learn_russian | Recent Entries

nitaq.livejournal.com

Hello,
I'm trying to read the book мастер и маргарита and I can't translate the following sentence (on the first page): Этот был в блузе, носящей нелепное название "толстовка",...

Can you help please?

upthera44.livejournal.com

What do you think of these translations of the following two sentences? They are some of Dostoevsky's comments about Chatsky from Gore ot Uma. Feedback about the quality of the translation is appreciated!

Он был в высшей степени необразованным москвичом, всю жизнь свою только кричавшим об европейском образовании с чужого голоса. --> He was very much an uneducated Muscovite who spent his entire life shouting other people's words about European education.

Если не вопил бы он, не кричал бы он так на бале, как будто лишился всего, что имел, последнего достояния...oн имел бы надежду и был бы воздержнее и рассудительнее --> If he hadn't wailed, hadn't shouted such at the ball, as if he'd lost everything last thing that he had, he would have had hope and would have been much more temperate and reasonable.

Or is it better to say -- "he would have had a chance" instead of "he would have had hope" in this sentence?

olydiagron.livejournal.com

Hi!
Could you please correct my pronounciation? This time instead of a difficult text by Shukshin, I am reading my own text, which is for some reason easier. Progress is very slow now, so forgive me if I repeat the same kind of mistakes. Thank you!

upthera44.livejournal.com

Does anyone know the etymology of the word мракобес? Also, does it just mean "obscurantist" (i.e., a person who is content to be little known, to do things that have little social impact)?

blackxlupin.livejournal.com

Hey everyone,

Is there any way to predict which verbs take -ся (e.g. начинаться) and which verbs take себя (e.g. вести себя) when used reflexively? Is there a difference in meaning there that I'm not seeing?

Thanks for your help!

olydiagron.livejournal.com

От радости
От усталости
От горя
От удивления
but:
Из жалости

Right? Or is it от жалости?

Could you think of more examples, is there some kind of explanation?

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.

olydiagron.livejournal.com

Hello everyone!
Could you correct the mistakes in this text I have written?

( Read more... )

Thank you so much, now I have made the changes you suggested. Is this better?

Когда я была маленькой, мама мне говорила: "Солнце приходит из России и уходит в Америку." Я не помню, когда это было и сколько мне было лет. Наверное я была очень маленькой, потому что я не очень четко могла себе представить, как там они в России живут или как там они в Америке выглядят. Но запомнила, что солнце нас греет по очереди, сначала русских, потом нас и потом американцев. А потом японцев и снова русских. Я запомнила, потому что это был первый намёк о том, как вообще все небесные тела взаимодействуют друг с другом, вращаются сами и совершают обороты вокруг других тел. Даже сейчас, когда я вижу солнце из необычного ракурса, я думаю: вот земля отворачивает мою сторону от солнца, чтобы греть поля и горы Америки. А когда я была во Владивостоке, я смотрела на восход и думала: Солнце приходит из Америки и уходит в Москву. А мама говорит, что вообще не помнит, чтобы такое говорила. Может, только один раз сказала.

blackxlupin.livejournal.com

Hi everyone,

I've been learning Russian for a few months now, and I'd like to start learning vocabulary more efficiently. I'd really appreciate input from more experienced learners/speakers on these questions:

1) Do you memorize the infinitive stem for every verb you learn so as to be able to form the past tense and the imperative?

2) When you learn adjectives, do you find it necessary or useful to memorize the short forms and/or comparatives (so you know which syllable is stressed)?

Thanks in advance!

gnomygnomy.livejournal.com

Looking at my old visas, one has this word stamped on it. It's very faded, though, so I could be mistaken about the spelling. I'm having trouble figuring out what this word means exactly. The root of it isn't in my dictionary (or I'm just not recognizing it) and my favorite online translator is no help.

The only context I can provide is that this particular visa was for single entry. My program replaced/converted it to multi-entry, and of course I never got a sticker in my passport to show for it, just a piece of paper I've since lost.

Any ideas?

blue-sky-day.livejournal.com

What are some good Russian-language news sources?

philena.livejournal.com

You may remember that a few months ago I posted some sample sentence-completion tasks and asked for help writing the instructions for them. You were extremely helpful in correcting my lousy Russian attempts, and I'd like to beg your help again. The instructions have gotten a bit more elaborate (Institutional Review Board informed consent requirements), so I've expanded my instructions, and undoubtedly created many more errors in the process. Could you please give me your feedback on the following prose?

Please do not feel obligated restrict your corrections to obvious errors. If it sounds too informal or is just plain awkward, I'd love to know how to improve it. This is not a grammar exercise, but an actual set of instructions for a linguistic experiment, so I'd like it to sound natural.

