Thread: Новые смайлики для изучателей иностранных языков!

Ребята, я сделал эти прикольные и полезные иконы-смайлики в Paint Shop Pro, для свободного и бесплатного использования всеми. Feel free to right-click and "steal" them for your own use if you like:

(To express "Как сказать по-русски?" -- I've improved the graphic a little from the earlier version of this)

(To express "How do you say this in English?")

(To specifically ask about Americanisms and US English)

(Just to express the idea of Russian-ness -- I hope nobody takes offense that I stereotyped the entire nation with a matrioshka doll, but I needed a symbol that was internationally associated with Russia, and also recognizable when only 16 pixels tall!)

P.S. While thinking about an ideogram to express "US English" in a small picture, I also considered a hamburger, instead of an American-style football -- what do you guys think?

P.P.S. I'm not completely happy with the Union Jack version, because it's so obvious and boring.

Вы не могли бы исправить мои ошибки в русском

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

.

(To specifically ask about Americanisms and US English)

This is a ball for the [s:40zjawa4]rugby[/s:40zjawa4] {}american football{/}, as I understood. Right? Well, I am not sure it can be easily understood without explanations. At least some efforts are needed. On the other hand a ball for the [s:40zjawa4]football[/s:40zjawa4] {}soccer{/} (round, made of white and black hexagons) can be used as a reference to the EU... of to the Great Britain as it is an English sport originally. To continue the sport theme we can use for Arabian and for Russian.

Матрёшка — японская игрушка.

Originally Posted by Оля

Вы не могли бы исправить мои ошибки в русском

Madam, that is the sort of errant pedantry up with which I will not put!
</churchill>

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(To express "Как сказать по-русски?" -- I've improved the graphic a little from the earlier version of this)

Huh, I like this one!
The ball is rather confusing. Maybe it should be something less ambigous to distinguish between BrE and Ame? Like Statue of Liberty vs Big Ben (well, maybe something less boring, but as easily recognisable )

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

that is the sort of errant pedantry up with which I will not put!

Sorry, I didn't understand the phrase.

"Ошибки по-русски" is just wrong.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Madam, that is the sort of errant pedantry up with which I will not put!
</churchill>

Говоря по-русски: «Барышня, плевать я хотел на то, что вы здесь говорите. Всё равно буду писать по-своему»!
Ну Роберт! Ну шалун! Противный!
to put up with - мириться с чем-либо

LOL Pretty good stuff Rob =) +10

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Madam, that is the sort of errant pedantry up with which I will not put!
</churchill>

Новые смайлики для изучателей иностранных языков!
=> Новые смайлики для изучающих иностранные языки!

Во дни сомнений, во дни тягостных раздумий о судьбах моей родины, - ты один мне поддержка и опора, о великий, могучий, правдивый и свободный русский язык! Не будь тебя - как не впасть в отчаяние при виде всего, что совершается дома?
</Тургенев>

[quote=Throbert McGee]

Originally Posted by "Оля":2qrbxfgr

Вы не могли бы исправить мои ошибки в русском

Madam, that is the sort of errant pedantry up with which I will not put!
</churchill>[/quote:2qrbxfgr]

This is not a pedantry. Phrase "Вы не могли бы исправить мои ошибки по-русски" means actually "Will you please make corrections in Russian of my errors?"

Originally Posted by it-ogo

This is not a pedantry. Phrase "Вы не могли бы исправить мои ошибки по-русски" means actually "Will you please make corrections in Russian of my errors?"

Aha! Your correction is much more clear than Olga's -- thank you! (I thought Olga was pedantically objecting because the construction in my signature sounded too "slangy" , not because it confused the meaning )

ЗЫ: What do you think of my .sig now?

How about this for American English: ?

(That's not an original artwork, of course -- I just grabbed it from the "favicon" of SouthParkStudios.com.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

The ball is rather confusing. Maybe it should be something less ambiguous to distinguish between BrE and Ame? Like Statue of Liberty vs Big Ben

The problem is that the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben work well as 48x48 images, but at the scale of 20x20 or 16x16, they become very hard to recognize. (Big Ben is particularly difficult, because it looks like any other clock-face without its tall tower, while "Lady Liberty" is more distinctive even in a "face closeup" because of her spiky crown!)

I chose the matrioshka because of its association with Russian culture AND because of its visual simplicity.

There are many other stereotypical images that would instantly make Americans think of "Russian-ness":

• • a fur hat
  • a bear
  • an onion-domed Orthodox cathedral (and especially St. Basil's on Red Square)
  • a black lacquer korobochka
  • a plate of "beef Stroganoff" and "black bread" and borscht and pancakes with caviar
  • a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka
  • a kosovorotka shirt on a man or a woman in a kaftan
  • the arms-crossed, legs-kicking pose of the kazatchok dance, etc...

The problem is that (a) not all of these will necessarily signify Russian-ness to non-American Westerners like Johanna, and (b) some of them aren't even necessarily "Russian" to real Russians (beef Stroganoff, for example), and (c) a lot of them would be unrecognizable blurs if reduced to a 16x16 icon. (And a soup-bowl full of borscht is still identifiable as tasty soup at that scale -- however, it looks too much like gazpacho!)

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

ЗЫ: What do you think of my .sig now?

It's acceptable.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

How about this for American English: ?

Is this something from South Park? I did not ever watch it and have no idea what is it about.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

How about this for American English: ?

Eric Cartman as a symbol of the whole US nation! Not very flattering.

Вы не могли бы исправить меня, еслИ я сделал ошибку ...

Можно ещё ежели написать вместо если. It's the old-styled если and it sounds good in some contexts.

[quote=it-ogo]

Originally Posted by "Throbert McGee":3mt7f4n9

ЗЫ: What do you think of my .sig now?

It's acceptable.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

How about this for American English: ?

Is this something from South Park? I did not ever watch it and have no idea what is it about.[/quote:3mt7f4n9]

Hmmm.... back to the drawing board.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

There are many other stereotypical images that would instantly make Americans think of "Russian-ness":
....
• a black lacquer korobochka
...

Это надо понимать хохлома?

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

The ball is rather confusing. Maybe it should be something less ambiguous to distinguish between BrE and Ame? Like Statue of Liberty vs Big Ben

The problem is that the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben work well as 48x48 images, but at the scale of 20x20 or 16x16, they become very hard to recognize. (Big Ben is particularly difficult, because it looks like any other clock-face without its tall tower, while "Lady Liberty" is more distinctive even in a "face closeup" because of her spiky crown!)

What about Uncle Sam's hat for US English?