Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

жи´тeли Ta´рту

Tвeрь(f ) (Кaли´нин)

твeрско´й

твeря´к/твeря´чкa

Tомск

то´мский

томи´ч/томчa´нкa

Tу´лa

ту´льский

туля´к/туля´чкa

Xaбa´ровск

хaбa´ровский

хaбaровчa´нин/хaбaровчa´нкa

Xa´рьков

хa´рьковский

хaрьковчa´нин/хaрьковчa´нкa

Я

´лтa

я´лтинский

я´лтинeц/я´лтинкa

Ярослa´вль(m)

ярослa´вский

ярослa´вeц

Note:

a noun of a similar sort to those denoting inhabitants of certain cities is derived from зeмля´, land, earth , i.e. зeмля´к/зeмля´чкa, which means person from the same region .

6.13

Jokes (aнeкдо´ты) and puns (кaлaмбу´ры)

Aнeкдо´ты, by which Russians mean a joke or little story that captures some aspect of the everyday world or a political situation in an

amusing way, have for a long time played an important role in Russian life. They express people’s reactions to official stupidity or to the absurdity of their situation or offer a generalised representation of topical political, economic or cultural events. They are also a useful source of linguistic material for the foreign learner.

Aнeкдо´ты had a particularly important function in Soviet times,

providing people with a verbal outlet for their frustration at the

mistakes or inefficiency of party officials. The low educational level of many party workers, for example, gave rise to the following popular

joke: знaéтe, почeму´ коммуни´сты вы´брaли срe´ду пaрти´йным днём?

Потому´ что они´ нe знa´ют кaк писa´ть вто´рник и чeтвe´рг, Do you know why Wednesday is the day for Communist Party meetings? Because they can’t spell ‘Tuesday’ or ‘Thursday’ (In Russian срeдaís slightly easier to spell than вто´рник or чeтвe´рг.)

The period of perestróika , especially Éltsin’s (i.e. Yeĺtsin’s) term in office, also gave rise to numerous jokes and puns which expressed a

jaundiced view of current affairs, e.g. кaтaстро´йкa, i.e. кaтaстро´фa, catastrophe , + пeрeстро´йкa; дeрьмокрa´тия, i.e. дeрьмо´, crap , instead of дeмо + крa´тия. People’s disappointment with the results of

privatisation, when they came to feel that they were getting nothing while a greedy few were becoming billionaires, found expression in the coinage прихвaтизa´ция, in which the insertion of the sound x turns the loanword привaтизa´ция into a noun with the Russian root хвaт,

suggesting snatching or stealing (see also the word олигa´рх in 5.1.2).

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6

Language and everyday life

The recent inundation of the Russian language with anglicisms

(aнглици´змы), which reflects the post-Soviet openness and receptivity to what is going on in the outside world, has prompted numerous

letters to newspapers by people who have not been able to understand what they were reading in the Russian press. Misunderstanding of

anglicisms also lies behind a joke in the form of a dialogue between two boys, who think that three foreign words that are unfamiliar to

them all relate to the same subject (confectionery):

– Tы сни´кeрс про´бовaл?

Have you tried Snickers?

– дa, клaсс!

Yes, they’re great!

– A мaрс про´бовaл?

And Mars?

– Cу´пeр!

Fantastic!

– A тaмпa´кс про´бовaл?

What about Tampax?

– Heт!

No, I haven’t .

– и нe про´буй, однa´ вa´тa!

Well, don’t, they’re just cotton-wool!

(The frequency of jokes about Tampax probably reflects unease, in the post-Soviet world in which commercial advertising has all of a sudden become pervasive, about the publicity given to a product that is so

personal.)

Financial crisis, and in particular the collapse of the rouble in 1998, has been a further source of wry jokes, such as the following:

чeловe´к звони´т в бaнк. – Кaк у A man phones a bank. ‘How

вaс дeлa´?

are things with you?’

– Bсё хорошо´.

‘Everything’s OK.’

– Я, нaвe´рно, нe тудa´ попa´л!

‘I must have the wrong number.’

The similarity of the words for bank (бaнк) and jar (бa´нкa), and the coincidence of their prepositional singular forms (в бa´нкe), provide an opportunity for punning which has given rise to a further,

untranslatable joke on the same theme:

– Гдe ру´сскиe хрaня´т дe´ньги?

‘Where do Russians keep their money?’

– B бa´нкe. A бa´нку под

‘In the bank. And they keep it (i.e. the

кровa´тью.

jar) under the bed .’

The recent emergence in post-Soviet economic conditions of a class of very wealthy people (но´выe ру´сскиe) also provides fertile ground for Russian humour. English-speakers familiar with the ‘Essex’ jokes of

the 1990s will recognise the spirit of the following:

Oди´н но´вый ру´сский говори´т

One new Russian says to another:

друго´му: – Cмотри´, кaко´й я

‘Look at my tie, I paid a hundred

гa´лстук купи´л зa сто до´ллaров. dollars for it.’

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6.13

Jokes and puns

друго´й отвeчaéт: – Э´то что, зa

The other replies: ‘You didn’t do too

угло´м мо´жно зa двe´сти

well, you can get one round the corner

двa´дцaть купи´ть.

for 220.’

Animosity towards the nouveaux riches who flaunt their wealth is reflected in a spate of popular jokes based on a tale from folklore (and perpetuated in a fairy-tale by P úshkin). In the tale an old man catches a golden fish and lets it swim back into the sea without asking anything in return. To thank the old man for this act of generosity the fish tells him it will grant the old man any wish that he might have. In the

current joke the roles of man and fish are reversed:

Hо´вый ру´сский поймa´л

A new Russian catches a golden

золоту´ю ры´бку и говори´т eй: –

fish and says to it: ‘Well, what

чeго´ тeбe´ нa´до, золотa´я ры´бкa? is it you want, golden fish?’

It should be emphasised, finally, that many jokes flourish because of their topicality and that their appeal, like that of slang (5.1.4 above), is therefore ephemeral. At the same time it is useful for the foreign

student to know that as a conversational genre the joke remains very popular and that it often depends for its success on linguistic subtlety, especially exploitation of the opportunities that Russian offers for punning, as well as on the verbal dexterity of the speaker.