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OK, folks, here is today's Kwik Kommercial Kwiz: In what year was this statement written? ???????????° ?µ???‚?? ???€?µ?????‚???‡???µ ?????µ?? ?€?????????????????? ?‚???€???????»?? ?? ?????µ???±?‰?µ?µ ?…?€?°?????»???‰?µ, ?? ?????‚???€???µ ???°???±???»?????°?? ?‡?°???‚?? ???…???????‰???… ?? ? ?????????? ?‚?????°?€???? ???‚?µ???°?µ?‚???? (Moscow is the focus of all Russian trade and one huge repository for the vast majority of goods entering Russia). If it weren't for a few peculiarities of language, it sounds like it could have been said last Tuesday by a cranky State Duma deputy from the provinces. But when was it written? 1781.
Then, now and for evermore, Moscow is the place in Russia where you can buy everything, especially food. The first trick is having the money to do it. The second trick is knowing what to call the places you buy food. And to do that, it helps to take a detour back in time -- say 500 years or so -- to the days when Moscow's huge squares were covered with ?‚???€???????‹?µ ?€?????‹ (literally, "trading rows") and ?»?°?????? or ?»?°?????‡???? (small stands or shops), each selling a particular food item. You'd grab your basket and go to ???…???‚???‹?? ?€???? (hunter's row) to pick up some fresh game, and then stop at the ?…?»?µ?±???°??, ?????»???‡???°?? or ?·?µ?»?µ?????°?? ?»?°?????° (bread, dairy or green grocer's shop). Before going home, you'd stop in the ?±?°???°?»?µ?????°?? ?»?°?????° (dry goods store) to pick up tea, coffee, dry fruit and grains.
Today, people don't use the word ?»?°?????° very often. Instead, they usually use the French term ???°???°?·???? (store) or its diminutive, ???°???°?·?????‡???? (little shop). ?? ?·?°???»?° ?? ???°???°?·?????‡???? ?·?° ?…?»?µ?±???? (I stopped at a little shop for bread). But its ghost lingers on. For example, you still see signs for ?±???»???‡???°??-???????????‚?µ?€?????°?? (bread and pastry shop), where the adjectives ?±???»???‡???°??-???????????‚?µ?€?????°?? qualify the noun ?»?°?????°, but the noun is no longer used.
In the Soviet period, all those little shops disappeared and state food stores took their places. They were still specialized food stores, but with generic names: ???‹?€, ?????»??????, ????????, ???????‰?? ?? ?¤?€?????‚?‹ (Cheese, Milk, Meat, Vegetables and Fruit) or the ubiquitous ???€?????????‚?‹ (Grocery). If you were lucky, there was a good ?????????µ?€???°?? (short for ?????????µ?€???°?»?????‹?? ???°???°?·????) or ???°???‚?€???????? (supermarket) nearby. Both sold all kinds of food.
Today, you'd probably call the all-purpose grocery store in your neighborhood ???€?????????‚?????‹?? ???°???°?·????. According to a highly unscientific poll of Moscow and St. Petersburg food shoppers, the little vegetable and fruit stands that look like derailed train cars are called ?»?°?€?????? -- singular: ?»?°?€?‘?? -- and the open stands, often covered with a tent or tarp, are ???°?»?°?‚????. I'd call both stands or stalls, although I might describe the latter as farm stands if they sold fresh produce. ? ?‹?????? (market, farmer's market) is a permanent food market. ???€???°?€???° (fair, market) is usually a temporary market that specializes in one product or group of products, like the ???€???°?€???° ???‘???° (Honey Fair), where producers from all over the country bring their gooey goodies.
Now Russians are using English-derived words to describe their produce stores. Unfortunately for us English speakers, the most common word -- ???????µ?€???°?€???µ?‚ (supermarket) -- is something of a fair-weather friend. My polled food shoppers described ???????µ?€???°?€???µ?‚ as a place where you can buy ???€?????????‚?‹ ?? ?…???·?‚?????°?€?‹ (food and household goods), like U.S.-style supermarkets. But you can also find ???‚?€?????‚?µ?»?????‹?? ???????µ?€???°?€???µ?‚ (building supply superstore) or ?????????????‚?µ?€???‹?? ???????µ?€???°?€???µ?‚ (computer superstore). You can also find ???????µ?€???°?€???µ?‚ (hypermarket, superstore) and ???µ???°???°?€???µ?‚ (megamarket).
The opposite of all these mega-, super-, hyper- and otherwise gigantic retailers is the ?‚???€???????°?? ?‚???‡???° or ?‚???‡???° (literally, "trading spot" or "spot"). You can use these terms for anything from a retail outlet to a vegetable stand to a point of sale at a cashier's counter.
Or perhaps whenever buying a treat hits the spot.
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.
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