learn_russian | A few myths concerning Russian language...

...were discussed here or in our sister-city community

russian_wotd recently, so I decided to put them together.

1. When Russians drink their vodka, they lift their glasses and say "На здоровье".

In fact, "на здоровье" is how you reply to "спасибо" (thank you,) especially if you, say, feed your guests or members of your family and they say "thank you" when they finish their meals. Literally it means "for [your] health," Russians say it when English speakers say "you're welcome."
"На здоровье" is NOT a toast. The poplular Russian toasts closest to it are "будем здоровы" (let's be healthy) or "за ваше здоровье" (for your health.)

Discussed here, thanks noser for mentioning that.

2. There is a Russian proverb that says "In the kingdom of hope, there is no winter".

In fact, there is no such proverb. Russian proverbs are numerous, and some can be really funny or wise, but this one does not exist.

Discussed here, thanks ericschnabel for mentioning that.

3. Russians have the word "razbliuto" (разблюто,) which means something along the lines of "a feeling a person has for someone he or she once loved but no longer feels the same way about."

In fact, there is no such word, and not even a hint where the one who made it up has got it

Discussed here, thanks ladybirdsleeps for mentioning that.

4. Russians have no word for freedom.

In fact, there are at least two words for freedom in Russian - свобода and воля (the adjectives are свободный / F. свободная, N. свободное and вольный / F. вольная, N. вольное.)

Again, thanks ladybirdsleeps for mentioning that here - I haven't heard this myth before.

UPDATE:
5. Russians call each other "comrade".

In fact, there is no such word in Russian language. It is an English word, which is a nice translation for Russian товарищ. As such, it is widely used in Hollywood movies (with no explanation that this is the translation of the actual Russian word.) And yes, during the Soviet era (approx. 1918-1991) most Russians would use this salutation (товарищ), especially in formal, official settings.

Discussed here, mentioned by gera.

6. Russian women wear kerciefs or shawls on their heards, and the word for those shawls is "babushka".

Actually, Russian word бабушка (NOT babushka!) means "granny", "grandma." It has nothing to do with head-covering kerchiefs which Russian women used to wear hundreds of years ago - in remote villages, until almost recently. The Russian word for a kerchief is платок, for a shawl - шаль. Most of women in Russian cities don't wear those kerchiefs anymore; the only chance to see it is on very, very old women -- grandmas, that is -- probably that's why Americans call those kerchiefs "grannies," or "babushkas."
UPD:
the babushkas (accent on the first syllable means the women; on the second, the scarf)

(Psychology Today, May-June, 1992)

In fact, neither of those meanings is true: there is no word "babUshka" meaning "the scarf" in Russian language; "the women" in Russian is "женщины"; бабушка (accent on the first syllable) means "grandma" or "granny," with the secondary, colloquial meaning "any old woman."

7. "У нас нет спиртного" (we don't serve alcohol, or, more literally, we have no alcohol; спиртное - a word for alcohol as a type of consumable goods) can be interpreted as a word-play on "spirits - spiritual"; "we have no alcohol" or "we have nothing spiritual".

Actually, since "spiritual" in Russian is "духовный m. / духовная f. / духовное n.," this word-play is impossible in Russian (unlike English.)

Discussed here, mentioned by serialcondition.

Any more myths? ;-)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

oscar-6.livejournal.com

This post should be added to community's memories.

From:

kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com

Done. =)

From:

uncle-becher.livejournal.com

i.3 may be a grand-(step)-child of "разлюбил", but that is just the most wise thing I can come up with :)

From:

wolk-off.livejournal.com

The guy who made разблюто from разлюбил should be very seriosly affected by some dangerous chemical substances :)

From:

kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com

I've also heard that Russian has no word for "fun". It doesn't seem to be as common as the "no word for freedom" myth, but that might be because it's more recent.

Also, a few times I've seen people make a big deal out of the fact that "mir" can mean either "world" or "peasant commune", as if this reveals something deeply interesting about the Russian psyche. (I'm actually not sure if it CAN mean "peasant commune", because I've never come across it used that way. Lingvo lists it as a peasants community's meeting.)

Strangely, they didn't mention that "mir" can also mean "peace", which makes me think they're parroting something that they read in a book. Who wouldn't know about the "peace" meaning before the "peasant commune" one? It's not as if peasant communes come up often in Russian textbooks or grammars.

One of the sillier notions I've come across is that Russian is a Germanic language. I thought this was limited to my mom, but I've heard it more than once. ("No, Mom." "Well, what's a Germanic language then?" "Umm ... GERMAN, FOR STARTERS.") I'm not sure that this counts as a myth, though, since it seems more like a really bad guess.

From:

ars-longa.livejournal.com

Actually, I think there IS no literal analogy for the word fun in Russian. The only one I can think about - "кайф" is a slang one.

A few myths concerning Russian language...

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