Ekhal greka - Who?

[Paul B. Gallagher]

John Langran wrote:

> I'm working on some skorogovorki for pronounciation practice, but I
> don't want learners to be saying things they (or I) don't understand.
> Can anyone help with a translation for "грека" (greka) in Ехал грека
> через реку ... "Ekhal greka cherez reku"?. Is it a diminutive of
> "грек" (grek) perhaps?

If it's a personal name, I would think it should be capitalized, right? 
(Why would the verb be masculine?) But the Russian Language Reference 
Bureau thinks otherwise: <http://www.gramota.ru/spravka/buro/29_218225>.

Only thing I can think of, since dictionaries list only "грек," is that 
it must be an alternate form chosen purely for metrical purposes.

Google
	"ехал грека" river
and you'll get lots of hits, some of them tongue-twister sites. For example:

<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Russian_tongue_twisters>
<http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/tongue-twisters/russian_tongue_twisters.html>
<http://www.indopedia.org/Rubber_baby_buggy_bumpers.html>

Remove all beverages from the computer area before viewing this one:
<http://www.bibo.kz/kipa/51967-frost-110548-16072008-ekhal-greka-cherez-reku.html>
This is how /not/ to do translation.

-- 
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

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