С Новым Счастьем! - S Novim Schastjem - With New Happiness!
Желаю Вам всего наилучшего! - Zhelayu Vam vsego nailuchshego - I wish you all the very best!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wish your friends a happy New Year in Russian
С Новым Счастьем! - S Novim Schastjem - With New Happiness!
Желаю Вам всего наилучшего! - Zhelayu Vam vsego nailuchshego - I wish you all the very best!
New Year's Eve in Russia
Friday, December 30, 2011
The colorful ways of Russian verbs
Russian verbs are probably the most versatile of all the world's languages. Adding just about any preposition to pretty much any verb produces various flavors, intonations, moods, implications, double meanings, new meanings, and even entirely new words. You can make 8 words from the word "go" in Russian. How many words can you make from the same word in English? Let's see: forgo, prego - oops, that's not a verb, that's spaghetti sauce. That's about it. Most verbs in English you can do nothing with, but in Russian you can make at least 7 new words from any verb! Which makes Russian vocabulary at least 7 times more colorful than English, and, probably other languages.
Lets look at a couple of examples:
Lets look at a couple of examples:
A word "Nu" - de-evolution in progress?
The word "nu" is super versatile, translates as "well" or "so". It used to be frowned upon by the intelligentsia, at least back when I used to live in Russia. It probably got a bad rep because the carriage drivers and the peasants used to say "N-nu!" to the horses to get them moving. Somehow the word stuck and spread to the dismay of the finely bred.
How to cuten up - make cute Russian words
A wonderful feature of Russian language is to allow you to take just about any word and make it cute! From an ordinary cat, you can make a cute little kitty, from an ordinary brick - a lovable and charming brick, from a rock - an adorable baby rock.
To do that you add a special cuteness ending to the word you want to cuten up: 'чка (chka)' for a girl word, 'чик (chick)' or 'ик' or 'ок' for a boy word, and 'чко (chko)' 'це (tze)' or 'шко (shko)' for a neuter word.
To do that you add a special cuteness ending to the word you want to cuten up: 'чка (chka)' for a girl word, 'чик (chick)' or 'ик' or 'ок' for a boy word, and 'чко (chko)' 'це (tze)' or 'шко (shko)' for a neuter word.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Is there logic to genders of Russian words?
Russian word gender distribution doesn't seem to be random at all. Rather, it has a kind of an ironic logic to it. A tomato, for example, is a lonely guy among the majority of female berries and veggies. It was introduced to Europe in the 1800's by a couple of Catholic priests, and it became immediately associated with werewolves and avoided. This mistrust probably got the tomato its masculine gender: помидор - pomidor. Their shapes could have had a bearing on the genders of these two: a pear - груша / grusha (fem.) and a cucumber - огурец / oguretz (masc.)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Learning that dogs hate cats
"I talked to Barsik today," said koshka Murka.
"What did he say?" I was super excited, and would have jumped, if my crooked little sausage legs were of any use at all.
"He said he met many children who were still able to use All-knowing at an unusually late age."
"How?"
"They were deaf and mute, meaning - they couldn't hear or talk."
"That's just great!" I attempted to bang my head on the pillow, rather unsuccessfully.
Murka rounded her green eyes compassionately, as only she could do,
"What did he say?" I was super excited, and would have jumped, if my crooked little sausage legs were of any use at all.
"He said he met many children who were still able to use All-knowing at an unusually late age."
"How?"
"They were deaf and mute, meaning - they couldn't hear or talk."
"That's just great!" I attempted to bang my head on the pillow, rather unsuccessfully.
Murka rounded her green eyes compassionately, as only she could do,
Russian alphabet and the weird letters explained
| Russian letter: | Sounds like: |
| A, a | arm, ah |
| Б б | B |
| Б в | V |
| Г г | G, like in the word Green |
| Д д | D |
Genders of Russian words explained
Russian words can be feminine, masculine or neuter. When you talk about something, anything, like a table, you have to use the proper pronoun he - on, she - ona, or neither he or she - ono. Ono isn't the same as English 'it'. Ono is something that for some reason doesn't have a gender.
Why humans can't talk to animals and plants
"Murka, why can I talk to you and cactuses, but the grown-ups can't?"
"Ehhh... They can only talk in their own language."
"And what language do we use?" I asked.
"We don't use a language. We use All-knowing."
"What is that?"
"All living beings except humans use the All-knowing. Mind to mind, body to body directly. Adult humans can't do that, because they have invented their own separate language and got addicted to it. It cuts them off from all the other creatures. They come to believe that only their language is real, and any other form of communication isn't. "
"Ehhh... They can only talk in their own language."
