needed: a Russian perspective...

[serialcondition.livejournal.com]

In an English-language article I recently read, the author writes that a quote "У нас нет спиртного" can be interpreted as a word-play on spirits - spiritual; in English this could make sense since the root is the same but does it work in Russian? спиртное - духовное has nothing in common as far as word-play would go...

Am I missing something or is this author totally out to lunch? I need a Russian perspective...

thanks,
t.

upd: thank you everyone

Comments

[gordin.livejournal.com]

No, it doesn't work in Russian at all.

[gordin.livejournal.com]

In Russian, actuallu the 'spirit' root is used only in a sense of spirits as ghosts and anuthing connected. And even then it shuould necessary have two i - спирит(изм, for example), which makes a wordplay with спирт impossible.

[dionz.livejournal.com]

"спиртное" = alcohol

[zhp.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't see any possibility for wordplay in the Russian sentence. The word "спиртное" has only one meaning: alcohol. It is the English 'spirits' that has two meanings and is the cause of considerable amusement to people learing English.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

It's probably one of those silly half-educated people's ideas concerning Russian language - that there is no Russian word for freedom, that 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," etc.etc.etc. - more here (http://www.livejournal.com/community/learn_russian/219468.html).

[ex-eugzol340.livejournal.com]

ha, lol =)

[temcat.livejournal.com]

There is a calque "спиритуальный" which is completely redundant because it means "духовный". But no one in his right mind would try to make a word play on "спиритуальный" vs. "спиртной" anyway - that doesn't ring any bells for Russian ear.

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

Rather, I could imagine it the other way round: mocking somebody for an artificial word like спиритуальность by playing on its similarity with the derivates of спирт.

- Я должна тебя с ним познакомить! Он наполняет всех вокруг такой мощной спиритуальностью!
- Ой, нет, я в последнее время ничем крепче портвейнуальности стараюсь не наполняться...

(could be my own reaction to the word; портвейнуальность being an occasional derivate, = *portwinuality)

The article must be really dull, anyway.