Thank you very much!

( The Russian . . . )

( The English . . . )

russian-bob.livejournal.com

I'm native Russian speaker, but after 22+ years in US start loosing it. Recently we had discussion with my dad, who is also native Russian speaker, about Russian usage of word "Виски".

By some reason I always thought that in Russian "Виски" is "они", i.e. always plural, no gender. My dad corrected me that "Виски" is "оно", i.e. singular with neutral gender.
Russian Wikipedia states that there is unsettled discussion about whiskey's gender be "male" or "neutral", but they are referring to it consistently as "он".

What's left? "она", maybe "оне"? :)
I know for sure that Vodka is "она", Cognac is "он", and vine and beer are "оно".

What do you think about whiskey’s gender?

UPD: Thanks everyone, I convinced now that whiskey, like coffee, is mostly "male", but some people can say "оно" anyway.

felinissimo.livejournal.com

Looking for quality resources for Russian-learners on the web, levels Beginners-Advanced. Including those for German-speakers.

xxblackxsatinxx.livejournal.com

I am translating this piece and I've come across a few sentences that I believe I have translated correctly but they are causing me some grief.

Полезнее будет, если покрошить чеснок при комнатной температуре и дать ему настояться около 15 минут.

I translated this sentence as... It would be more useful to mince the garlic at room temperature and give it about 15 minutes.

Чеснок может стать причиной несварения, однако многих гораздо больше заботит то, что от чеснока дыхание и пот начинают пахнуть... чесноком.

Garlic can cause indigestion, but many more are concerned with garlic breath and that sweat will start to smell of… garlic.

And this last one just.. I am not sure.

В Италии, Корее и Китае, где еда, щедро приправленная чесноком, похоже, выполняет защитную функцию, потребление чеснока на душу населения составляет от 8 до 12 зубков в день.

l know it's essentially saying that "In Italy, Korea, and China, where food is liberally seasoned with garlic... the consumption of garlic per capita ranges from 8 to 12 cloves a day. It's the похоже, выполняет защитную функцию that throws me off.

Any help is greatly appreciated! :)

olydiagron.livejournal.com

Hello!
When the word единоличник/единоличница is used in the meaning "individualist", is it pejorative, or can it be neutral or positive as well?

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Current Location: Sweden, Stockholm, Stockholm municipality

manul.livejournal.com

We are – group of people... of different age, nationalities, occupations.. Brought together by common interests.
This time it's cinema club - «KINOsreda | secret society».
http://sredakino.ru/?cat=3 (Wednesday)
http://sredakino.ru/?page_id=993 (Friday)

Every Wednesday evening, in the secret medieval center of Moscow, on Kitay-Gorod we're showing a film & after, reflecting about it - drinking wine, eating snacks & chatting.

We have the second day - Friday. Friday night displays will be exclusively dedicated to Russian-language films showed with English subtitles. At the beginning we’ll try to focus on those films, without which the idea of Russian culture or in general of Russian speaking people is impossible to understand. These are the films from the must-see list.

( more about us and the address )

olydiagron.livejournal.com

Does anybody know the history of the word Kitsch? I thought it was a rather new word. Kochergin uses it to describe paintings sold on the street in the years after WWII. He can of course use the word even if it wasn't used back then, but still - was it?

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Current Location: Sweden, Stockholm, Stockholm municipality

philena.livejournal.com

For my dissertation research, I'm examining whether the probability of a particular morpheme's occurrence affects its pronunciation. I'm hoping to use Russian as my study language, because Russian has many situations in which it is possible for a verb to show either singular or plural agreement (много стульев стоялИ/О за столом). In order to investigate this, however, I need to know exactly how to measure the likelihood of getting singular or plural agreement, and for that reason I've constructed a norming study. Unfortunately, I do not speak Russian natively, or even particularly well, and so I'd like some native Russian speakers to run through the surveys that I've created and point out any problem spots. (The stimuli have all been spot-checked by a Russian-speaker already, so they shouldn't be too horrible.) That is where you come in! Would the native Russian speakers among you be willing to help me prepare these surveys? You can do it in one of two ways:

( Help with Russian survey sentences )

( Help with Russian instructions )

Thank you very much for any help you can provide.

upthera44.livejournal.com

Along the same lines as my last post about "собственно" as a filler phrase or "slovo-parazit", where does this new fashion for "этот самый" come from? It is used when someone is trying to think of the name of something and makes a pause. I've noticed also it tends to be used among cultured circles, as if it's the intelligentsia's version of "типо" or "как бы"... Just curious if anyone has any thoughts about this latest phenomenon (how it works etymologically, why it came about, who uses it and when, etc.). Thanks!