?—?°?????»????́???°?????‹?? ???€????: vicious circle
In Russian, and therefore in Russia, a lot of people, things and actions are charming. When the charm is pleasant — a song, a cute kid, a puppy — speakers often use the verb pair ???‡?°?€?????‹???°?‚?? / ???‡?°?€?????°?‚?? (to charm) and related words. ???°?????µ ???‡?°?€?????°?????µ! (How charming!) But not all charms are lucky, and casting spells can be serious business.
First of all, spells are cast not just by voices and hands, but by other body parts usually not associated with magic. For example — teeth. The unusual expression ?·???±?‹ ?·?°???????°?€?????°?‚?? (something like “to cast tooth spells”) comes from the time when healers treated patients by whispering or chanting incantations over them.
Today the expression is usually used ironically to mean sweet-talking someone into doing something, like the guy in the electronics store who convinces you to buy a television that is twice the size and three times the cost of what you wanted. ???? ?‚?°?? ?·?°?????????€???» ?????µ ?·???±?‹, ?‡?‚?? ?? ?????»???????‚???? ?·?°?±?‹?» ?? ???µ???µ???????? ?±?????¶?µ?‚?µ. (He sweet-talked me so much that I completely forgot about our family budget.)
Of course, voices also enchant, often with the verb ?·?°?????€?°?¶?????°?‚?? (to cast a spell). ?•???? ?????»????, ?????‚?????°?†???? ?·?°?????€?°?¶?????°???‚. (His voice and intonation are spellbinding.) Eyes cast spells, too: ???????????»?°, ???°?? ?·?°?????€?°?¶?????°?»?? ?µ???? ???»?°?·?°. (I remember how his eyes caught me in their spell.)
Eyes also have the power to hypnotize. ?—?°?±?????? ???±?? ?????‘??, — ?????‘?‚ ?????°, ???????????‚???·???€???? ???·???»???????? ???»?µ?????µ??. (“Forget about everything,” she sings, hypnotizing Alexei with her gaze.)
But other facial features have the same power: ?•???? ???‚?€???????µ ?»???†?? ?? ???»?°???‚???‹?? ?????»???? ???????????‚???·???€?????°?»?? ?µ?‘. (She was hypnotized by his stern face and powerful voice.) In general, this kind of power over people is not a good thing: ???? ???€?????·?????????» ???»?????°, ?????µ???????µ ???????????‚???‡?µ???????? ???»?°???‚?? ???°?? ?»??????????. (He spoke words that had a hypnotic power over people.)
Even stronger is the spellbinding power of ?·?°?????»???????‹???°?‚?? (to enchant, bewitch). Sometimes the enchantment is marvelous, if dangerous, like ?·?°?????»???????°?????‹?? ?»?µ?? (enchanted forest). Or really marvelous, if perhaps suspicious: ? ?µ?·???±?µ ???? ???µ?€?µ???? ???°?‚?? ???µ ???‡???»?°???? — ???€?????‚?? ???·???»?° ?? ?€?????? ???????‚?€?????µ???‚?‹ ?? ???€???????»?°???? ?·?° ???µ?»??, ???»???????? ?·?°?????»???????°?» ?µ?‘ ???‚??. (Katya didn’t learn how to carve wood; she simply picked up the tools and started to do it as if someone had bewitched her.)
But most of the time ?·?°?????»???????‹???°?‚?? means bad magic: ?“???€????, ???»???????? ?·?°?????»???????°?????‹?? ???°??????-?‚?? ?·?»???? ?????»????. (It was as if the city was under the spell of some evil power.) ???? ?±?‹?» ?·?°?????»???????°?? ?…???»???????‹?? ?????»???µ?±???‚?????? ???°?‚?µ?€??. (He was under the spell of his mother’s cold witchcraft.)
In Russian, circles aren’t vicious, they’re enchanted — which makes them even harder to break out of. ???°?? ???€?µ???????»?µ?‚?? ???‚???‚ ?????€???‡???‹?? ?·?°?????»???????°?????‹?? ???€???? ?? ? ??????????? (How can we break out of this evil vicious circle in Russia?)
An even stronger form of magic is that of the verb ???»?µ?????‚?? (to captivate), which you might recognize from related words like ???»?µ?? (captivity) or ???»?µ???????? (captive). Russians seem to like this kind of captivity. It can be the magic of love: ?’???‘ ?? ???µ?? ?????€?°?¶?°?»?? ?? ???»?µ?????»?? ???µ????. (Everything about her fascinated and captivated me.) Or beauty: ?•???? ???»?µ?????»?° ???€?°?????‚?° ?????»?????° ???µ?????†?‹. (He was held in thrall by the beauty of the singer’s voice.) Or the power of the vine: ???????? ???»???‚???? ???????° ???»?µ?????» ???µ????. (One sip of wine and I was in thrall.)
Now that’s the kind of enchanted circle you want to stay in.
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.