TRANSLATION PROBLEMS: REPLIES

[Edward M Dumanis]

I cannot be sure but I sense that the usage of "podruga" as "girlfriend"
might be dated to early twenties of the XX century (e.g., something like
"bojevaja podruga"), and "drug" as "boyfriend" started to show up in
the fifties but very rarely, since it went against the officially enforced
norms of the Soviet society. Many just called themselves "husbands" and
"wives" with the idea of being "v grazhdanskom brake" and to avoid any
extra attention to themselves from the party officials and bureaucrats.


Edward Dumanis <dumanis at acsu.buffalo.edu>


On Thu, 12 Apr 2001 colkitto at SPRINT.CA wrote:

> I heard "drug" being clearly used as "boyfriend" in the late '70's by quite
> a few speakers (the use of "drug" seemed to be one way of hinting "I'm not
> available") .
>
> Robert Orr
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Edward M Dumanis <dumanis at ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU>
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
> Date: Thursday, April 12, 2001 12:26 AM
> Subject: Re: TRANSLATION PROBLEMS: REPLIES
>
>
> >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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