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Russian Language & Usage

Beta Q&A site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Russian language.

This proposal is now in the Beta phase — example questions are locked!

35 Example Questions (8 closed)

active oldest votes
up vote 23 down vote
What's the best way to convey the message "Будет и на нашей улице праздник" in English?
added by Andrey Kostenko Jul 1 '10 at 23:48
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sayings.ru/eproverb/045.html – Mark C Sep 18 '10 at 5:26
up vote 20 down vote
What would you recommend as your best Russian Grammar website?
added by Andrey Kostenko Jul 2 '10 at 0:00
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up vote 20 down vote
In [this specific example], which grammatical case would one use in Russian?
added by Sasha Jul 4 '10 at 22:55
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up vote 20 down vote
I have translated this song from Russian to English. Can you correct my mistakes?
added by MatthewMartin Jul 7 '10 at 16:25
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3  
This is just a typical sort of exchange one sees on forums. I honestly have no idea if it would work well on a Q&A site. – MatthewMartin Jul 7 '10 at 16:26
I agree with Yasir: it's not the best fit for a StackExchange site. – Borror0 Jan 29 '11 at 5:34
This should be off topic, there is no good answer to that kind of questions. – Guillaume Coté Jan 31 '11 at 22:20
up vote 20 down vote
How do I better translate [sentence] to/from Russian/English?
added by Alexey Kalmykov, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 18 '10 at 19:02
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up vote 16 down vote
Is there a proverb in English similar to "работа не волк, в лес не убежит"?
added by FireAphis Sep 5 '10 at 12:04
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Why wouldn't this be a good example? Some one is treating these questions site like YouTube comments. – Mark C Sep 20 '10 at 21:16
This is a great example. This proverb is very often misinterpreted. Literally it means "work's not a wolf, it won't run off into a forest". Usually it's interpreted as an excuse for bad workers to delay their jobs, as in "when God made time he made plenty of it". However, the original meaning was that the job needs to be done and it won't disappear by itself (like a wolf into a forest). – Quassnoi Jan 14 '11 at 14:22
up vote 8 down vote
I translated this phrase to Russian using an Online Translator. But my russian partner doesn't understand it. What would be a correct translation?
added by rem Jul 21 '10 at 13:37
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up vote 8 down vote
What are some good Russian books for an intermediate level student to practice reading?
added by marinade Sep 8 '10 at 22:50
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up vote 8 down vote
Does "Красная площадь" mean "Red Square" or "Beautiful Square"?
added by Jaime Soto Jan 3 '11 at 21:29
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up vote 7 down vote
Which are the highest-quality translations of classical Russian literature available?
added by Alexey Kalmykov Sep 7 '10 at 9:35
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up vote 7 down vote
What kind of Russian "dirty" language can be used and will not be offensive/inadequate?
added by Alexey Kalmykov Sep 7 '10 at 9:41
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up vote 4 down vote
If Winters and Halmos are surnames, is it correct to write "the Winters' method" or "the Halmos's book"? Why? [closed]
added by Andrey Kostenko Jul 2 '10 at 8:24
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closed as off topic by Arlen Beiler, ssakl, RegDwight, Yasir Arsanukaev, Ripta Pasay Jan 29 '11 at 9:47

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.
up vote 4 down vote
Can you help me decipher this: [krakozyabry (кракозя́бры) text]?
added by Jaime Soto Jan 6 '11 at 22:22
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krakozyabry (кракозя́бры) is an unintelligible sequence of characters caused by using the wrong character encoding in computer software: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… – Jaime Soto Jan 6 '11 at 22:22
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up vote 4 down vote
What does it mean in Russian "zrya ty tak"?
added by brilliant Jan 19 '11 at 5:58
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up vote 3 down vote
How can Russians understand each other without definite/indefinite articles?
added by Alexey Kalmykov, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 11 '10 at 22:31
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Not a good question. 'How can' provokes something like 'they just do'. I think it's not specific enough to produce any good answer. – Dan Abramov Feb 2 '11 at 23:13
up vote 3 down vote
How do I spell `authentication` in Russian?
added by Yasir Arsanukaev, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jan 29 '11 at 7:42
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up vote 2 down vote
What languages are most similar to Russian?
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Aug 27 '10 at 22:33
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up vote 2 down vote
How do I make a good borscht? [closed]
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Aug 27 '10 at 22:35
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closed as off topic by FireAphis, rem, Alexey Kalmykov, marinade, Yacoder Sep 13 '10 at 20:17

