Pronunciation of "Zdravstvyuitye"

[Emily Saunders]

Hello,

I'd forgotten about Sen'ka's myach.  A very good example, though the  
version I heard was Sen'ka verni myach/Сенька верни мяч.  Either would  
do the trick!

Emily

On Mar 6, 2008, at 1:03 AM, Nathan Longan wrote:

> Emily,
> Сенька бери мяч
> otherwise pronounced "Thank you very much."
>
> As for funny pronunciation coincidences, how about the Russian word  
> for
> "boxwood"?  That made for one of the funniest English language  
> excursions
> ever.  The young guide couldn't remember the name of the wood that a  
> certain
> piece of furniture was made from so she just stuck the Russian word  
> in,
> hoping that it might fit.  It certainly fit, but not the way she  
> thought it
> would:
>
> "Here we have an excellent example of a cabinet from a French  
> workshop of
> the 18th century.  The cabinet and all the details were  
> painstakingly carved
> from..., carved from ..., they were carved from, from, from ...  
> самшит, for
> a beautiful effect."
>
> Well, the effect was indeed spectacular, and everyone learned  
> (later) how to
> say "boxwood" in Russian.  Boxwood (buxus) is just a bush so I'm not  
> sure
> how they actually built a cabinet from it, but it definitely livened  
> up the
> excursion.
>
> NL
>
> 2008/3/5 Robert Chandler <kcf19 at dial.pipex.com>:
>
>> Thank you, Emily, for reintroducing a welcome note of humour into  
>> this
>> discussion!
>>
>> Best Wishes,
>>
>> R.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I feel compelled to differ on the point that ribald or off-color
>>> mnemonic devices are across the board 100% inappropriate.  It really
>>> should depend upon the student group and the teacher's  
>>> discretion.  A
>>> class of high school students?  Probably best not to mention it.
>>> British sailors?  It may serve to lighten the mood and produce a
>>> chuckle.  Learning a language, in my opinion, is first and foremost
>>> fun.  We do not just use language for cultural edification but also
>>> for punning and joking with our fellow men (and women).
>>>
>>> So to lighten up this discussion a little I thought I might forward
>>> along some "mnemonic-esque" devices that go the other way.  Perhaps
>>> some of you have seen these before as they were circulating around  
>>> the
>>> internet a few years ago.  They're not exactly the same thing as the
>>> donkey device, but close enough to be illustrative of the fun one  
>>> can
>>> have with wordplay.
>>>
>>> Emily Saunders
>>>
>>> P.S.  Having taught English to Russians (as I'm sure have many
>>> SEELANGSovtsy, I can personally vouch for the fact that any question
>>> beginning "Who is...?" tends to promote snickers -- at least  
>>> initially
>>> and then they get over it.
>>>
>>> P.P.S.  My apologies for a few off color words (or implied off color
>>> words) in the list below.  Getting rid of them would lose the joke.
>>> The last three may take some puzzling out...
>>>
>>> ***
>>>
>>> Genial Translations - Гениальные Переводы
>>> Can you hear me?  --- Ты можешь меня здесь?
>>> Manicure -- Деньги лечат
>>> I'm just asking. -- Я всего лишь король жоп.
>>> I have been there. -- У меня там фасоль
>>> God only knows --- Единственный нос бога
>>> We are the champions. -- Мы шампиньоны.
>>> You feel alright? -- Ты справа всех чувствуешь
>>> Bye bye baby, baby good bye. -- Купи купи ребенка,
>>> ребенок хорошая покупка
>>> To be or not to be -- Две пчелы или не две пчелы
>>> I fell in love. -- Я свалился в любовь.
>>> Just in case -- Только в портфеле
>>> Oh, dear -- Ах, олень.
>>> I saw my honey today. -- Я пилил мой мед сегодня.
>>> I'm going to make you mine. -- Я иду копать тебе
>>> шахту.
>>> May God be with you -- Майская хорошая пчелка с
>>> тобой.
>>> Good products -- Бог на стороне уток
>>> I've just seen your balance sheet -- Видел я ваш
>>> баланс...так себе баланс
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 4, 2008, at 12:09 PM, Stephanie Sures wrote:
>>>
>>>> Agreed. It's sloppy. And, dare I suggest...culturally insulting.
>>>>
>>>> When I took my first Introductory Russian course over 5 years  
>>>> ago, we
>>>> learned words simply by reading and hearing our professor say them.
>>>> Drills,
>>>> exercises, role-plays with classmates - with the words exactly as
>>>> they were
>>>> written, practising until we could say them in our sleep. There's  
>>>> no
>>>> reason
>>>> to lower ourselves to debasing any language with mockery. To do
>>>> otherwise
>>>> denotes a lack of respect and cultural sensitivity. Isn't a love of
>>>> culture
>>>> partly why we study languages other than our own?
>>>>
>>>> Consider how English speakers would feel if, in the course of
>>>> teaching ESL
>>>> to non-English speakers, a phrase in another language was  
>>>> rendered so
>>>> crudely. I don't think we would stand for it. Wouldn't we be
>>>> bothered by it?
>>>>
>>>> Stephanie Sures
>>>> B.A., Russian; Honours Psychology student
>>>> University of Manitoba, Canada
>>>>
>>>>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Nathan Longan, PhD
> Resident Director
> CIEE Study Center
> St. Petersburg, Russia

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