Оля, правильно ли я понял тебя? "Baby" is a word in English we often address to our boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife. Do you use малыш(ка) or детка to refer to those people?Originally Posted by Оля
In most cases "baby" is малыш(ка) or детка in Russian.
We know this perfectly well from American movies.
In contexts you mentioned (I mean movies first of all) the word is usually translated into Russian as детка. In other contexts it can be also малышка or крошка. In the context of the song in this thread it can be also деточка.Do you use малыш(ка) or детка to refer to those people?
But I can't say we Russians call each other like that. I don't think so. Maybe only certain couples. Actually, I think in Russian we have much more different words for that. Say..... лапуля, малыш (not малышка! both to male and female), зайка, заинька, котенок, лапа, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Детка or малышка, and especially крошка would sound too... condescending / unceremonious / vulgar to me. Can't explain it better.
In Russian, all nationalities and their corresponding languages start with a lower-case letter.
We know this perfectly well from American movies.
In contexts you mentioned (I mean movies first of all) the word is usually translated into Russian as детка. In other contexts it can be also малышка or крошка. In the context of the song in this thread it can be also деточка.Do you use малыш(ка) or детка to refer to those people?
But I can't say we Russians call each other like that. I don't think so. Maybe only certain couples. Actually, I think in Russian we have much more different words for that. Say..... лапуля, малыш (not малышка! both to male and female), зайка, заинька, котенок, лапа, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Детка or малышка, and especially крошка would sound too... condescending / unceremonious / vulgar to me. Can't explain it better.
I wonder if Russians don't use a direct equivalent to 'baby' as a term of endearment because they have so many ways to express that in ласковые формы (sorry, I don't know the correct English for this) of names. What's the point of a generic "baby" when you've got all kinds of ways to express closeness based on a person's own name? It's one of the things I like best about Russian.
Крошка sounds like 'babycakes' to me; not something you would typically use with someone of your own age or status.
"Сейчас без языка нельзя... из тебя шапку сделают..."
Cogito Ergo Doleo
There was a thread about English words that don’t have adequate counterparts in Russian; baby is just one of them. They use малышка, крошка and other gibberish of the kind being desperate to find anything better, but we don’t talk like that, Оля’s right.
Party is another one that seemingly makes no trouble interpreting, but every time I hear вечеринка for party "the urge to kill rises again".
I wanted to say that, but I remembered that in English one can say Jenny for Jane, Johnny for John and so on. Although I don't think they sound as tender as Russian ласковые формы.
In Russian, all nationalities and their corresponding languages start with a lower-case letter.
Just to be clear, there are quite a few words that are used as equivalents of “baby” in English. There seems to be quite a set of them connected with sweet flavors: sweetie, honey, sugar, sugar pie, sugarplum, babycakes, cutie-pie, honeybunch, pumpkin (punkin). I noticed quite a few of the Russian ones that Оля mentioned are connected with animals or paws. That's interesting.
It's true. Whether you call somebody John or Johnny, it really doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's just an alternative form, with nothing really implied.Although I don't think they sound as tender as Russian ласковые формы.
And people wonder why there's an obesity problem.
"Сейчас без языка нельзя... из тебя шапку сделают..."
Cogito Ergo Doleo
If I am not mistaken, they are called ласкательные, from the verb ласкать.
I have to disagree with you there, MK. My name is Donald, and my nicknames are Don and Donny. Generally people call me Don. If my boss were to suddenly call me Donny, then I would be confident that I was about to receive a fairly sarcastic comment from him. When I was a child, my parents called me Donny. If my mother suddenly called me Donald, then I could be confident that I had done something wrong and was about to be rebuked. Nowadays my parents often call me Donald, not due to a lack of affection, but just because I'm now a grown-up.
Nicknames carry a lot of emotional meeting. The trick is that those meanings are heavily dependent on context. And they change in import depending on age.
