Wanderlust support group 5

[Karavinka]

[księżycowy]

Did I ever say how glad I am you're back, Karavinka.

[vijayjohn]

Lol, I have no idea what that joke is.

[księżycowy]

Your level is too low, young otaku.

[vijayjohn]

Your level is too low, young otaku.

Oh! That rhymes with...

[ˈpoːɾi t̪u paˈʈaku t͡ʃoˈɾi ˈpʰo̰ːɾi t̪u paˈʈaku] ([ˈpoːɾi t̪u paˈʈaku])
[saˈmalʉ səːˈmɑɫʉw t͡ʃoˈɾi ˈd͡ʒwani kut͡ʃʰ haˈʈaku] ([ˈd͡ʒwaːni kut͡ʃʰ haˈʈaku]...[haˈʈaku]...[haˈʈaku])
[hɔe̯]! [ˈpoːɾi t̪u paˈʈaku t͡ʃoˈɾi ˈpʰo̰ːɾi t̪u paˈʈaku
saˈmalu saˈmalu t͡ʃoˈɾi ˈd͡ʒwani kut͡ʃʰ haˈʈaku]

[Karavinka]

Lol, I have no idea what that joke is.

It wasn't meant to be a specific reference. They're just saying "Whoa, disgusting! Disgusting!" as a general reference to the otaku inside jokes.

[vijayjohn]

Thanks! I didn't know キモ until now.

[Karavinka]

Thanks! I didn't know キモ until now.

From 気持ち悪い

[vijayjohn]

Thanks! I didn't know キモ until now.

From 気持ち悪い

I know. I looked it up on Wiktionary and found that out after reading the post where you explained what it meant.

[n8an]

Now that I've finally (sort of) committed myself to Russian, I keep wanderlusting Ukrainian and Belarusian

Also, I found this woman's videos for teaching Ukrainian and advertising her book.

Can I just say that listening to her voice is the most amazing sensation ever? It's like an ASMR video without even trying to be. I could listen to her all day and never get tired of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFlBQkuoxUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPjJ6SEwVt4

I wish I could find such a voice for Russian!

[vijayjohn]

Now that I've finally (sort of) committed myself to Russian, I keep wanderlusting Ukrainian and Belarusian

When I first started getting serious about finishing Barron's Getting By in Russian, I read this cultural note in it about how when you went to a hotel room in the Soviet Union (this book, or at least the version of it I have, is from the Soviet era), there would be a maid or something (девушка) you could ask to do all kinds of things for you, like cleaning and ironing your clothes, not just clean your room or whatever. (I have no idea to what extent this is or isn't true in modern-day Russia). Then my brain went "OOOH I WONDER WHERE SHE'D BE FROM MAYBE SHE'S FROM SOMEWHERE IN THE USSR OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA I WONDER WHAT LANGUAGES SHE'D SPEAK!!!"

I think that's partly because here, people who do menial work are rarely white and most likely to be Latinx (probably Mexican), so much so that I can't seem to remember the last time I saw a maid (for example) who was a native speaker of English. When I was growing up (and learning Russian), I thought maybe the same was true of Russia (or perhaps Soviet Russia).

[n8an]

I think that's partly because here, people who do menial work are rarely white and most likely to be Latinx (probably Mexican), so much so that I can't seem to remember the last time I saw a maid (for example) who was a native speaker of English. When I was growing up (and learning Russian), I thought maybe the same was true of Russia (or perhaps Soviet Russia).

True! My friend in Armenia has a maid, and she's half Russian...so I guess it works both ways

[Linguaphile]

When I first started getting serious about finishing Barron's Getting By in Russian, I read this cultural note in it about how when you went to a hotel room in the Soviet Union (this book, or at least the version of it I have, is from the Soviet era), there would be a maid or something (девушка) you could ask to do all kinds of things for you, like cleaning and ironing your clothes, not just clean your room or whatever. (I have no idea to what extent this is or isn't true in modern-day Russia).

When I saw your comment above, my first thought was "Oh! I just read about that!" because I recently read Bears in the Streets by Lisa Dickey and I was thinking she had mentioned being surprised to encounter one in a hotel only a couple of years ago. But I looked it up, and it turns out it was not a девушка but a дежурная:

"And the key?" I asked.
"There's a dezhurnaya upstairs," she told me. A dezhurnaya! In the Soviet era, hotels always had dezhurnayas - ladies stationed on each floor who kept the room keys and monitored comings and goings - but I hadn't encountered such a system in years.

I believe that was in 2015. I should have remembered that it was a дежурная because the word has an interesting etymology - from French de jour, turned into an adjective (дежурный dezhurniy) for "on duty", and used as a noun as "attendant, person on duty." Anyway, I thought it was interesting (both for the cultural note and the etymology).

[vijayjohn]

That would be because I'm the one who got it wrong. I meant дежурная.

[Linguaphile]

That would be because I'm the one who got it wrong. I meant дежурная.

Funny timing, then, that I also had read about it just a few days before your post. Well, I wasn't sure if we were talking about the same thing or not, but actually it wouldn't surprise me if a дежурная were also sometimes called a девушка. Sounds like they aren't common at all any more, but still exist in a few places (or at least in the one the author mentioned, but it seems unlikely it would be the only one).

[vijayjohn]

Yeah, we were. This is the text excerpt from Getting By in Russian I was thinking of:

Accommodations

You will probably be traveling to the Soviet Union with a tourist agency, or your visit will be sponsored by one of the Soviet trade or educational agencies. [...] At the hotel you (or your tour guide) will present a voucher [...] You then proceed to the floor, where someone is on duty around the clock. In most hotels this attendant (дежурная dizhóornaya) will give you your key. Besides holding on to your key, she can make you tea, wake you up, bring you an extra blanket, etc. It's a good idea to make friends with her.

[Linguaphile]

Yeah, we were. This is the text excerpt from Getting By in Russian I was thinking of:

Accommodations

You will probably be traveling to the Soviet Union with a tourist agency, or your visit will be sponsored by one of the Soviet trade or educational agencies. [...] At the hotel you (or your tour guide) will present a voucher [...] You then proceed to the floor, where someone is on duty around the clock. In most hotels this attendant (дежурная dizhóornaya) will give you your key. Besides holding on to your key, she can make you tea, wake you up, bring you an extra blanket, etc. It's a good idea to make friends with her.

Cool, thanks for posting the quote!

[Saim]

In Polish dyżur refers to a professors office hours.

[vijayjohn]

(This is really late, but) that's interesting, thanks! And np, Linguaphile!

I used to confuse дежурная with déjeuner.

[Ciarán12]

Italian. There are a few Italians where I work and after a recent conversation with one of them where I spoke Portuguese and he responded in Italian it's made me want to start learning it.