The inevitable ...

[John Dunn]

More details about the story referred to in an earlier posting concerning an attempt to register an однополый брак (odnopolyj brak) can be found at:
 http://www.newsru.com/russia/18jan2005/registr.html

Connoisseurs of the finer points of linguistic political correctness may be interested to note that one of the participants is editor of a magazine called Квир (Kvir).

Last year I had occasion to transcribe (for a student examination) a TV news item about a gay 'wedding' in Nizhnij Novgorod.  As the 'ceremony' took place in church, the verb used is обвенчаться (obvenchat'sja), and the couple are described as супруги (suprugi), новобрачные (novobrachnye) and (perhaps more surprisingly) молодожёны (molodozheny).  

What both stories demonstrate is that Russian is extremely well endowed with synonyms and circumlocutions which not only allow reporters to indulge to the full any propensity towards elegant variation (and irony), but also make the difficulties envisaged by the more curiously-minded students vanish into thin air.

Oh, and in case anyone is worried, the priest who officiated at the gay 'wedding' got into serious trouble when his ecclesiastical superiors found out. 

John Dunn.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mills Charles <cmills at KNOX.EDU>
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 06:05:53 -0600
Subject: [SEELANGS] The inevitable ...

Dear SEELANGers,

We all know there are two ways to "get married" in Russian--"vyiti zamuzh (za 
kogo)" if you're a woman, and "zhenitsya (na kom)" if you're a man.  It was 
inevitable: my students are now asking which verb is used when a man marries 
a man (etc.).  Help!

Charles at Knox

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John Dunn
SMLC (Slavonic Studies)
University of Glasgow
Hetheringon Building
Bute Gardens
Glasgow G12 8RS
U.K.

Tel.: +44 (0)141 330 5591
Fax: +44 (0)141 330 2297
e-mail: J.Dunn at slavonic.arts.gla.ac.uk

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