(no subject)

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

 Here are a couple of Russian langauge questions: 

1. In English we often say things like "My hands are too cold to feel anything," "She was too sick to go to work," etc. The idea is that you are too much of something to do something else. Is this idea expressed the same way in Russian, with just слишком+ an infinitive? For instance: Он слишком умний принимать наркотики.


2. It seems that everyone says "Davai" just before hanging up the phone. Usually, it's to indicate that they're ready to get off the phone and often it's coupled with "poka" ("Nu, davai, poka").  Does "davai" in this context have a good English translation? "Alright" maybe (in the way we say, "Alright, cya"). Does it serve any grammatical purpose here? Why do people always say it?

Comments

[detonate-for-me.livejournal.com]

The "how are you doing" thing on the phone annoys me so much, and I'm a native speaker of English. It's so insincere, and it wastes time. They don't care how I'm doing, and sometimes they don't even wait for an answer.

Sometimes I find it amusing to go into detail about the bad morning I've had (especially when it's a complete stranger calling).

[crimeanelf.livejournal.com]

Wow, you're the first native English speaker who says that, and I live in USA for years. Thanks a lot for your opinion! But do you mind looking at the second thought I had about gestures and telling also what you think? It's here (http://crimeanelf.livejournal.com/16923.html).

[detonate-for-me.livejournal.com]

That is interesting. I've noticed the difference between Russian and American smiling.

It's so culturally ingrained, and it's a very hard habit to break, even when you know it's not appropriate for your audience.

On the occasions when I smile due to reasons other than natural happiness or amusement, it's often due to nervousness. In my user profile it mentions how I'm good at smiling when I don't feel like it. (I've wondered if this is something about me that is uniquely American or maybe Western.) Even so, I am still accused (by Americans) of not smiling often enough. And non-Americans have complained that I smile too much.