TRANSLATION PROBLEMS: REPLIES

[Edward M Dumanis]

I am wondering why no one so far has mentioned that the examples like
"milyj drug" or "drug serdtsa" have specific modifiers of the word "drug."
I am quite sure that the usage of just "drug" in the meaning of boyfriend
is a quite recent development.
Moreover, even "milyj drug" or "drug serdtsa" do not specifically indicate
any boyfriend/girlfriend type of relationship, e.g. from A. Pushkin's "Moj
milyj drug, moj drug bestsennyj..." to V. Dolina's "Drug serdtsa moego,
sestra..."


Edward Dumanis <dumanis at acsu.buffalo.edu>



On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Alina Israeli wrote:

> >>>    I have noticed something. I have heard "drug" being used in the
> >>> sense of a "boyfriend". Perhaps, it may be a new usage.
> >
> >I quote from Zhukovskij's Svetlana (1808-1812):
> >Kak mogu, podruzhki, pet'?/ Milyj drug daleko;/ Mne sud'bina umeret'/ V
> >grusti odinokoj.
> >
> >I doubt that Svetlana is referring to a platonic acquaintance.
>
> Why not? Weren't those "gadan'ja"?
>
> Those days it was "drug serdca", now, on the other hand...
>
> Maybe there are studies about sexual habits in Alexandrian or Nikolaevan
> Russia, similar to those that exist for Victorian England, maybe I am
> totally wrong (about "serdechnyj drug" and my apologies to Jules Levin). I
> seem to remember reading it somewhere years ago that about one third of
> women marrying in Victorian times were pregnant. I never heard of such a
> study on Russian territory.
>
> AI
>
> **************************************************************
> Alina Israeli
> LFS, American University                phone:  (202) 885-2387
> 4400 Mass. Ave., NW                     fax:    (202) 885-1076
> Washington, DC 20016
>
> aisrael at american.edu
>
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