"And what language do we use?" I asked.
"We don't use a language. We use All-knowing."
"What is that?"
"All living beings except humans use the All-knowing. Mind to mind, body to body directly. Adult humans can't do that, because they have invented their own separate language and got addicted to it. It cuts them off from all the other creatures. They come to believe that only their language is real, and any other form of communication isn't. "
A grammar lesson: articles, prepositions V and NA (in and on/onto)
Russian doesn't have articles. Yeah! Isn't that great! I always thought articles were redundant. Like, for example, what difference does it make if I say, "I go to the store," or "I go to a store." I don't have to worry about it in Russian. Simply: I go to store - я иду в магазин (ya idu v magazin).
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Babushka decorates the tree and bakes pies
Babushka came into the room with a box under her arm. She started taking out shiny, colorful balls and hanging them on Yolka.
"Krasivo!" I said.
"I feel ridiculous!" said Yolka.
"Krasivo!" I said.
"I feel ridiculous!" said Yolka.
Yolka is talking to house plants
"You just have to develop a healthy give and take relationship with people," philosophically remarked a young Lemon Tree growing in a pot by the window.
"Yeah, we give and they take," said Yolka and laughed with a very evil laugh.
"Yeah, we give and they take," said Yolka and laughed with a very evil laugh.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
I meet a Christmas Tree
One day mama and babushka brought in yolka - a tree with branches like long green toothbrushes. Yolka was moaning pitifully. Koshka Murka yawned and commented, "Yolka umirayet. She is cut off from her roots."
"What does it mean?"
"She is dying. You die if someone bites off your head, or if you have nothing to eat."
"And what happens when you die?"
"Your body just lies empty and someone eats it or throws it away."
"What do you mean empty? Where do you go?"
"I'm not sure about people, but we animals just get born in another body."
"Do you remember living in different bodies?"
"Some. "
"Doesn't sound so bad to die then."
"It's a gamble. One time you are cold and starving, another time you live in a nice warm house and get a fluffy bed and all the food you can eat."
"What about trees?"
"I don't know." Murka asks Yolka, "Do you remember anything from before you were this tree?"
"Yes, I remember being different trees, and being brutally murdered over and over by the evil humans."
"What do humans have against trees?" I asked.
"Nothing. They obsessed with us! Look around you - everything is made from our dead bodies. Your bed too!"
"I'm so sorry! I didn't ask for this bed. "
"Hmm," Yolka didn't sound convinced. "I'm so hungry I think I'm going to faint."
"What do you eat?" I asked Yolka.
"We have korni that grow deep into the earth. When it rains, we suck the earthy juices like with the straws. Some trees can grow new korni, but we can't. So we die when people cut us off from them."
"Why do lyudi do that?"
"They do it every winter. They bring yolki inside, decorate them and celebrate their death."
"Sounds real mean."
"Some are nicer than others, they put the cut end in a bucket of water so we don't die of thirst too quickly," grumbled Yolka.
"Why do people do all that?"
"They have some dumb holiday that calls for sacrificing a tree to their god," said Murka.
"What is a god?" I asked.
"I heard it is a guy with a beard, who brings presents for everyone. Except that lyudi secretly bring the presents themselves and wrap them in pretty paper when no one is looking."
"That's crazy!"
Yolka started to cry, "I'll never see my brothers and sisters and my parents again."
"Cheer up," said Murka, "You will be decorated and your death will be special and memorable."
"My stvol hurts where they cut it..."
"It will soon go numb and stop hurting," said Murka.
"I am hungry..."
"I'll bring you a fish head and put it in your bucket."
"Spasiba."
"Where did you come from?" I asked Yolka.
"From les," said Yolka.
"What is les?" I asked.
"It's a place with many trees, a beautiful place... No, I can't tell stories, I feel faint. How about that fish head?" Yolka asked Murka.
"All right, I'll go get it," Murka took off.
"I'm sorry your stvol hurts," I said to Yolka.
"Yeah, right! Why would you care, you're one of them! Cruel, heartless chudovisha!"
"I'm not one of them! I am their pet, like Murka."
"You are chelovek. You are their child! You'll grow up and be just like them, stupid, selfish and cruel."
I started crying, "No, never! I'm not like them at all! I can't stand up, I'm small, I can talk to you and Murka and they can't!"
"Children of humans grow slowly. It takes a year before you can stand. But you will grow, and in a few years you will be disgusting like them - moving all over the place, killing trees!"
I was crying full force now, "No, no, no! I'm just a pet, I am a hairless cat!"
Yolka hissed, "I don't feel sorry for you, little human. We die by millions so you lyudi can live! You cut us to make beds and tables, you burn us to be warm! You're lucky I can't get out of this bucket and strangle you!"
