???»???‚???? ???»?? ?€?°?·???µ?»??????: one word or two
I love to read articles and books designed to help native Russian speakers negotiate the trickier aspects of the great and mighty Russian language. One of my favorite problems is the question of ???»???‚???? (written together in one word) or ?€?°?·???µ?»?????? (written separately as two words). There are entire books devoted to this topic, which is worth mastering, since the meaning of the words depends on how you write them.
Sometimes the distinction is quite dramatic. Take the word ???????µ (compartment, as in a train). ???‹ ???????µ???‚???»?? ???µ?‰?? ?? ???????µ ?? ???‹???»?? ???· ???°???????° ?????????€???‚?? (We put our things in our compartment and then got off the train to smoke).
?’ ???????µ (in the compartment) is different from the less colloquial ?????????µ, an adverb that means together, in harmony, in coordination with: ?’ ?????????‚?€?°?????‹?… ???·?‹???°?… ?? ?? ???»?????°?€???… ???»?????? |"?????‚?µ?»?»?????µ???†???? " ???µ?€?µ?????????‚????, ???°?? ???€?°?????»??, ???µ ???°???? ???? ???µ?±?µ, ?° ?????????µ ?? ???€???»?°???°?‚?µ?»?????‹?? ?€?????????°??" (In foreign languages and dictionaries the word "intelligentsia" is usually not translated by itself but in conjunction with the adjective "Russian"). You might also see ?????????µ on wedding banners: ?????????µ ?? ???»???±?µ (in perfect harmony).
In other cases, the distinction is a bit more subtle, like ?????????? and ?? ????????. ?’???????? is a preposition that takes the genitive case and means "in view of, due to, in light of." Today it is probably most often found in what Russians call ???°???†?µ?»???€???????? ???·?‹?? (bureaucratese, business Russian).
Using it makes me feel like Miss Murchison typing away in a Dorothy Sayers novel: ?’???????? ?????€???·???? ???????»?‹ ?·?°???€?‹???°???‚ (In light of the cold temperatures, schools are closed). ???€?????·?????????‚???? ???? ???µ?»?? ???± ?°?????????????‚?€?°?‚?????????? ???€?°???????°?€?????µ?????? ???€?µ???€?°?‚???»?? ?????????? ???‚?????‚???‚?????? ???????‚?°???° ???€?°???????°?€?????µ?????? (The investigation of an administrative violation was closed due to the absence of violation). Well, maybe Kafka is a better comparison here, but you get the idea.
In any case, ?????????? is distinct from ?? ????????, a phrase that combines the preposition "??" with the noun ?????? (view) in the locative case, and means "in viewing distance of, close to." It's not used too much in this way: ?????€?°?±?»?? ???»?‹?» ?? ???????? ?±?µ?€?µ???°. (The ship sailed close to the shore, literally within viewing distance of the shore). But it is used very frequently in a standard expression, ?????µ?‚?? ?? ???????? (to have in mind; literally to have in view). This is what you say when you aren't sure you understood someone: ?§?‚?? ?‚?‹ ?????µ?µ???? ?? ????????? (What did you mean by that? What did you have in mind?)
And finally there is ???°?????‚?€?µ?‡?? and ???° ?????‚?€?µ?‡??. The former refers to something coming from the opposite direction: ???°???????° ?µ?…?°?»?° ???°?????‚?€?µ?‡?? (The car was approaching [as we moved toward it]). Sometimes this is figurative: ???????????°?? ???°???µ ?????»???¶?µ?????µ, ???‹ ?????‚?????‹ ???????‚?? ???°?? ???°?????‚?€?µ?‡?? (We understand your situation and are willing to meet you halfway). Or sometimes literal: ?•???»?? ?????????‘?? ???°?????‚?€?µ?‡?? ???€???? ???€??????, ?‚?? ???‹ ?????‚?€?µ?‚???????? ?? ???°?€???µ. (If we walk toward each other, we'll meet in the park).
But ???° ?????‚?€?µ?‡?? means "to a meeting" and refers to a specific get-together. ?•?‘ ???€?????»?°?????»?? ???° ?????‚?€?µ?‡?? ???? ???‚?????µ???‚?°???? (She was invited to meet with students).
And both ???°?????‚?€?µ?‡?? and ???° ?????‚?€?µ?‡?? are different from ?????‚?€?µ?‡???°, a slang word that means either the oncoming lane of traffic or the illegal zipping into that lane. So if your Russian friend suggests that you ?????????°?‚?????? ?µ???? ???°?????‚?€?µ?‡?? in order to go ???° ?????‚?€?µ?‡??, don't try to do it ???? ?????‚?€?µ?‡???µ.
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.