That old myth again

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

A recent addon to our "Myths on Russian Language" section:

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."

Comments

[embers.livejournal.com]

My goddamn Russian teacher in sixth grade told us that one meant "Grandmother" & the other "head scarf."

In America, however, it has become quite colloquial to call those head-scarves "babushkas."

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

The correct word for what you call a head-scarf (which is, actually, a shawl) is платок.

[embers.livejournal.com]

I know this now, but it took me several years of confusion to figure that out!

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Well, some Russian teachers of English tell their students that it's OK to change the verb tenses within one sentence in English just the way it happens in Russian.

[b0bb.livejournal.com]

You're kidding.

It is true that you can mix tenses in a sentence, but to tell that a teacher would be a much better one than the ones who allegedly do.

[joliecanard.livejournal.com]

I thought платок was a shawl, and head-scarf was косынка, yes?

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not a girl, and neither am I an expert in the history of Russian dress, so I cannot tell one from another :) Basically платок isa thicker, larger and heavier thing than косынка, and it's square while косынка is triangular (косая, therefore the name,) that's all I know.

[b0bb.livejournal.com]

You're mostly right.

"Косынка" is a particular kind of "платок" (triangular, etc.).
"Шаль" is a another particular kond of "платок" (wool-woven, etc.)

See "babushka" definition in Merriam-Webster below.

However, you can commonly say "платок" referring to "косынка" or, to the less extent, "шаль" (not vice versa)


Main Entry: ba·bush·ka
Pronunciation: b&-'büsh-k&, -'bush-
Function: noun
Etymology: Russian, grandmother, diminutive of baba old woman
1 a : a usually triangularly folded kerchief for the head b : a head covering resembling a babushka
2 : an elderly Russian woman