Thread: Чехов: The names in "The Three Sisters"

Hi, I'm totaly new here and know little to no Russian. I am very interested in it, however. I am currently in the play "The Three Sisters" by Chekhov, and my fellow cast members and I are having trouble pronouncing many of the names and places. I hope that you all can help me. I have been looking everywhere on the Internet, but I haven't been able to find anything very helpful. I can pronounce words written in Russian (even if I don't understand them) so if you all can give me the Russian versions of the names I can figure it out (I only ask that you make the sylable that gets the stress). Thank you.

Here is the list:

Andrei Sergeyevich Prozoroff
-Andriushka
Natalya Ivanovna
Olga
Masha
-Maria
Irina
-Arinushka (I think this is a purposful mispronounciation of Irinushka)
Fyodor Ilych Kulygin
Alexandr Ignatyevich Vershinin
Nikolai Lvovich Tuzenbach (his last name is German, I know)
Vassily Vassilyevich Solyony
Ivan Romanovich Chebutykin
Alexi Petrovich Fedotik
Vladimir Karlovich Rode
Ferapont
Anfisa

Others (non-character names and place names):
Dobroliudov
Mikhail Ivanych Protopopov
Potapych
Basmannaya
Nemetskaya
Nova-Devichyeh
Lokomeryeh
Bobik
Tyestov
Slavyansky
Saratov
Gogol
Balzac
Berdichev
Moskovskaya
Pyshivkovs
Alekko
Lermontov
Cheremsha

P.S.
If any of those have meaning (like "-vich" meaning "son of -"), then please tell me, it would really help us out. Also, if you are familiar with the play and can think of any other names, people or otherwise, which I have left out, then please feel free to post them here as well. Thank you all so much!

Andrei Sergeyevich Prozoroff - Андрей Сергеевич Прозоров
-Andriushka - Андрюшка
Natalya Ivanovna - Наталья Ивановна
Olga - Ольга
Masha - Маша
-Maria - Мария
Irina - Ирина
-Arinushka (I think this is a purposful mispronounciation of Irinushka)
Аринушка (no, it's another version, pronounced as spelt)
Fyodor Ilych Kulygin Фёдор Ильич Кулыгин
Alexandr Ignatyevich Vershinin - Александр Игнатьевич Вершинин
Nikolai Lvovich Tuzenbach (his last name is German, I know)
Николай Львович Тузенбах
Vassily Vassilyevich Solyony - Василий Васильевич Солёный
Ivan Romanovich Chebutykin - Иван Романович Чебутыкин
Alexi Petrovich Fedotik - Алексей Петрович Федотик
Vladimir Karlovich Rode - Владимир Карлович Родэ
Ferapont - Ферапонт
Anfisa - Анфиса

Others (non-character names and place names):
Dobroliudov - Добролюдов
Mikhail Ivanych Protopopov - Михаил Иваныч Протопопов
Potapych - Потапыч ("son of -")
Basmannaya - Басманная
Nemetskaya - Немецкая
Nova-Devichyeh - Новодевичье
Lokomeryeh - Лукоморье
Bobik - Бобик
Tyestov - Тестов
Slavyansky - Славянский
Saratov - Саратов
Gogol - Гоголь
Balzac - Бальзак
Berdichev - Бердичев
Moskovskaya - Московская
Pyshivkovs ?Not sure if the spelling is right
Alekko ?Not sure if the spelling is right
Lermontov - Лермонтов
Cheremsha - Черемша

Here's the full text, enjoy!
http://www.lib.ru/LITRA/CHEHOW/sestry.txt

First of all, Thank you so much!

Now for the questions:

Originally Posted by Анатолий

Tuzenbach (his last name is German, I know)
Тузенбах

Would it not be: Туценбах?

Originally Posted by Анатолий

Potapych - Потапыч ("son of -")

What exactly do you mean by this? Potapych means "son of -"?

Originally Posted by Анатолий

Pyshivkovs ?Not sure if the spelling is right
Alekko ?Not sure if the spelling is right

That's how they're spelled in the book. (Stupid David Mamet!! ><)

Also (last thing, I promise!), could you show me where the stress in each of those names goes? I know some of them, but most aren't in my little "Teach Yourself Russian" book. Thank you again!!

Андрей Сергеевич Прозоров
-Andriushka - Андрюшка
Natalya Ivanovna - Наталья Ивановна
Olga - Ольга
Masha - Маша
-Maria - Мария
Irina - Ирина
-Arinushka Аринушка
Fyodor Ilych Kulygin Фёдор Ильич Кулыгин
Alexandr Ignatyevich Vershinin - Александр Игнатьевич Вершинин
Nikolai Lvovich Tuzenbach Николай Львович Тузенбах
Vassily Vassilyevich Solyony - Василий Васильевич Солёный
Ivan Romanovich Chebutykin - Иван Романович Чебутыкин
Alexi Petrovich Fedotik - Алексей Петрович Федотик
Vladimir Karlovich Rode - Владимир Карлович Родэ (I think the stress is on the last syllable, but I'm not sure)
Ferapont - Ферапонт
Anfisa - Анфиса

Others (non-character names and place names):
Dobroliubov - Добролюбов [1836—1861], famous literary criticist
Mikhail Ivanych Protopopov - Михаил Иваныч Протопопов
Potapych - Потапыч - patronymic, from Потап
Basmannaya - Басманная
Nemetskaya - Немецкая
Nova-Devichyeh - Новодевичье
Lokomeryeh - лукоморье - archaic word meaning 'sea-shore'; Masha quotes well-known first lines of Pushkin's "Ruslan and Ludmila".
Bobik - Бобик
Tyestov - Тестов
Slavyansky - Славянский - Slavic, but where have you found that word in "Three Sisters"?
Saratov - Саратов
Gogol - Гоголь
Balzac
Berdichev - Бердичев - a city in Ukraine, mostly associated with Jewish shopkeepers; Balzac and Berdichev is indeed a contrast.
Moskovskaya - Московская, adjective from Москва, Moscow
Пыжиков
Alekko - Алеко, the hero of Pushkin's poem "Цыгане" (Gypsies)
Lermontov - Лермонтов
Cheremsha - черемша - it's a herb, "wild onion"[/u]

[quote=Тостер]

Originally Posted by "Анатолий":28evupwh

Tuzenbach (his last name is German, I know)
Тузенбах

Would it not be: Туценбах?[/quote:28evupwh]
I guess translators simply transliterated the Russian spelling of the surname.