"Do you hate Murka, too?"
"Not as much as humans, but we trees hate everyone who moves around rootless. It is evil! Long time ago zemlya was covered with happy plants. We all lived in harmony and peace. Then one day animals crawled out of the seas and the oceans and started eating everyone! Those who couldn't adapt by growing horns or becoming poisonous quickly died out. We trees survived by growing very tall, so the monsters couldn't reach the leaves and the fruits, and by covering our stvoli with thick layers of kora (bark)..."
Babushka came in the room and picked me up. She started walking towards Yolka! Terrified, I wiggled in her arms and screamed. What was she doing! Is she going to put me in Yolka's bucket to feed her! Is she going to sacrifice me along with the tree to the god with a beard, so he can bring her a new refrigerator!
Yolka continued grumbling, "We yolki were safe for a while, but then those nasty squirrels and birds appeared and started eating our seeds..."
Babushka stopped much too near the tree and said, "Smotri kakaya krasivaya yolochka."
She took Yolka's branch and tried to bring it within my reach.
Yolka barked at me, "Out of the thousands of shishek growing on each yolka, only a few seeds remain to grow into babies..."
I fought babushka with everything I had, banging her chest with my fists.
Babushka said incredulously, "Chto s toboy detka? Smotri, yolochka horoshaya..."
Stupid woman! "Horoshaya" indeed! Yolka couldn't wait to wrap its branches around our throats and squeeze the breath out of us! I kept on screaming and fighting, until babushka finally returned me to my crib.
Murka came in with a fish head. She dumped it into Yolka's vedro and sat next to it, observing my struggle with a condescending smile, grooming the tip of her tail.
Babushka put me down, straightened up, sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose, "Chto tak riboi pahnet? Foo!" She left the room, mumbling how she hated it when a neighbor cooked fish.
___________________________
Vocabulary:
Yolka - a fir tree used for a christmas tree
shishka - a pine cone
Nje boisya - don't be afraid
horoshaya - good, nice
vedro - bucket
riba - fish
pahnjet - it smells
"Ya tjebya sjem. You'r tasty." Murka licked my hand with her rough little tongue. "What does it mean?"
"She is dying. You die if someone bites off your head, or if you have nothing to eat."
"And what happens when you die?"
"Your body just lies empty and someone eats it or throws it away."
"What do you mean empty? Where do you go?"
"I'm not sure about people, but we animals just get born in another body."
"Do you remember living in different bodies?"
"Some. "
"Doesn't sound so bad to die then."
"It's a gamble. One time you are cold and starving, another time you live in a nice warm house and get a fluffy bed and all the food you can eat."
"What about trees?"
"I don't know." Murka asks Yolka, "Do you remember anything from before you were this tree?"
"Yes, I remember being different trees, and being brutally murdered over and over by the evil humans."
"What do humans have against trees?" I asked.
"Nothing. They obsessed with us! Look around you - everything is made from our dead bodies. Your bed too!"
"I'm so sorry! I didn't ask for this bed. "
"Hmm," Yolka didn't sound convinced. "I'm so hungry I think I'm going to faint."
"What do you eat?" I asked Yolka.
"We have korni that grow deep into the earth. When it rains, we suck the earthy juices like with the straws. Some trees can grow new korni, but we can't. So we die when people cut us off from them."
"Why do lyudi do that?"
"They do it every winter. They bring yolki inside, decorate them and celebrate their death."
"Sounds real mean."
"Some are nicer than others, they put the cut end in a bucket of water so we don't die of thirst too quickly," grumbled Yolka.
"Why do people do all that?"
"They have some dumb holiday that calls for sacrificing a tree to their god," said Murka.
"What is a god?" I asked.
"I heard it is a guy with a beard, who brings presents for everyone. Except that lyudi secretly bring the presents themselves and wrap them in pretty paper when no one is looking."
"That's crazy!"
Yolka started to cry, "I'll never see my brothers and sisters and my parents again."
"Cheer up," said Murka, "You will be decorated and your death will be special and memorable."
"My stvol hurts where they cut it..."
"It will soon go numb and stop hurting," said Murka.
"I am hungry..."
"I'll bring you a fish head and put it in your bucket."
"Spasiba."
"Where did you come from?" I asked Yolka.
"From les," said Yolka.
"What is les?" I asked.
"It's a place with many trees, a beautiful place... No, I can't tell stories, I feel faint. How about that fish head?" Yolka asked Murka.
"All right, I'll go get it," Murka took off.
"I'm sorry your stvol hurts," I said to Yolka.
