?????»??????: a lightning bolt, a news flash, a zipper
Everyone knows that during a thunderstorm, you wait for a bolt of lightning (?????»??????) and then count the seconds until you hear the clap of thunder (???€????). If you’re in Russia and there are five seconds between light and sound, the storm is five kilometers away. If you’re in the United States, the storm is five miles away (about eight kilometers). This shows how much our two great nations have in common. It also shows that our folk storm-tracking systems are pretty lousy.
Long ago in Russia, folks seem to have been a bit confused about thunder and lightning. In some expressions ???€???? means ?????»??????. For example: ???????°?¶???‹ ?? ?????»???????? ???€???·?? ???±???»?? ???€???????? ???µ???????»?????? ?‡?µ?»?????µ??. (Once during a heavy storm several people were killed by lightning.) Or: ?? ?????‚?°?????????»????, ???°?? ???€???????? ?????€?°?¶?‘?????‹??. (I stopped as if I’d been struck by lightning.) When you want to swear to the truth of your words, you can say: ? ?°?·?€?°?·?? ???µ???? ???€????, ?µ???»?? ?±?????? ???µ ???€?°??. (May lightning strike me if I’m wrong.) And finally, there is the expression ???°?? ???€???? ???€?µ???? ???????????? ???µ?±?° (like a bolt from the blue). Apparently all of our ancient ancestors believed that lightning only strikes during a storm, and so a bolt of lightning in a blue sky described something utterly unexpected. For example: ???µ?»?µ?„???????‹?? ?·?????????? ?€?°?·???°?»????, ???°?? ???€???? ???€?µ???? ???????????? ???µ?±?°. (The telephone call came out of the blue.)
But sometimes thunder is just thunder, as in the common expression ???????° ???€???? ???µ ???€?????µ?‚, ?????¶???? ???µ ???µ?€?µ???€?µ???‚???‚???? (literally, “until there is a clap of thunder, a man doesn’t make the sign of the cross”). Many commentators insist this is the essence of Russian mentality: ?’ ? ?????????? ???‚?° ?????‚?????° ???????…???????‚ ???€?°???‚???‡?µ?????? ?? ?»???±?‹?? ?????‚???°?†??????. (In Russian this truth can be applied to almost any situation.) But others assert that this is just part of human nature. I vote for the latter assertion. In English we express this with a horse, a lock and a barn door, but it’s the same idea: Human beings don’t take action until there is an emergency.
The adjective ???€?????????? means loud or noisy, but ???€?????????µ ?????? (literally “a loud name”) is a famous person. ???€?µ???? ?‡?»?µ?????? ???€???????????‚?µ?‚?° ???µ ?????°?·?°?»?????? ???€?????????… ?????‘??. (There weren’t any celebrities on the organizational committee.) When the adverb ???€???????? (loudly) is combined with the verb ?·?????‡?°?‚?? (to sound), the result is not so much an increase in decibels as an increase in significance. ?”?????‚???€ ???°???? — ?·?° ?€???±?µ?¶???? ???‚?? ?·?????‡???‚ ???€????????. (Outside Russia the title Doctor of Science sounds really important.) ?—?????‡???‚ ???€???????? can also be used to good effect when you want to wax poetic or sentimental: ?? ?…???‡?? ???»???¶???‚?? ???????µ???? ?????€??????, ???°?? ???? ???€???????? ???‚?? ?·?????‡???‚. (I know it sounds corny, but I want to serve my city.)
?????»?????? also undergoes some metaphorical transformations. It can be the sharp glint of anger in someone’s eye: ?’ ?µ???? ???»?°?·?°?… ?????µ?€???????»?° ?????»??????. (His eyes flashed with anger.) Or it can indicate some urgent information, like ?‚?µ?»?µ???€?°?????°-?????»?????? (top-priority telegram) or ???????±?‰?µ?????µ ?? ???‚???µ?‚?????? ?????»?????? (news flash, breaking news). ?—?°???‚?‘?¶???°-?????»??????, or simply ?????»??????, is a zipper.
If you are furious, you can throw around bolts of lightning and thunder clouds. ???€?°?????‚?µ?»?????‚???? ???µ?‡?µ?‚ ???€?????‹ ?? ?????»??????, ?° ?†?µ???‹ ?€?°???‚???‚. (The government rants and raves, but prices are rising all the same.)
Where’s Zeus when you need him?
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator. A collection of her columns, “The Russian Word’s Worth,” will be released by Glas in October.
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