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I'm deeply troubled by the fact that this question has two on-topic votes. – Borror0 Feb 12 '11 at 5:35
up vote 1 down vote
Как по-английски будет звучать "Уйти по-английски", происхождение выражения
added by Yasir Arsanukaev Dec 24 '10 at 11:12
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up vote 1 down vote
How are most common old English words (thou, hast, etc) translated into Russian while keeping their spirit?
added by Dan Abramov Feb 2 '11 at 23:20
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up vote 1 down vote
Which part of Russian language do you find most confusing, being English-speaking?
added by Dan Abramov Feb 2 '11 at 23:21
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up vote 1 down vote
Why is there Latin 'i' in old Russian texts?
added by Dan Abramov Feb 2 '11 at 23:22
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up vote 0 down vote
Why won't my website display Cyrillic letters? [closed]
added by Campadrenalin, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 18 '10 at 19:02
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closed as off topic by rem, Arlen Beiler, Adeel, Andrey Kostenko, Alexander Konstantinov Jul 30 '10 at 7:55

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.
up vote 0 down vote
Does anyone here also speak Romanian? [closed]
added by Campadrenalin Jul 16 '10 at 14:27
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closed as off topic by Andrey Kostenko, rem, Arlen Beiler, Adeel, Alexander Konstantinov Jul 30 '10 at 7:57

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.
up vote 0 down vote
What's your favorite book by Mark Aldanov? [closed]
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Aug 27 '10 at 22:33
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closed as off topic by Alexey Kalmykov, marinade, PLed76, BlaXpirit, Daniel Excinsky Nov 11 '10 at 6:18

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.
up vote 0 down vote
What are the best places in Russia to visit? [closed]
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer Aug 27 '10 at 22:34
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closed as off topic by rem, marinade, Yacoder, PLed76, Alexey Kalmykov Sep 24 '10 at 23:07

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.
up vote 0 down vote
I find it hard to understand most English poetry. Is there any great poetry that doesn't require deep language knowledge?
added by Dan Abramov Feb 2 '11 at 23:23
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up vote 0 down vote
I always struggle with which one to use: 'a' or 'the'. Any advice from those who has overcome this problem?
added by z-boss Feb 8 '11 at 22:15
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up vote 0 down vote
Is there any websites teaching Russian words similar to English teeching freerice.com?
added by z-boss Feb 8 '11 at 22:32
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up vote 0 down vote
Proverbs used quite often in Russia. Is it uncommon/weird/old-fashioned to use them in English culture?
added by z-boss Feb 8 '11 at 22:42
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up vote -1 down vote
When do I use a gerund in English? [closed]
added by CrazyJugglerDrummer, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 11 '10 at 22:34
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closed as off topic by FireAphis, PLed76, azheglov, RegDwight, Vladimir Dec 9 '10 at 8:18

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.
up vote -1 down vote
Is it mistake or proper English, when two same words are next to each other? For example: "Three Things That That Cause People to Reject New Ideas".
added by z-boss Feb 8 '11 at 22:01
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up vote -1 down vote
Is it a good idea to learn Russian by getting Russian girlfriend?
added by z-boss Feb 8 '11 at 22:29
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up vote -2 down vote
How can I come to Russia to work and learn the Russian language?
added by Alexey Kalmykov, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 11 '10 at 22:33
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up vote -11 down vote
What is the Spanish word for "Hello"? [closed]
added by Arlen Beiler, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 18 '10 at 19:11
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closed as off topic by Pavel Morshenyuk, Ivan Cherevko, azheglov, anelson, thorn Jan 5 '11 at 12:11

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.