Historical reference?

[Sarah Hurst]

Ah, these are very helpful explanations, thanks!

Sarah Hurst

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Robert A. Rothstein
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 12:14 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Historical reference?

Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8), transliteration at the end.
Bob Rothstein

Галина Беспалова: Жалею - значит, я люблю

Меня не надо убеждать -
По одному иль хором дружным -
В том, что жалеть других не нужно,
Что это может унижать.
Искони века на Руси
Обычай был у наших предков,
Коль женщина полюбит крепко,
О чувствах ты её спроси -
Она ответит тихо, млея:
<Тебя я, милый мой, жалею:
Храни нас, Господи, спаси!>
Вот и меня порасспроси -
От своего не отступлю -
Жалею - значит, я люблю!



Inna Caron wrote:
> The use of Rus is circumstantial: it simply means "as ancient Russians
used
> to put it...", and it refers to the fact that in old Russian the verb
> "zhalet'" (and the underlying sentiment) expressed the tender love,
usually
> that of a woman for a man (husband, son, etc.), although not exclusively.
> Some Slavic language - I am afraid to be mistaken here, but I think it is
> Belorussian - still uses it in that sense. I vaguely recall a popular
Soviet
> song, whose lyrics stated explicitly that a woman says "zhaleiu" in the
> sense of "liubliu." 
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Sarah Hurst
> Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 12:46 AM
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Subject: [SEELANGS] Historical reference?
>
> I'm trying to translate the following sentence, which refers to someone
who
> lost his legs in World War II. Does anyone know what this reference to Rus
> is about and how it might be conveyed in English?
>
> А то, что увечье, так, может, оно делало его еще более привлекательным,
> говорилось ведь на Руси: <Любишь своего?> - <Жалею, вестимо...>
>
>  
>
> Sarah Hurst
>   
Galina Bespalova: Zhaleiu - znachit, ia liubliu

Menia ne nado ubezhdat' -
Po odnomu il' khorom druzhnym -
V tom, chto zhalet' drugikh ne nuzhno,
Chto eto mozhet unizhat'.
Iskoni veka na Rusi
Obychai byl u nashikh predkov,
Kol' zhenshchina poliubit krepko,
O chuvstvakh ty ee sprosi -
Ona otvetit tikho, mleia:
"Tebia ia, milyi moi, zhaleiu...
Khrani nas, Gospodi, spasi!"
Vot i menia porassprosi -
Ot svoego ne otstupliu -
Zhaleiu - znachit, ia liubliu!

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