"Yeah, right! Why would you care, you're one of them! Cruel, heartless chudovisha!"
"I'm not one of them! I am their pet, like Murka."
"You are chelovek. You are their child! You'll grow up and be just like them, stupid, selfish and cruel."
I started crying, "No, never! I'm not like them at all! I can't stand up, I'm small, I can talk to you and Murka and they can't!"
"Children of humans grow slowly. It takes a year before you can stand. But you will grow, and in a few years you will be disgusting like them - moving all over the place, killing trees!"
I was crying full force now, "No, no, no! I'm just a pet, I am a hairless cat!"
Yolka hissed, "I don't feel sorry for you, little human. We die by millions so you lyudi can live! You cut us to make beds and tables, you burn us to be warm! You're lucky I can't get out of this bucket and strangle you!"
"Do you hate Murka, too?"
"Not as much as humans, but we trees hate everyone who moves around rootless. It is evil! Long time ago zemlya was covered with happy plants. We all lived in harmony and peace. Then one day animals crawled out of the seas and the oceans and started eating everyone! Those who couldn't adapt by growing horns or becoming poisonous quickly died out. We trees survived by growing very tall, so the monsters couldn't reach the leaves and the fruits, and by covering our stvoli with thick layers of kora (bark)..."
Babushka came in the room and picked me up. She started walking towards Yolka! Terrified, I wiggled in her arms and screamed. What was she doing! Is she going to put me in Yolka's bucket to feed her! Is she going to sacrifice me along with the tree to the god with a beard, so he can bring her a new refrigerator!
Yolka continued grumbling, "We yolki were safe for a while, but then those nasty squirrels and birds appeared and started eating our seeds..."
Babushka stopped much too near the tree and said, "Smotri kakaya krasivaya yolochka."
She took Yolka's branch and tried to bring it within my reach.
Yolka barked at me, "Out of the thousands of shishek growing on each yolka, only a few seeds remain to grow into babies..."
I fought babushka with everything I had, banging her chest with my fists.
Babushka said incredulously, "Chto s toboy detka? Smotri, yolochka horoshaya..."
Stupid woman! "Horoshaya" indeed! Yolka couldn't wait to wrap its branches around our throats and squeeze the breath out of us! I kept on screaming and fighting, until babushka finally returned me to my crib.
Murka came in with a fish head. She dumped it into Yolka's vedro and sat next to it, observing my struggle with a condescending smile, grooming the tip of her tail.
Babushka put me down, straightened up, sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose, "Chto tak riboi pahnet? Foo!" She left the room, mumbling how she hated it when a neighbor cooked fish.
___________________________
Vocabulary:
Yolka - a fir tree used for a christmas tree
shishka - a pine cone
Nje boisya - don't be afraid
horoshaya - good, nice
vedro - bucket
riba - fish
pahnjet - it smells
"Spasiba."
"Na sdorovje."
"Chto takoye derevo?"
"Derevja grow out of the ground. They stay in the same spot attached to the ground and use korni go get food iz pod zemli (from under the ground). They grow so huge, their tops reach oblaka (clouds). They are fun to climb on, but very scary to climb down. Derevo can't get food without korni. Eta yolka umrjet in a few weeks without food."
Lyudi stood yolku in a bucket of voda.
"Pochemu they put her in voda?"
"She won't die so soon if she can drink vodu."
"Pochemu lyudi eto djelajut?"
"They have some holiday that calls for sacrificing a tree to their bog," shrugged Murka. "They make it look all pretty and celebrate its death."
"Chto takoje bog?"
"Bog is some being lyudi invented, who, supposedly, brings presents for everyone. Except that lyudi secretly bring the presents themselves and wrap them in pretty paper when no one is looking."
"That's crazy!"
Yolka sighed deeply and moaned.
"Privet," said Murka to yolka.
Yolka stopped moaning and replied, "Privet."
"Nje povezlo tjebe (ran out of luck)," commented Murka.
Yolka started to cry, "I'll never see my brothers and sisters and my parents again."
"Cheer up," said Murka, "You will be decorated and your death will be special and memorable."
"My stvol hurts where they cut it..."
"It will soon stop hurting," said Murka.
"I am hungry..."
"I'll bring you a fish head and put it v tvojo vedro (in your bucket)."
"Spasiba."
"Where did you come from?" I asked Yolka.
"Iz lesa," said Yolka.
"Chto takoje les?" I asked.
"It's a long story. I feel rather faint. How about that fish head?" Yolka asked Murka.
"All right, I'll go get it. Don't start the story without me," Murka took off.
"I'm sorry your stvol hurts," I said to be nice.
