Derek Offord - Using Russian : A Guide to Contemporary Usage

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Using Russian

Using Russian is a guide to Russian usage for those who have already acquired the basics of the language and wish to extend their

knowledge. Unlike conventional grammars, it gives special attention to those areas of vocabulary and grammar which cause most difficulty to English speakers, and focuses on questions of style and register which are all too often ignored. Clear, readable and easy to consult, it will prove invaluable to students seeking to improve their fluency and

confidence in Russian.

This second edition has been substantially revised and expanded to

incorporate fresh material and up-to-date information. Many of the

original sections have been rewritten, the passages illustrating register are all fresh and one brand new chapter has been added, providing a

clear picture of Russian usage in the twenty-first century.

derek offord is Professor of Russian Intellectual History at the

University of Bristol, where he has served as Chairman of the School of Modern Languages and Head of Department. His previous

publications include Portraits of Early Russian Liberals (1985), TheRussian Revolutionary Movement in the 1880s (1986) and ModernRussian: An Advanced Grammar Course (1993), as well as numerous articles and chapters on classical Russian literature and thought.

natalia gogolitsyna is Language Assistant at the University of

Bristol. She has taught Russian as a second language at St Petersburg Pedagogical University, and has been a visiting academic at the

University of Essex. Her previous publications include Problems ofTranslation: Russian Words and Concepts with No Exact Equivalents inEnglish (1995) and various articles on culture-specific words and concepts.

Companion titles

Using French (third edition)

Using German Synonyms

A guide to contemporary usage

martin durrell

r. e. batchelor and m. h. offord

(ISBN 0 521 46552 4 hardback)

(ISBN 0 521 64177 2 hardback)

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(ISBN 0 521 64593 X paperback)

Using Italian Synonyms

Using Spanish (second edition)

howard moss and vanna motta

A guide to contemporary usage

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r. e. batchelor and c. j. pountain

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Using French Synonyms

Using German (second edition)

r. e. batchelor and m. h. offord

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(ISBN 0 521 37277 1 hardback)

martin durrell

(ISBN 0 521 37878 8 paperback)

(ISBN 0 521 53000 8 paperback)

Using Russian Synonyms

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terence wade and nijole white

A guide to contemporary usage

(ISBN 0 521 79405 6 paperback)

j. j. kinder and v. m. savini

Using French Vocabulary

(ISBN 0 521 48556 8 paperback)

jean h. duffy

Using Japanese

(ISBN 0 521 57040 9 hardback)

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william mclure

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(ISBN 0 521 64155 1 hardback)

sarah fagan

(ISBN 0 521 64614 6 paperback)

(ISBN 0 521 79700 4 paperback)

Using Portuguese

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A guide to contemporary usage

marcel danesi

ana sofia ganho and timothy mcgovern

(ISBN 0 521 52425 3 paperback)

(ISBN 0 521 79663 6 paperback)

Using Spanish Vocabulary

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r. e. batchelor and miguel a. san jos

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(ISBN 0 521 00862 X paperback)

mahdi alosh

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Using Russian

A guide to

contemporary usage

Second edition, revised and augmented

DEREK OFFORD

University of Bristol

NATALIA GOGOLITSYNA

University of Bristol

Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, So Paulo Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org

Information on this title: www.cambridg e.org /9780521547611

Derek Offord and Natalia Gogolitsyna 2005

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published in print format 2005

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Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

Preface to the first edition

xiii

Preface to the second edition

xv

Acknowledgements

xviii

Sources

xix

Note on transcription, stress marks and transliteration

xxii

Glossary of linguistic terms

xxiii

List of abbreviations

xxxiii

1

Varieties of language and register

1

1.1

The Russian language and its distribution

1

1.2

Varieties of language

6

1.3

Registers

9

1.3.1 The colloquial register (R1)

10

1.3.2 Demotic speech (D)

13

1.3.3 The neutral register (R2)

14

1.3.4 The higher register (R3)

15

1.3.5 Styles of belles-lettres ( ee

ea)

17

1.3.6 Language of the internet ( eea)

17

1.4

Illustration of register in vocabulary

18

1.5

Regional variation in Russian

19

1.5.1 Standard pronunciation

20

1.5.2 Classification of Russian dialects

21

1.5.3 Regional features

22

1.6

Current debate about standard Russian

25

2

Passages illustrating register

32

2.1

R1: from a TV show

32

2.2

R1: based on a conversation in a Russian internet chatroom

36

2.3

R2: magazine interview with a popular actor

40

2.4

R2: question-and-answer session with President Putin

43

2.5

R3a: academic style (modern historiography)

45

2.6

R3a: academic style (scientific writing)

47

2.7

R3b: official/business style (legal)

50

2.8

R3b: official/business style (commercial)

53

2.9

R3c: political journalism (reporting)

57

2.10

R3c: political journalism (comment)

60

2.11

Classical poetry

62

2.12

Literary prose

65

2.13

Language of the internet

68

v

Contents

3

Problems of meaning: Russian words

73

3.1

Homonyms

73

3.1.1 Examples of homonyms

73

3.1.2 Homonyms with different plural forms

78

3.2

Homophones and homoforms

79

3.3

Homographs

81

3.4

Paronyms

82

3.5

Faux amis (e )

87

3.6

Problems of number

91

3.6.1 Nouns with plural form only

91

3.6.2 Nouns with singular form only

92

3.7

Russian words difficult to render in English

93

4

Problems of translation from English into Russian