Random Question

[aciel.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine just asked me how to write "I love you," in Russian. That's a fairly obvious answer, I'd say, but then I thought to ask the context.

She's writing a book, where a Russian guy is having sex with his girlfriend, and saying I love you over and over again. So, Russians: if you were having sex, and saying I love you at the same time, which of these would you be most likely to say? Or something else entirely?

Ya tebya lublyu.
Ya lublyu tebya.
Tebya lublyu.
Lublyu tebya.

Sorry for the Anglicization. My Russian keyboard extension aint working at the moment. By all means, be funny with your response. But, also tell me which of those would be best.

Thanks!

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lee_loo_/]

ЛЮБЛЮ!!!
huh, something like that)But it's ok to say "я тебя люблю", "люблю тебя", "я люблю тебя"

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

I'd say тебя люблю, with emphasis on the bold on the inthrust. But then again, I'm not Russian (just a bit overly sexual lmao)

[philena.livejournal.com]

I'm not Russian either, but wouldn't the inthrust be more likely to emphasize what is already stressed in the word? So Тебя люблю?

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

Nah, just depends on when you're thrusting. Enphasis on the first syllable was just what I was thinking, but I'm sure if someone wanted to test it out in practice and get back to us we can resolve with more objectively ^_~

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

(clearing her throat) Except for number 3 everything is grammatically correct. But I never met a Russian male who'd be so affectionate during sex. :) It's a pretty much machist culture, you know. I'd be very surprised to here such a vocalisation, even in the throes of passion and if I did I'd be pretty vary of such a man. But it's probably just me - I'm not a poster girl for affection also. :)

[oikade.livejournal.com]

Mine says, "Yellow blue tebah." hehehehe ;)

[egh0st.livejournal.com]

I don't think any russian boyfriend would say "I love you" during sex :) not in our culture anyway :)

And repeating this phrase over and over seems to be *really* dubious.

[oryx_and_crake]

It does not sound right. Omitting "я" is not normally done and definitely does not work in this phrase. "Я тебя люблю" is the best in this context. In works of fiction or poetry, however, you can also see the other three versions. They are not grammatically incorrect, just sound a little awkward unless the inversion is justified, say, by a need of rhyme or meter etc.

[gera.livejournal.com]

Emphasis on the first syllable would just be incorrect, regardless of the context. Stress in both words goes to the last syllable.
As far as the words themselves, you can emphasize either one (according to the meaning you are trying to convey), although I think the first one (люблю) makes more sense.
The point here is passion, not loyalty :)

[gera.livejournal.com]

You're right, more details below (http://www.livejournal.com/community/learn_russian/227322.html?replyto=2865658).

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

oh my goodness IT WAS A JOKE PEOPLE. If all the things that I said warranted correction, I'd probably never speak again for fear of an army of people taking things too seriously correcting me all the time.

Chill.

[aciel.livejournal.com]

What would a boything be more likely to say? Oh, baby, you're so hot?

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

so much for the "passionate Russian" stereotype. I dunno... I'd always thought of Russian boys (stereotypically of course, I know this isn't how it actually is) as quiet in real life by lions in the sack... roaring included ^_~

[gera.livejournal.com]

Люблю тебя would be quite right (well, with the emphasis on люблю). Pretty passionate too. :)

[oryx_and_crake]

Never heard that one in this particular context... (blushes and hides very quickly)

[gera.livejournal.com]

Actually, люблю тебя is much more likely. :)
Just not over and over, this is not very realistic, regardless of the actual text :)
When you are making a passionate love, speaking incessantly is a physical impossibility :)

[egh0st.livejournal.com]

Don't know. I'm russian but I lived outside Russia during my hot youth :) So I don't know modern contemporaty trends amongst russians.

I guess there would be much difference between rural areas and Moscow anyway :) And there would be huge difference between generations too.

As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be suprised if in some rural areas boyfriend actually says during sex: "The vodka was great, wanna have some more?" :P ^^^

[oryx_and_crake]

Sounds the worst of all four, to me. No one speaks like that unless he's an actor in a bad play. (I am a native speaker as well.)

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

Um, no. :) Probably I was bedding wrong Russians, though, but really... I can hardly imagine something like that. :)

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

Technically, я тебя люблю to ja tibja lublu is Romanization — Anglicization is like grabbing the word “wunderkind” and making it English.

[oryx_and_crake]

It's called transliteration, actually. Romanization would be something like Лошадь свалилась с моста -> Loshadendus svalendus s mostendus. (Just kidding.)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Is this a humour community?