"Yeah, right! Why would you care, you're one of them! Cruel, heartless chudovisha!"
"I'm not one of them! I am their pet, like Murka."
"You are chelovek. You are their child! You'll grow up and be just like them, stupid, selfish and cruel."
I started crying, "No, no, never! I'm not like them at all! I can't stand up, I'm small, I can talk to you and Murka and they can't!"
"Children of humans grow slowly. It takes a year before you can stand. But you will grow, and in a few years you will be disgusting like them - moving all over the place, chattering all the time, and killing plants!"
I was crying full force now, "No, no, no! I am not human! I'm just a pet, I am a hairless cat!"
Yolka hissed, "I don't feel sorry for you, little human. We die by millions so you lyudi can live! You cut us to make beds and tables, you burn us to be warm, you eat us! You're lucky I can't get out of this bucket and strangle you!"
"Do you hate Murka, too?"
"Not as much as humans, but we derevja hate everyone who can move around rootless. It is evil! Long time ago zemlya was covered with happy plants. We all lived in harmony and peace. Then one day horrible chudovisha crawled out of the seas and the oceans and started eating everyone! Those who couldn't adapt by growing horns or becoming poisonous quickly died out. Derevja survived by growing very tall, so chudovisha couldn't reach the leaves and the fruits, and by covering our stvoli with thick layers of kora (bark)..."
Babushka came in the room and picked me up. She started walking towards Yolka! Terrified, I wiggled in her arms and screamed. What was she doing! Was she going to feed me to Yolka!
Yolka continued grumbling, "We yolki were safe for a while, but then those nasty squirrels and birds appeared and started eating our seeds..."
Babushka stopped near the tree and said, "Smotri kakaya krasivaya yolochka."
She took Yolka's branch and tried to bring it within my reach.
Yolka barked at me, "Out of the thousands of shishek growing on each yolka, only a few seeds remain to grow into our babies..."
I fought babushka with everything I had, banging her chest with my fists.
Babushka said incredulously, "Nje boisya! Yolochka horoshaya..."
Stupid woman! "Horoshaya" indeed! Yolka couldn't wait to wrap its branches around our throats and squeeze the breath out of us! I kept on screaming and fighting, until babushka finally returned me to my crib.
Murka came in with a fish head. She dumped it into Yolka's vedro and sat next to it, observing my struggle with a condescending smile, grooming the tip of her tail.
Babushka put me down, straightened up and said to herself, "Chto tak riboi pahnet?" She left the room, mumbling how she hated it when some neighbor cooked fish.
___________________________
Vocabulary:
Yolka - a fir or a spruce tree used for a christmas tree
shishka - a pine cone
Nje boisya - don't be afraid
horoshaya - good, nice
vedro - bucket
riba - fish
pahnjet - it smells
Through Murka's eyes
I couldn't talk to the large upright beings, but I could talk to Murka quite easily, so my view of the world outside had to come from her:
We lived v kvartirye (in a house) located v domye (in a building) v gorodye (in a city). Kvartira had mnogo (many) komnat (rooms). In each komnata lived sjemja (a family). Murka tried to get into each of them, because she was naturally very curious, which almost got her killed many times. Some komnati were guarded very diligently and she spent hours stalking these doors, because the best guarded komnati had the coolest stuff.
We lived v kvartirye (in a house) located v domye (in a building) v gorodye (in a city). Kvartira had mnogo (many) komnat (rooms). In each komnata lived sjemja (a family). Murka tried to get into each of them, because she was naturally very curious, which almost got her killed many times. Some komnati were guarded very diligently and she spent hours stalking these doors, because the best guarded komnati had the coolest stuff.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Talking
What was I? I was definitely more like koshka Murka than all the lyudi, even though she was covered with fur, and lyudi had fur on their heads only. I was about the same size as Murka, and lyudi were way bigger, plus they walked upright, and Murka and I could only crawl about on fours.
Also, lyudi were constantly chattering, like ptizi. Murka remarked to me scornfully, "I can't imagine using so many sounds and taking so much time just to say, 'meow'." I totally agreed. Lyudi spent too much time talking and saying seemingly nothing, whenever they were together.And when they weren't talking, they listened to talking boxes. And babushka talked to herself as well! Jabber, jabber, jabber, all day long.
Also, lyudi were constantly chattering, like ptizi. Murka remarked to me scornfully, "I can't imagine using so many sounds and taking so much time just to say, 'meow'." I totally agreed. Lyudi spent too much time talking and saying seemingly nothing, whenever they were together.And when they weren't talking, they listened to talking boxes. And babushka talked to herself as well! Jabber, jabber, jabber, all day long.
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