I guess. Thank you very much, by the way! ^_^

[quote=Sergius]

Originally Posted by Тостер

Originally Posted by "Анатолий":3kiraagt

Tuzenbach (his last name is German, I know)
Тузенбах

Would it not be: Туценбах?

I guess translators simply transliterated the Russian spelling of the surname.[/quote:3kiraagt]
No, in Russian it's Тузенбах - check the source I provided or read the book. The German spelling would be (if it was transliterated correctly into Russian in the first place) Tusenbach. Z is always pronounced TS in German! So the English spelling should be really Tusenbach, not Tuzenbach but it was probably hard for translators without seeing the original spelling, besides this name is "russified", it only has the German origin.

I'll give you an example: the Russian actress Alisa Freindlikh read as [frey...] has a German name, she probably knows that her name comes from German Freundlich ['frointlix'] meaning friendly but she is not German, so the English transliteration should probably be Freindlikh, not Freundlich. There is always a bit of an issue when transliterating certain German or Jewish names (of German or Yiddish origin) from Russian into English, for example Розенбаум when transliterated letter by letter is Rozenbaum but this is incorrect for German, it should be Rosenbaum, Цукерман or Циммерман can be transliterated into English as Tsukerman or Tsimmerman but they come from German Zuckerman(n) and Zimmerman(n).
...

What exactly do you mean by this? Potapych means "son of -"?

Потапыч/Потапович (Potapych - short for Potapovich) - the son of Potap, as the original question was to explain the patronymics, this one is not a last name!

Andrei Sergeyevich Prozoroff
-Andriushka
Natalya Ivanovna
Olga
Masha
-Maria
Irina
-Arinushka
Fyodor Ilych Kulygin
Alexandr Ignatyevich Vershinin
Nikolai Lvovich Tuzenbach (his last name is German, I know)
Vassily Vassilyevich Solyony
Ivan Romanovich Chebutykin
Alexi? (Алексей) Petrovich Fedotik
Vladimir Karlovich Rode (? don't know)
Ferapont
Anfisa

Others (non-character names and place names):
Dobroliudov
Mikhail Ivanych Protopopov
Potapych
Potapych=Potapovich (patronymic, "son of Potap"). Patronymics are used sometimes as form of adress. For example, Lenin in many books mentioned as "Ilych" ("son of Ilya")

Basmannaya
Nemetskaya
Nova-Devichyeh
Lokomeryeh?? (Лукоморье)
Bobik
Tyestov
Slavyansky
Saratov
Gogol
Balzac
Berdichev
Moskovskaya
Pyshivkovs???
Alekko
Lermontov
Cheremsha

Thank you all sooo much! My acting partners have been counting on me for this information for about a week now, and I can finally provide them with it!

Ok, one more. I don't know if it's Russian, so if it's not then just tell me so.

Burdock

Thanks

Burdock isn't Russian...

That's what I thought.

I have two more. Sorry.

troika and Kirsanovsky

Originally Posted by Тостер

troika and Kirsanovsky

тройка
Кирсановский

One more -_-

Kozyrioff

And can someone explain to me were this quote is from?

"And he, rebellious seeks the Tempest.
As though in the Storm he could find Peace...
And hardly had he cried 'alack'
Before the bear was on his back!"

My character has to say it and I don't really understand it because I've never read whatever it is that it's from. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Тостер

Kozyrioff

Козыров

Originally Posted by Тостер

And can someone explain to me were this quote is from?

"And he, rebellious seeks the Tempest.
As though in the Storm he could find Peace...
And hardly had he cried 'alack'
Before the bear was on his back!"
!

I haven't read the book, sorry

Originally Posted by Тостер

And he, rebellious seeks the Tempest.
As though in the Storm he could find Peace...

It sounds like Лермонтов "Парус" to me
...А он, мятежный, ищет бури,
Как будто в бурях есть покой.

Originally Posted by Тостер

And hardly had he cried 'alack'
Before the bear was on his back!"

But I don't know anything about this

Белеет парус одинокий
В тумане моря голубом!...
Что ищет он в стране далекой?
Что кинул он в краю родном?...

Играют волны - ветер свищет,
И мачта гнется и скрыпит...
Увы, - он счастия не ищет
И не от счастия бежит!

Под ним струя светлей лазури,
Над ним луч солнца золотой...
А он, мятежный, просит бури,
Как будто в бурях есть покой!

[quote=kalinka_vinnie]

Originally Posted by "Тостер":30ovxiba

Kozyrioff

Козыров[/quote:30ovxiba]Козырёв

Originally Posted by Тостер

And hardly had he cried 'alack'
Before the bear was on his back!"

"Он ахнуть не успел, как на него медведь насел" - this one is from Krylov's fable "Крестьянин и Работник" (the peasant and the labourer):

Originally Posted by Иван Андреевич Крылов

Крестьянин ахнуть не успел,
Как на него медведь насел.

Yes, but can someone explain the context of this quote and what my character might be trying to imply with them? (sorry, I'm just not at all familiar with either of the poems/stories that these quotes are from)