Query re russian usage

[Ms T S Karpenko]

>
> The native speaking Russian I consulted about this last correction--that
> _stal zakurivat'_ only means 'was rolling a smoke'--says that this is NOT
> correct.  It can, to this person, only mean 'was (in the process of)
> lighting up (a cigarette, _papiros_, or cigar)'.
>
> I learned something new from this exercise:  _papiros_ CAN mean both the
> manufactured cigarette-like sticks that consist mostly of cardboard tube
> (common brand name:  _Belomor_) AND roll-your-own tobacco cigarettes.
>
> The reason I checked with my "informant" was that I thought it was
> impossible to roll one's own _papirosy_.  Now I know this other meaning
> of the term this definition is plausible, but not accepted nonetheless.
>
> Anyone else agree or disagree with the interpretation of 'was rolling'?
>
> --Loren Billings (billings at princeton.edu)
>
As a native Russian speaker I would rather understand stal zakurivat as
a process of lighting a sigarette or papirosa than rolling one. It is a process
 that
takes some time, so I don't see problem in using it with the inchoative
verb stal.

Tatyana Karpenko