Toasts

[Hunter, Robert (Psychology)]

To get out of Moscow regarding toasts, here is what a young couple from Velikiy Novgorod wrote me:  "when you toast, most of the time you either say Za vashe zdorov'e (or just vashe zdorov'e), or Bud'te zdorovy. However, you will most likely almost never hear anyone say "na zdorov'e" as a toast. This phrase, however, exists independently (from drinking), and is used in other situations. At least that's how it is in Novgorod, and some places in Belarus."
     Cheers,
     Robert Hunter
     rhunter at monroecc.edu

________________________________

From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list on behalf of Bryon
Sent: Mon 3/1/2004 3:19 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Toasts



Thanks for the thoughtful response, Alina.
Over the last several days I've been asking friends here (native speakers) in person, and by e-mail, the same question that lead to all the feedback. Interestingly, at first, about half said that "na" was OK as a toast. Then, once they thought about it, they said it wasn't. The consensus Saturday at a housewarming party (where no one used "na"!) was that "na" is sometimes used in toasts, only improperly -- the influence of outside forces, marriages and cultures, on the language.
Then again, this is Moscow, where it is now considered acceptable to order "odno kofe."

Bryon

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Alina Israeli
  To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
  Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 5:53 AM
  Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Toasts


  >What, then, is factually correct? I, too, would be interested
  >to know. I've been living in Russia continuously since 1996,
  >and I've had many opportunities to listen to, and make,
  >toasts. "Na" is almost always used -- even if, as you say,
  >it's wrong to do so. I've never once heard "za" used without
  >a pronoun.

  You don't have to have "za" in some cases, you can simply say "Vashe
  zdorov'e!" But "zdorov'e" toast is the only one which allows the
  preposition omission. You cannot omit it in any of the following (or any
  other ones I could think of with a noun in them):

  Za prekrasnyx dam!
  Za xozjajku doma!
  Za imeninnika!
  Za skorejshee okonhanie [of whatever]!

  and so on, whatever the occasion (if there is one).

  The original syntactic construction is "podnjat' tost za + Acc" or "vypit'
  za". The latter one was used in the title of a play by Zhuxovickij "Vyp'em
  za Kolumba!"

  If they say "na zdorov'e" while drinking, they are mimicking the use of
  this phrase while eating (and obviously mocking it), which roughly means
  'it's good for you' which is usually a reply to a thank you at or after the
  meal. This mocking use implies that drinking is good for you.

  "Na zdorov'e" could also mean 'as you please, I don't care/none of my
  problems'. For ex. as in the following dialog:

  - I reshila poexat' navestit' syna.
  - Nu i ezzhajte na zdorov'e. (Mne-to kakoe delo?)


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

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

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