Are you sure you're disagreeing? It sounded to me like you made my point for me.I have to disagree with you there, MK. My name is Donald, and my nicknames are Don and Donny. Generally people call me Don. If my boss were to suddenly call me Donny, then I would be confident that I was about to receive a fairly sarcastic comment from him. When I was a child, my parents called me Donny. If my mother suddenly called me Donald, then I could be confident that I had done something wrong and was about to be rebuked. Nowadays my parents often call me Donald, not due to a lack of affection, but just because I'm now a grown-up.
Nicknames carry a lot of emotional meeting. The trick is that those meanings are heavily dependent on context. And they change in import depending on age.
Perhaps, you just missed my meaning, and also the fact that I said it "doesn't necessarily mean anything."
I know if a person who is always called Jonathan is suddenly called Johnny by somebody, there is something implied. The thing is, there's no telling what that meaning is unless you are involved in the situation and know the people involved, can hear their tone of voice, etc.
I know this guy named Philip, and for years everybody called him Phil. Well, suddenly he announces that he never like Phil and wants everybody to call him Philip. Whatever. Nothing changed. Strangers, friends, family, children, all call him Philip. They used to call him Phil. It's just a name.
I will agree that some forms are pretty much exclusively for children, and they wouldn't sound right, like Mikey. You'd never call an adult man Mikey unless you were trying to put him down. I really can't think of many more examples like that, though. Billy, Bobby, Andy and Ricky are all names that are often used by adults. Maybe not as a rule, but I think it proves that context is king here.
Also, IMO 'Donny' is not a nickname if your full name is Donald, it's just another form of the name. "Knuckles" is a nickname. "Spider" is a nickname. 'Donny' is just a diminutive.
"Сейчас без языка нельзя... из тебя шапку сделают..."
Cogito Ergo Doleo
What astonishes me in English, is that you often call your noted people, like actors, for instance, even if they are 60 y.o., with names like Billy, Johnny, Jimmy, etc. I find it very confusing. It is impossible to imagine that we in Russia would call our famous and respected actor of a venerable age like that. Say... Олежек Табаков or Мишенька Боярский. It sounds terrible, really.
Maybe those diminutives are too intimate in Russian, so not everyone could call a person like that. But I don't think that's the only reason. I think we have more respect to our actors and we feel more 'distance' for not calling them like that.
P.S. Although today certain actors appear who are called if not with their full name, but with a diminutive (not 'endearing' diminutive yet, thanks God). I find this very 'American' and don't like it. I mean, I don't dislike it because it's American, but because it is just strange/unnatural/non-Russian to me. I ask myself how we will call them when they're sixty...
In Russian, all nationalities and their corresponding languages start with a lower-case letter.
[quote=Matroskin Kot]Are you sure you're disagreeing? It sounded to me like you made my point for me.[/quote:10xxlypp]I have to disagree with you there, MK. My name is Donald, and my nicknames are Don and Donny.
I was reacting to your "with nothing really implied." The use of a diminutive/nickname or a full name instead of the expected one almost awlays implies something fairly specific to the context.
BTW, one of the meanings of "nickname" is "dimunitive form." See the reference here:
Wow, I must be in an anal-retentive mood to argue over picky details today...nick⋅name — /ˈnɪkˌneɪm/ noun, verb, -named, -nam⋅ing.
–noun
1. a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person, place, etc., as in affection, ridicule, or familiarity: He has always loathed his nickname of “Whizzer.”
2. a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James and Peg for Margaret.
I think this is part of a general American attitude that tries to see everybody as equal. There seems to be a subtext that if we require someone to speak formally to us, then we are implying that we are better than they, and we Americans hate it when we think someone else thinks they are better than us. I think that is partially why almost everyone in the US is on a first-name basis nowadays.
Personally, I find all this general use of first names to be disrespectful. If I walk into a bank these days, the teller will often bid me goodbye by saying, “Thank you, Don.” I was raised to address strangers using “Mr/Mrs/Miss” followed by last name. I've adapted to substitute “Ms” for the “Mrs/Miss,” but eliminating the “Mr/Ms” entirely... It seems very rude. I think that most people under thirty don't have that impression, though.
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