Grossman: 'V gorode Berdicheve: babies' clothing
Anna Reid
AnnaReid01 at BTINTERNET.COM
Wed Jul 8 20:54:04 UTC 2009
They were 'sizing them up'?
Anna Reid
annareid01 at btinternet.com
-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Sarah Hurst
Sent: 08 July 2009 21:44
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Grossman: 'V gorode Berdicheve: babies' clothing
My perception of this is that игрушечные refers to "teeny-weeny" or
"itty-bitty" and that they weren't "measuring" but "trying on" the
teeny-weeny baby clothes.
Sarah Hurst
-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Chandler
Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 12:37 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: [SEELANGS] Grossman: 'V gorode Berdicheve: babies' clothing
Dear all,
This story is set in Berdichev during the Russian-Polish war. A tall,
strong, determined female commissar has become pregnant and has finally had
to accept that she can't carry on as usual. She has been billeted on a
Jewish family. The wife is trying to teach her a bit about what being a
mother will be like.
Вернувшийся вечером с работы Магазаник ошеломленно остановился в
дверях: за столом сидела его жена Бэйла и рядом с ней большая женщина в
просторном платье, в туфлях-шлепанцах на босу ногy, с головой, повязанной
пестрой косынкой. Они негромко смеялись, переговариваясь между собой, и
примеряли, подымая большие толстые руки, маленькие, игрушечные распашонки
My dictionary translates 'raspashonka' as 'a short baby's undershirt without
buttons'. But why is it also 'igrushechnaya'? Is that simply a way of
saying it is very small? The French translator evidently thinks it means
something like an item of clothing for a doll, but I don't think that makes
much sense.
More generally, I am a bit puzzled as to why they are measuring clothes for
a baby that has yet to be born.
All the best,
Robert
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.387 / Virus Database: 270.13.7/2222 - Release Date: 07/08/09
05:53:00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.375 / Virus Database: 270.13.8/2224 - Release Date: 07/08/09
05:53:00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
More information about the SEELANG
mailing list