggle between classes. You’ll also see that Lenin is always quoted \u00ab\u0432\u043e \u0432\u0432\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [in the introduction] – even if it’s a dissertation \u00ab\u043f\u043e \u0438\u0441\u043a\u0443\u0441\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044e\u00bb<\/strong> [on the liberal arts]. But we’re not in the Soviet Union anymore. The word \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> means something entirely else in Petya’s reaction to Sasha having just bought Zemfira’s latest disc. But what?<\/p>\n

To help us figure this out we have another adjective derived from the noun \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> -\u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [classy, stylish; first class]. Do try and not confuse \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> with \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong>. To help you I have this advice: the longer adjective \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> is longer because it secretly <\/em>contains all of those names that I mentioned previously – Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin… The shorter \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> is that way because it makes it more stylish<\/em> – which is also one of it’s meanings! Smart? Well, maybe it not so much, but at least I’m trying.<\/p>\n

So the best way to figure out what Petya means when he says \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441!\u00bb<\/strong> is to look it up in a Russian-to-Russian dictionary. His way of using this word sounds like it is as far from Communism as can be, and thus should be nothing else but an example of \u00ab\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u044f\u0437\u044b<\/span>\u043a\u00bb <\/strong>[colloquial speech]. Here’s the explanation I found in Russian:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441: \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0441\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0443<\/span>\u0435\u043c\u043e\u0435<\/em> \u0432\u044b\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442 \u0432\u043e\u0441\u0445\u0438\u0449\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [‘Class’ – as predicate<\/em> expresses delight (admiration, adoration; rapture, ravishment, applause)].<\/p>\n

And what other ways can one express delight in Russian? Try reactions like \u00ab\u0437\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e!\u00bb<\/strong> [well done!, good job!; marvelous!, splendid!] or \u00ab\u0437\u0430\u043c\u0435\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e!\u00bb<\/strong> [great!, exceptional!].\u00a0 Or why not \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043d\u043e!\u00bb<\/strong> [awesome!]. If this adverb means \u2018awesome’, <\/em>then to use the noun it was derived with an exclamation mark must mean pretty much the same thing, right? You think you got it now? I sure have! (At least I think so… but I’m always happy and thankful to be corrected when completely wrong and far off track!)<\/em> Here’s another situation to illustrate:<\/p>\n

\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0430 \u0441\u043f\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0435\u0442: \u00ab\u0422\u044b \u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b \u00ab\u041a\u043e\u0442\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u043d<\/a>\u00bb \u041f\u043b\u0430\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432<\/a>\u0430?\u00bb<\/strong> [Masha asks: Have you read Platonov<\/a>‘s “The Foundation Pit<\/a>“?]<\/p>\n

\u041c\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044f \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442: \u00ab\u0412\u0447\u0435\u0440\u0430<\/span> \u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b. \u041a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441!\u00bb<\/strong> [Mitya answers: I finished reading it just yesterday. Awesomeness!]<\/p>\n

Do you agree with this translation? And have you ever heard this word used in this way before? Slang tends to change fast in Russian language – some words come quickly into use and then disappear into the nowhere they seemed to have come from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are days when \u00ab\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0440\u044c\u00bb [the dictionary] is not you best friend. It might still be \u00ab\u0434\u0440\u0443\u0433\u00bb [a friend] of yours, \u00ab\u043d\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u0430\u043c\u044b\u0439 \u043b\u0443\u0447\u0448\u0438\u0439 \u0434\u0440\u0443\u0433\u00bb [but not the very best friend]. Why is that? Because on these particular days the dictionary fails to explain certain words to you. Or explains them in such a…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1034,1186,1237,1248,1342,1406,1840,1556,1557,1558,1559,1560,1841,1842,1664,1674,1696],"class_list":["post-524","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-language","tag-colloquial-speech","tag-platonov","tag-russian-grammar","tag-russian-language","tag-the-foundation-pit","tag-zemfira","tag-1840","tag-1556","tag-1557","tag-1558","tag-1559","tag-1560","tag-1841","tag-1842","tag-1664","tag-1674","tag-1696"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524","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=524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}