Saying Goodbye (Part II – but sequels are never as good as the original)
Russian Language Blog
by ryan
1y ago
Following up on the lovely and teary goodbye offered by Bota, I would like to offer my own. But first, like always, a lesson in lexicon: The act of saying goodbye is прощание while an actual goodbye is проводы. This is from the word проводи́ть/провести́, which actually means to accompany someone in order to say goodbye to them. Мы провели́ ба́бушку с де́душкой на вокза́л We took granny and grandpa to the station. Провести́ до до́му to walk someone home. Я провёл её в метро́ I walked her to the subway. Проща́ться means to say goodbye. If you want to say farewell to someone, you will use this ve ..read more
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Saying “Goodbye”
Russian Language Blog
by bota
1y ago
My dear readers, Goodbyes are tricky, aren’t they? Maybe that’s why the majority of Russian speakers hang up the phone by saying «Давай, пока» or sometimes just the “Давай”. I wish I could do the same, but unfortunately, this will be my final blog here. I do not want our goodbye to be a sad one. Instead, let’s give it all the festiveness of a live show finale, like they have on Russian television. If you have ever seen one of these, you probably heard the TV show host say something like: Мы с вами не прощаемся, а говорим до скорой встречи! We are not saying “goodbye forever”, we are saying “un ..read more
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Шестеро на диване, or What would you do to win a brand new couch?
Russian Language Blog
by ryan
1y ago
I recently stumbled across an article on Афиша.ру, a popular Russian website, with the following headline: В Бе́лгороде провели́ соревнова́ние по са́мому до́лгому сиде́нию на дива́не1 The headline was intriguing because, well, it makes you ask, заче́м? Image by StockSnap from Pixabay The tough конкурс contest began on June 24 and lasted 4 days, finishing on June 28. From this article: Изнача́льно уча́стие в нём принима́ли ше́стеро белгоро́дцев, но до фина́ла дошли́ то́лько дво́е. 2 Here we can see the use of собира́тельные числи́тельные collective numerals (underlined). I encourage you to ch ..read more
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Russian hocus-pocus
Russian Language Blog
by bota
1y ago
This title is just one of the combinations I used trying to search for the name of the super-duper fascinating language thing we are about to discuss. Would you like to guess what it is? An itsy-bitsy guess? I cannot give you another clue, but I will say this: googling ‘Russian hanky-panky’ will NOT take you to any helpful linguistic articles. Поверьте мне (trust me). The answer is Rhyming Reduplications. I know, real hoity-toity sounding for what it is in practice.  And if you haven’t already realized, all the rhyming paired words I just used like “super-duper”, “itsy-bitsy” and even “ha ..read more
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Monasteries, eyeliner, and poverty
Russian Language Blog
by bota
1y ago
Today is a deep dive into one Russian verb. Recently one of my students and I were casually talking about ways to express in English that you “подвёл кого–то” (as in ‘to let someone down’) when it dawned on me that I don’t know why we use “подводить” in that sense in Russian. What I thought would be a simple google search ended up being a very exhilarating trip into the world of idioms and language history. Фото автора Eugene Liashchevskyi: Pexels Let’s start with the basics. Here are some definitions of the verb ‘подвести’: ·        First and foremost ..read more
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Stars of the stage: Russian opera through several interpretations
Russian Language Blog
by ryan
1y ago
Russian opera is and has been legendary for well over a century. In invite you to get acquainted with some legendary известные ру́сские о́перные исполни́тели through some of the roles they are most known for: А́нна Нетре́бко – «Русла́н и Людми́ла» Михаи́ла Гли́нки1 Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) was the first Russian composer to gain notoriety at home as well as abroad. His role as the cornerstone of Russian classical music was cemented by several operas he wrote, which are a part of the regular repertoire of every opera company in Russia and every major opera house in the West, including ..read more
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A very polite hedgehog
Russian Language Blog
by bota
1y ago
If you are новичок1, this blog is for you. If you are an advanced student or a native Russian speaker, this blog is also for you. How? Simple. The answer is ёжик2. Или точнее, очень вежливый ёжик.3 Фото автора Egor Kamelev: Pexels As Russians like to say “Повторение — мать учения“.4. For those of you new to Russian language, use this joke below as an opportunity to practice your basic Russian greetings and goodbyes. Reading jokes in a new language also reveals a lot of hidden cultural subtext and references that you might not get from a textbook or an online course. For example, you can gath ..read more
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Some Russian riddles to celebrate spring
Russian Language Blog
by ryan
1y ago
Spring is finally here. After a long and snowy winter, seeing some цветы́ is a great relief, even if it is still a bit too cold and wet to actually enjoy being outside for a long period of time. However, the sad, gray landscape during this time starts to be dotted by tiny hints of brilliant color. Why? Of course, because during this time, plants begin to цвести́ to flower. Before we dive into the actual names of the flowers, let’s explore this interesting verb and its prefixes: Цвести follows this conjugation pattern: Я цвету́, ты цветёшь, он цветёт (obviously this verb is mostly used in the t ..read more
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Russian malaphors?
Russian Language Blog
by bota
1y ago
I have recently came across English malaphors – unique and often hilarious mix of idioms, aphorisms, or clichés. The one I saw was “Let’s burn that bridge when we get to it”. It is остроумно1, and, as my mom noted, a poster that belongs in a divorce lawyer’s office. Of course, having chuckled at a few other English examples, I was immediately intrigued: существуют ли «малафоры» в русском языке?2 Some google searching revealed helpful articles in Russian that explained what English malaphors were but I could not find a single mention of such a whimsical thing in Russian. No doubt, there are man ..read more
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Шестеро на диване, or What would you do to win a brand new couch?
Russian Language Blog
by ryan
1y ago
I recently stumbled across an article on Афиша.ру, a popular Russian website, with the following headline: В Бе́лгороде провели́ соревнова́ние по са́мому до́лгому сиде́нию на дива́не1 The headline was intriguing because, well, it makes you ask, заче́м? Image by StockSnap from Pixabay The tough конкурс contest began on June 24 and lasted 4 days, finishing on June 28. From this article: Изнача́льно уча́стие в нём принима́ли ше́стеро белгоро́дцев, но до фина́ла дошли́ то́лько дво́е. 2 Here we can see the use of собира́тельные числи́тельные collective numerals (underlined). I encourage you to ch ..read more
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