Privet vsem...

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

While I was in Russia, I noticed that sometimes my host mother sometimes used the genitive case when addressing my host brother or host sister (for example: Kati! instead of Katya or Marata! instead of Marat). Does that sort of address have a different connotation than simply saying "Katya!" or "Marat!"? I suspect it may have been something very obvious that I was oblivious to.

Spacibo!

Comments

[agorbylev.livejournal.com]

I think in this case Ukrainans speaking "Katyiu"...

ya

[agorbylev.livejournal.com]

Certainly, Ukrainians (it's my erratum :-)

[agorbylev.livejournal.com]

It's very strange. I suppose that is host mather's slang :-(

[djaconda.livejournal.com]

As example: Спроси у Кати. or Марата нет дома. You think it`s a slang?

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

That's not the context I meant. If we were sitting at the table and she wanted, for example, to summon my host brother from the other room, she'd shout, "Марата!"

[djaconda.livejournal.com]

I was wrong. Probably it was some kind of dialect.

[ex-roumor.livejournal.com]

its strange indeed

[djaconda.livejournal.com]

As example: Спроси у Кати. or Марата нет дома. You still think it`s strange?

[ex-roumor.livejournal.com]

>mother sometimes used the genitive case
>Kati! instead of Katya or Marata!
>when addressing my host brother or host sister

ОП спрашивает почему падеж не тот что должен быть.
следовательно он понимает разницу в падежах.

Кап.О.

[djaconda.livejournal.com]

Sorry, lack of attention.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Just one question: was it Southern Russia?

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

Yes, actually, in Astrakhan.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

There you are. It's typical Southern Russian dialect (analog to down-home, right-down-the-pocket Southern drawl :)) I wouldn't wonder if they pronounced their Гs softly, like Ukrainians (closer to Х rther than to hard Northern Г) and (since it's not just South, but also Volga Region) put big round Os everywhere they're written, even if they're in unstressed position.

[earth-blue.livejournal.com]

O, it seems to be like "сына" instead of "сын" or "доча" instead of "дочь, дочка".
I think, it's from Ukrainian and sounds a bit dearly.
(I hope, you can understand my English) ))

[taivaanranta.livejournal.com]

Could you please specify the location, I mean the town or city the host family lives in? Although I'm inclined to think that it's not so much the dialect but the origin of the speakers that matters here - I guess they may be not ethnic Russians, since such things can be heard when people from, say, Middle Asia speaking Russian with an accent. Or it may be some case form from the mother tongue of the speaker which I can't recognise right now. The country is quite multinational and multilingual, you see:) "Marat", for example, is not a Russian name, it is more widespread among Tatars.

[asv.livejournal.com]

I guess the host mother was tatar. They sometimes mix cases and gender while speaking russian.

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

She was Tatar, the host brother and sister were half Tatar/half Russian. But they didn't speak any Tatar.

[asv.livejournal.com]

That's typical, hehe.^)) I myself am half Tatar half Russian. No I never made such mistakes and never been to Kazan or Astrakhan.:))

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

Yeah, it was actually interesting how parallel their being Tatar was to my being Italian. My host siblings were both half, as I am, and had Muslim heritage but aren't religious, as I have Catholic heritage and aren't religious, don't speak Tatar as I don't speak Italian. They also said it was common to be very Russified.

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

Astrakhan. They were half Tatar, but when I asked my host mom, she claimed not to speak the language.

[firebottle.livejournal.com]

That's the obsolete vocative case still used in some regional dialects (especially eastern and southern). In general, nominative case should be used instead.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Yes, we just cleared the case -- it's Lower Volga (Astrakhan), so it's exactly South-Eastern :)

[hellga.livejournal.com]

Could be dialectal, I guess... though overall, it's much more common to DROP the last vowel when calling someone - Саш! Ань! etc.

[racoonbear.livejournal.com]

I've heard such style from my grandma. It was in cases when she wanted to call someone with tender intonation, for example my little sister )
And just to mention, we're in middle Volga (Nizhny Novgorod), and this route of our family is pure russian. As pure as it can be.

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

Thanks for the explanation everyone, it makes much more sense to me now :)