variations, in clubs

[Konstantin Kustanovich]

>Helena Goscilo wrote:
>+++++++
>The standard contemporary form for clubs is TREFY (NOT trefi, for the last
>letter resembles the Nautilus workout grunt, not "ee" as in "eek").  The
>alternate form, attested by Dal' (see TOLKOVYI SLOVAR') is KRESTY (again,
>hard "y" sound, and stressed).   An even rarer and outmoded alternate form
>is ZHLUDI.  Requiescat in pace, ladno?
>++++++++
>No, definitely no peace - until we know something about how the usage
>varies (as hinted at by an earlier seelangovka). Age? Geography? Sex?
>'Class'? Education?
>
>Tom Priestly
>
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>*  Tom Priestly
>*  Slavic & East European Studies
>*  Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
>*  University of Alberta
>*  Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E6
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>
>*  telephone:   403 - 492 - 0789
>*  fax:                403 - 492 - 9106
>
>*  email:           tom.priestly at ualberta.ca
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The 17-volume Slovar' sovremennogo russkogo iazyka defines KRESTI as
PROSTORECH'E for TREFI and VINI as PROSTORECH'E for PIKI.  And that's what
they are.  When I played P'IANITSA, PODKIDNOI DURAK or PIKOVAIA DAMA with
my NIANIA about forty-five years ago then the clubs were KRESTI and the
spades were VINI.  But when I was a student and played PREFERANS with my
friends then the suits were PIKI, TREFY, BUBNY, CHERVI.  Actually, all
respectable players use feminine singular for suits: PIKA, TREFA, BUBNA,
CHERVA.

So, I would say that in the family usage VINI, BUBI (instead of BUBNY) and
KRESTI are pretty common.  But "serious" players would never use them.

And although the 17-volume dictionary gives TREFI for clubs, it is
obsolete.  The 4-volume dictionary (1981) gives TREFY, and this is, I
believe, the most common contemporary usage among "serious" players.  Some
pronounce R hard, others soft.

Diamonds are BUBNY.  BUBI is sometimes used, but Russian dictionaries do
not have this term (at least those which I have consulted).  Dal' lists
BUBI  as Siberian dialect.


Konstantin Kustanovich

Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages
Vanderbilt University
Box 1525, Station B
Nashville, TN 37235
Tel.: (615) 322-2751
Fax: (615) 343-7258