The Great Russian Language

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Ben Rifkin wrote:

> Dear SEELangers:
> 
> See <http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2009/01/23_a_2928760.shtml> for a
> headline with what I suppose is a new Russian verb:  razbushevat'sia.
> 
> Turgenev was right.

I haven't been reading the Russian press much lately, but I can see that 
it's a treasure trove of interesting usages.

Разбушеваться was an interesting use of the reflexive -- if it had said 
"Обама разбушевает пр-во США" I would've understood in an instant. But 
how is Obama himself the target of the action? In a previous article 
<http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2009/01/22_a_2928590.shtml>, we see:

	Обама закрыл Гуантанамо
	-----------------------
	Барак Обама начал избавляться от наследия
	своего предшественника Джорджа Буша. ...

There, the reflexive on избавляться makes perfect sense. The perfective 
(уже полностью) "закрыл" -- less so, as one of the comments notes. ;-)

That second article also contains the interesting euphemisms "особые 
(специальные) методы дознания," which I take as the counterpart to our 
"enhanced interrogation methods."


I found it interesting to learn that Обама follows the model of Коля, 
Саша, Вика, etc. -- it declines as a feminine but functions otherwise as 
a masculine (президента Обамы, президенту Обаме, и т.д.). I expected a 
mismatched /foreign/ name to be indeclinable.

I also noticed the phrasing "Как пишет британская The Times,..." where 
the noun is omitted -- I thought it was required.

Guess I still have a lot to learn.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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