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

no, but it is a community, and I never said that what I said was correct nor to be correct. Are you saying then tha this community is all work and no play? Because that isn't the experience that I've had with it... the people here seem to be a fun bunch of people... unfortunately, people in the language world seem to take things a bit too far way too often.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

...or being taken too far? ;-))

[dair-spb.livejournal.com]

please don't speak about all of us Russians, ok? ;-)

[othila-dagaz.livejournal.com]

I was always taught Я вас люблю.

[egh0st.livejournal.com]

modern grammar --> I don't think == IMO in negative form :))

So actually it was my IMO (or even IMHO :), not something I presented as a 100% true fact.

[dair-spb.livejournal.com]

ok, sorry ;-)

[ex-novia.livejournal.com]

that's a formal way of saying it..
here's one of Pushkin's poems on "ты" and "вы" :) it's short and really lovely!

ТЫ И ВЫ
Пустое вы сердечным ты
Она, обмолвясь, заменила
И все счастливые мечты
В душе влюбленной возбудила.
Пред ней задумчиво стою,
Свести очей с нее нет силы;
И говорю ей: как вы милы!
И мыслю: как тебя люблю!

[ex-novia.livejournal.com]

I would say, all four are fine:))) it's just different emphasis:

Ya tebya lublyu. - is the most common way of saying it
Ya lublyu tebya. - you stress the verb here and it just sounds more passionate that way, if you put the verb first. And more poetic, for that matter :)
Compare:
я тебя жду - я жду тебя
я тебя слышу - я слышу тебя

Tebya lublyu. - you drop the "I", so it's an incomplete sentence. but who cares about grammar in the context that you're suggesting? and again, here you stress the "You" as if you were saying "I love YOU and no other"

Lublyu tebya. - again, the verb comes first and you might even hear "tebya" dropped sometimes: Lublyu tebya,lublyu,lublyu

:)
P.S.: I wouldn't generalize about Russians being passionate or lacking passion, if I were you. You will always be wrong! How can you say about millions of people that they are ALL anything?

[othila-dagaz.livejournal.com]

I like that poem!

[aciel.livejournal.com]

Could I have a translation of that, please?

I can't help but grin at his choice of subjects. =D

[ex-novia.livejournal.com]

http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/pushkin/thou_and_you.html

[aciel.livejournal.com]

That's beautiful. Wow.

[aciel.livejournal.com]

Is it actually incomplete? I thought the subject was implied by the verb conjugation.

Obviously it's not on the same level as "Love you," in English, which is clearly incomplete, but wouldn't it be more like "Te amo" in Spanish, which would be complete (wouldn't it?)?

[battersby.livejournal.com]

In Spanish and French, it's a compound (j'amir). "Love you" in English is more of slang. I don't know exactly, but it seems the same way in Russian with люблю тебя or тебя люблю.

[ex-novia.livejournal.com]

I would go with "clearly incomplete" for Russian and I second battersby for Spanish and French. The only instance of grammaticly correct sentence with no subject is this kind:

Светало.
Упало и разбилось.

This kind is popular among politicians and other people, who would like to avoid responsability - it corresponds to the use of passive voice in English, especially in the news:) ("The White House was broken into last night" )

It's also widely used in literature.

[ma-sha-ivanova.livejournal.com]

I've found you here with surpise :) And thanx for a link! I'm reading Evgeny Onegin with pleasure! :))
Yours, Belka

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

It's transliteration into the Roman alphabet, though, thus it is Romanization. ;)

[philena.livejournal.com]

That's a nice translation. It's essentially the same as the Russian, and the English is good poetry too, which I rarely saw (especially not in my notebook) when my class was told to translate a stanza of Медный всадник.

[that-random-boy.livejournal.com]

That is true of French, but not of Spanish. aciel is right, "Te amo" or "te quiero" can be used for "I love you." Both sentences completely omit the subject, "Yo." "Te" is the second-person-informal pronoun (you).

In fact, if context or conjugation makes the subject relatively clear in Spanish, in most situations it would be awkward not to omit the subject. Using the subject noun or pronoun where it isn't absolutely necessary can be taken as an element of emphasis.

Solo paseo por el parque cuando lo conocí.
I was just walking around the park when I met him.
vs.
Qué interesante! Yo lo conocí en el parque!
How interesting! I met him in the park!

I'm told, though, that Russian is different from Spanish in this regard, even though its conjugaiton system would more than allow for it. There are no shortage of instances in which I've come across sentences with implied subjects in Russian, but I have no sense of what the pattern is, when it is and is not appropriate.

[gnownaym.livejournal.com]

Actually it's the Charlemagnian alphabet, but I digress... :P