?¤?µ?????±??́??: Facebook
There is nothing quite so humiliating for an adult as stumbling badly in a foreign language. You know how it is. You open your mouth to say something, then realize you aren’t sure and close it. And then you think you do know, after all, and so you open your mouth again, only to slam it shut when you decide you really don’t. You stand there sucking air like a human guppy.
It’s especially humiliating when the phrase that’s giving you trouble should be easy. My gulping fish moment was when I wanted to say the very simple declarative sentence: I spent half the night on Facebook. Is it ???° ?¤?µ?????±?????µ or ?? ?¤?µ?????±?????µ, and what verb do you use?
So I asked around. The consensus on ???° or ?? was that there isn’t a consensus. There is, however, a large, nearly overwhelming majority who say ?? ?¤?µ?????±?????µ and therefore ???· ?¤?µ?????±?????°. For example: ???µ?????????? ?? ?€?µ?????» ?????°?»???‚?? ???‚?€?°?????†?? ?? ?¤?µ?????±????e. (Today I decided to delete my Facebook page.) Or this claim: ? ?????????????µ ???°?????????? ???…???????‚ ???· ?¤?µ?????±?????°. (Russians are leaving Facebook in droves.) But you sometimes hear or read: ?? ???µ ?????? ???°???‚?? ?‡?µ?»?????µ???° ???° ?¤?µ?????±?????µ. (I couldn’t find the guy on Facebook). Or: ?? ???·???°?» ???°???‹?? ?±?‹???‚?€?‹?? ???????????± ?????°?‡?°?‚?? ???»?????‹ c ?¤?µ?????±?????°. (I found the fastest way to download videos from Facebook.)
Sometimes people get snazzy — or maybe just lazy — and call it ?„?µ????: ?•?‰?µ ???????° ?·?°?±?°?????°?? ???‚?€?°?????†?° ?? ?„?µ?????µ. (There’s another fun page on FB.) But you can’t do this unless you are under 14 years old and/or have a lot of tattoos.
The verb most commonly used is ???????µ?‚?? (to sit), as in ?? ???µ???? ???µ?‡?µ?€ ???????µ?» ?? ?¤?µ?????±?????µ. (I was on Facebook all evening.) But you can also hear the slangy ?‚???€?‡?°?‚?? (to hang around). Sometimes people just talk about getting on, not staying in: ?’?‡?µ?€?° ???µ?‡?µ?€???? ?? ?·?°?»?µ?·?»?° ?? ?¤?µ?????±????. (Last night I got on, literally “crawled into,” Facebook.) Some of my acquaintances of the older generation think of Facebook not as a place, but as a kind of book, or maybe a virtual visitor’s album: ?? ???°?????? ???µ ???‚???€?‹???°?» ?¤?µ?????±????. (I haven’t opened Facebook in a long time.) ?—?°???€???? ?¤?µ?????±???? ?? ?????????‘?? ???¶?????°?‚??. (Close Facebook and let’s go eat.)
But once you get on Facebook and sit there for a while, it’s pretty easy to talk about. All you do is speak English with a Russian accent. If you want someone to like your page, you just say: ???»???????? “?»?°????”! (Click “like”!) Or maybe: ?–???? ???°???? ?»?°??????. (I’ll be waiting for your “likes.”) Or just use the verb ?»?°?????°?‚??, which is to like something via a pictogram of a thumbs-up. ?? ?»?°?????°?» ?????‘ ???????€????. (I clicked “like” on everything.)
If you write something, you call it ???????‚ or use the verb pair ???????‚???‚??/?·?°???????‚???‚??. ???µ?»???·?? ???€?????‚?? ?‚?°?? ???·???‚?? ?? ?·?°???????‚???‚?? ???????????‚?? ?±?µ?· ???€?????µ?€????. (You can’t just take and post news without checking it.) Apparently for this there is a punishment: ?—?°?±?°?????‚ ?‚?µ?±??. (You’ll be banned.)
But that doesn’t happen too often among ?„?€?µ?????‹ (social network friends). When ???€?‹?? (Crimea) became ???€?‹?????°?? (Crimea is ours) there were some ?±?°???‹ (bans) and people ???‚?„?€?µ???????»?? ???€???? ???€?????° (unfriended each other). That changed everyone’s ?„?€?µ????-?»?µ???‚?‹ (friend lists). But to get back in someone’s good Facebook graces, all you have to do is: ?„???‚???°?‚?? ?????»?????? ?‰?µ?????‡???° (take a photo of a sweet puppy) and ?·?°???????‚???‚?? ?µ?‘ (post it).
?’???µ ?»?°?????°???‚. (Everyone likes it.)
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.
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