???·???°?‚?‡?????°: Eastern backwardness (derogatory)
I came across an interesting exchange online in comments about a series of dramatic photos of demonstrations in Kiev. Someone, presumably Russian, asked with admiration and a dose of condescension: ?? ?‡?µ???? ?…???‚???‚-?‚?? ?±?€?°???‹?µ ?????€?°?????†?‹? (And what do those valiant Ukrainians want?) The answer, presumably from one of those valiant Ukrainians, was dry but to the point: ?????‚???? ???????€???‰?°?‚?????? ?? ?°?·???°?‚?‡???????? ?? ???????????? (We want to break with Eastern culture and the Soviet mentality).
Well, that was the gist of it, but ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° required a bit of research.
Like all words ending in the suffix –?‰?????°/-?‡?????° that denote the characteristics of a place, philosophy or people, ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° is derogatory. So you know right away that it means "all the bad stuff connected with Asia." But what bad stuff and where in Asia?
One dictionary defines ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° neutrally: ?????€???????? ???µ?‰?µ??, ???±?€?°?· ?¶???·???? ?? ???????????± ???µ?????‚??????, ???????????‚???µ?????‹?? ?°?·???°?‚?°?? (the way of things, the way of life and behavior characteristic of Asians). But the other dictionaries I consulted are far from neutral and define it as ???µ?????»???‚???€???????‚??, ?????»???‚???€???°?? ???‚???‚?°?»?????‚??, ???€???±?????‚?? (lack of culture, cultural backwardness, crudeness). And one dictionary from the turn of the 20th century was extremely clear: ???€???‚???????????»???¶???‹?µ ?µ???€?????µ?????????? ???±?‹?‡?°??, ?‚.?µ. ???€???±?‹?µ; ???‚?????‚???‚?????µ ?†???????»???·?°?†???? (the opposite of European customs — that is,? crude; the absence of civilization). Yikes. Makes you appreciate ?????»???‚?????€?€?µ???‚???????‚?? (political correctness).
But I still did not know what part of Asia was meant or, more important, what ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° connotes to average folks today. So I started asking around. For most people, ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° refers to the Eastern parts of the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union — the Caucasus and Central Asia — plus the Eastern cultures surrounding it to the south and west: Turkey and the Middle East. Everyone excludes the Far East (China, Korea, Japan) and Southeast Asia (India, Nepal). Some people exclude Georgia or Armenia, presumably because they are Christian.
And how do they define ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????°? Replies included: ???‚?????‚???‚?????µ ???€?°?? ?‡?µ?»?????µ???° (no human rights); ???µ?????»???‚???€???????‚?? (uncultured); ???€???°?? ?????µ?¶???°, ???????†???????°?»?????????‚??, ???€???±?????‚?? (bright clothing, emotionalism, crude behavior); ?????€?€?????†????, ???‚?????‚???‚?????µ ???????±?????‹ (corruption, lack of freedom).
Actually, ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° is close to the concept of Orientalism as defined by Edward Said — only largely without the elements of exoticism and sexual fantasy that are part of the Western notion.
As far as I can tell, in the Ukrainian press and blogosphere ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° looms large more in terms of political systems. It seems to be associated with a perceived kind of Middle Eastern, mostly Ottoman Turkish, system of governance and culture. After reading many articles, I'd say ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° means a nondemocratic system riddled with corruption, bribery and patronage where the rulers reap the financial rewards of power but don't do much work. Back in 2007, one Russian blogger living in the Eastern part of the country decried the leaders' ???????????‰?°?? ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° (flagrant Eastern manner) and suggested the main leaders of the party should be called ????????-?±?µ?? (Yanuk-bei), ?°?·?°?€-?±?µ?? (Azar-bek) and ?±?»???·??????-???„?µ?????? (Bliznyuk-effendi).
In Ukraine, ?°?·???°?‚?‡?????° is often contrasted with some concepts described by neologisms: ?µ???€?????µ???????????‚?? (European-ness), ?€?????????????‚?? (Russian-ness) and ?????€?°?????????????‚?? (Ukrainian-ness).
You can tell these are folks trying to figure out who they are and who they aren't, who they want to become and who they don't want to be. It's not a pretty process. I send them best wishes — and a dose of ?????»???‚?????€?€?µ???‚???????‚??.
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.