'kushat''

[gthomson]

At 09:15 -0700 02/04/01, Henning Andersen wrote:
>There is an old rhyme ascribed to Majakovskij
>
>Kogda ja jem
>Ja glux i nem.
>Kogda ja kushaju
>Ja prigovarivaju i slushaju.
>
>The difference in sense it plays with seems to be at variance with some
>current usage. Comments?

I was introduced to this jingle at a meal table in a Russian village
home. I was told that parents tell noisy children the first two
lines, and the children playfully answer back with the second two
lines. After that, I heard the first two lines in a film when a
supervisor said them to a dining room full of noisy kids, and some
children then whispered something inaudible to each other and
giggled. The person who told me about the custom had no apparent
awareness of debates about usage. The reason for the switch in verbs
appeared to be the need to rhyme with what followed.

Greg

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                http://members.home.net/lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------