???°???µ?‚: package
One of the tricky places in Russian is the cognate zone: that place where English and Russian words that sound alike and have the same root hang out and dream up ways to confuse you. These so-called cognates are sometimes also false friends and fair-weather friends.
I've been thinking about this because of a ???°???µ?‚ (package) that has been in the news every day for several weeks in Russia. This is ???°???µ?‚ ???€???????? (Yarovaya's package): ???°???µ?‚ ?°???‚???‚?µ?€?€???€?????‚???‡?µ???????… ?·?°?????????? (a package of anti-terrorist laws).
In English we can say that — a package of laws ?€” although English speakers are more likely to talk about aid packages, packages of anti-terrorist measures, or package deals and package tours. In this context ???°???µ?‚-package are fair-weather friends: sometimes they match up and sometimes they don't.
Russians don't talk about package tours ?€” those are ?????‚?‘?????? ?€” but they can gather lots of things into their ???°???µ?‚?‹, like documents: ?? ?·?°???????µ ???€???»?°???°?»???? ???µ???±?…?????????‹?? ???°???µ?‚ ???????????µ???‚???? (The required package of documents was submitted with the application.) Or votes: ?’ ???°?€?»?°???µ???‚?µ ?? ???°?€?‚???? ?±?‹?» ?±?»???????€?????‰???? ???°???µ?‚ ?????»???????? (The party had enough votes to block legislation.) Or guarantees: ?????? ?????·???°?»?? ???µ???‚?€?°?·?????‹?? ???°???µ?‚ ???°?€?°???‚???? ???»?? ?????????‚?€?°?????‹?… ???????µ???‚???€???? (They came up with an irresistible package of guarantees for foreign investors.) Or perks: ???€?µ???????‚?°???»?µ?????µ ???? ?????»?? ?????±???‚???µ?????????‚?? ???°?? ?‡?°???‚?? ???°???µ?‚?° ?????????µ?????°?†???? ???µ?€?µ?????? ?????»???µ?‚???? ???????‚?°?‚???‡?????? "???€?????°????????" (Giving them an equity share as part of their compensation packages is often enough of an inducement.) And, of course, stocks: ?’ ???‚?????µ ???? ?? ???????? ???µ?‚ ???????‚?€???»?????????? ???°???µ?‚?° ?°???†???? (In the end, no one has the controlling block of shares.)
???°???µ?‚-package are false friends in the grocery store. ???°???µ?‚?‹ are what you take your groceries home in ?€” bags or sacks. They can be the ecologically sound ?±?????°?¶???‹?µ ???°???µ?‚?‹ (paper bags) or the environmentally damaging ?????»?????‚???»?µ???????‹?? ???°???µ?‚, a phrase Russians use all the time. English speakers are not likely to say "polyethylene bag." In fact, you'd be lucky to find an English speaker who knows what a polyethylene bag is. It's just a plain old plastic bag.
And finally the Russian ???°???µ?‚ can be ???°???µ?‚ ?????»?????° (a container of milk), ???°???µ?‚ ?? ???±?»?????°???? (a sack of apples) or even something very nasty, like ???°???µ?‚ ?? ???µ?€?????????? (a bag of heroin).
There is one other tricky packaging issue for non-native speakers of Russian: when to use ???°???µ?‚ (package, bag) and when to use ???°?‡???° (pack). I'm struggling to determine the rule. ???°???µ?‚ is a sack you fill or a container that is not a bottle but holds liquids: ???°???µ?‚ ?????»?????°, ?????€???°, ???????° (container of milk, fruit drink, juice).
???°?‡???° is smaller and usually contains one kind of thing, like ???°?‡???° ???????°?€?µ?‚ (a pack of cigarettes). Or it describes a bunch of something held together: ?’ ???‰?????µ ???‹ ???°???»?? ???°?‡???? ???‚?°?€?‹?… ???????µ?? (In a drawer we found a bundle of old letters). Or: ???? ?…???°?‚?°?µ?‚ ?‚???»???‚?µ???????? ???°?‡???? ?€???±?»?µ?? (He grabs a thick wad of bills.)
But in the grocery store, ???°?‡???? aren't small at all. They never hold liquids like ???°???µ?‚?‹. They are used with almost any pre-package food, from ???°?‡???° ?€?????° (bag of rice) to ???°?‡???° ?‡?????????? (bag of chips).
And then there's one more ???°???µ?‚, so tiny that it's the diminutive ???°???µ?‚????. It's what you use to make a refreshing drink: ???°???µ?‚???? ?‡?°?? (teabag).
Definitely time for a cuppa.
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.