Moscow Times article

[alektoeumenides.livejournal.com]

Mr. Chairman and Comrade Colonel

By Michele A. Berdy

Тыкать: to use the informal form of address, to be on familiar terms/first-name basis

You're walking down the street when suddenly you see the woman ahead of you drop her glove. You open your mouth and say ... Well, how do you address someone you don't know?

We foreigners are cut a lot of slack by Russians in the manners department, but it's always better to aim high stylistically. The most proper way to address a stranger is with a simple "excuse me": Извините, пожалуйста, вы уронили перчатку! (Excuse me, you dropped your glove!) You can also use Будьте добры -- would you be so kind, I beg your pardon -- though usually when you are asking for something: Будьте добры, передайте мне билет. (Could you please pass me a ticket?)

Alas, today people usually address strangers by biological type: Мужчина, скажите, что я за вами. (Mister, "man," say that I'm after you in line.) Женщина, вы тут не стояли! (Lady, "woman," you weren't standing here.) Девушка, пустите меня, пожалуйста. (Miss, "girl," could you let me pass?). Мальчики, осторожно! (Be careful, boys!) Молодой человек -- literally "young person" -- refers to young men; молодые люди could be either a group of young men or a mixed group.

If someone addresses you as девушка 20 years after you were remotely maidenly, you can huff, Какая я вам девушка?! (I'm not your girl!; literally, "What kind of girl am I to you?!") Or you can joke in reply: За «девушку» отдельное спасибо! (And a special thanks for calling me "miss.")

In the old days Russians were (according to the scholar Likhachyov) the only Europeans to address strangers by relational names: бабушка, бабуля (grandma, grannie), дедушка (grandpa); мать, матушка (mother) and отец (father); брат, братец (brother) or сестра, сестренка (sister). Anyone younger was дочка (daughter) or сыночек (son). You can still hear this today: Доченька, передай мне, пожалуйста, газету. (Dear, literally "little daughter," could you please pass me a newspaper?) The use of ты is natural in the context and makes you feel like part of one big family.

If anyone ever calls out to you, Гражданин!/Гражданка! (Citizen!), this is the voice of authority -- either a cop or some other official, who has stripped you of every identifying mark except citizenship. You probably did something wrong. In response, give your smarmiest smile. If it's a militiaman, say: "Да, Товарищ Полковник?" (Yes, Comrade Colonel?) He won't be higher in rank than a sergeant, but flattery never hurts.

Товарищ (comrade) was the great leveler during the Soviet period, now used in some expressions and commonly when addressing folks in uniform. You can use господин/госпожа before other titles, something like the American manner of saying Mr. President. It is very formal and polite: Спасибо, господин председатель, за приглашение на конференцию. (Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your invitation to this conference.) If you aren't comfortable with first name and patronymic you can call someone господин Смирнов. But don't ever call anyone simply господин or госпожа; this is as rude as calling someone "mister" or "lady."

If you are addressing a mixed group of men and women in a formal or business setting, you can address them дамы и господа! (Ladies and gentlemen!) This is actually technically incorrect in Russian, since господа -- something like "gentlepeople" -- refers to both genders, but it is standard Russian usage. You can, however, just say: Господа! Прошу садиться. (Ladies and gentlemen! Please be seated.) If it's a very informal setting, you can address the gang as ребята -- "guys." Ребята, давайте закончим дискуссию! (Come on, guys, let's wrap up this discussion.)

Although some Russians naturally call everyone but the president ты, we foreigners can't do it. If the person is taller than your waist and at least your age, it's вы to you. If someone calls you ты inappropriately, you can say Не тыкайте мне! (How dare you speak to me that way!; literally, don't "ty" me!) Or тыкать them back.


Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.

Comments

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Too touchy a subject. Well, the author is mostly quite right, but some important things are missed/omitted (or, most likely, misunderstood and thus omitted.) The problem is that the old, pre-revolutionary system of addressing other people has gone, being totally replaced by the Soviet-time one ("товарищ/гражданин",) but in the present times neither the old system has been fully restored, not the Soviet one has totally gone. Thus all this strange "мужчина/женщина" stuff.