Another query - What is then

[John Dunn]

Restaurant reviewers share their meals, but not necessarily their beds with their companions; with their partners it is the other way round.  And to me 'companionship' in the context of two people living together does indeed imply abstinence from sexual relations.  But I do have some sympathy with Maryna Vinarska, since everything is indeed changing: 20 years ago if you introduced someone as 'my partner', it would be assumed you were referring to your 'business partner'.  One reason for its introduction was the absence in English of anything corresponding to the Russian euphemism гражданский брак[grazhdanskii brak] (the British phrase 'common-law marriage' is both old-fashioned and somewhat pejorative), though in current usage the advantage of 'partner' is that it is neutral with respect to matrimony, whether lawful or holy.  

John Dunn.



-----Original Message-----
From: Maryna Vinarska <vinarska at YAHOO.COM>
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 10:12:32 -0700
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Another query - What is then "spousal companionship"?

I don't understand it... For me "companion" means "partner". And I thought that companionship is the same with partnership, meaning Partnerschaft, which is "grazhdanskij brak" in Russian, i.e. "supruzheskaia blizost'" which is not legalized. Yes, in the theological language they used to have a special name for this kind of relationship, but everything is changing...
So it seems I misunderstood everything.
What is that "spousal companionship" at all then? What does it imply and how is it supposed to be called in Russian?

Alina Israeli <aisrael at AMERICAN.EDU> wrote: >I came across the phrase "supruzheskaya blizost'" in a context where
>in English one would expect
>"conjugal relations" or "marital relations".  Neither phrase is
>ambiguous in English, and either one is
>suitable for high-toned moralistic literature, but the Russian struck
>me as a euphemism for a euphemism.
>Couldn't it just as easily imply "spousal companionship", which is
>nice but not identical to "marital relations"?

No, it couldn't. The Russian phrase is totally completely unequivocally
unambiguous.

There are some other phrases which may look euphemistical, yet are
unambiguous as well:

Oni blizki. Oni sostojat v blizkix otnoshenijax.

__________________________
 Alina Israeli
 LFS, American University
 4400 Mass. Ave., NW
 Washington, DC 20016

 phone:    (202) 885-2387
 fax:      (202) 885-1076 

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John Dunn
SMLC (Slavonic Studies)
University of Glasgow
Hetheringon Building
Bute Gardens
Glasgow G12 8RS
U.K.

Tel.: +44 (0)141 330 5591
Fax: +44 (0)141 330 2297
e-mail: J.Dunn at slavonic.arts.gla.ac.uk

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