Pushkin

[Koa]

Does anyone want to discuss Pushkin and most of all The Captain's Daughter?
I'll wait for your feedback, if any, to make a conversation about it.

[Helga]

I'm sorry to say that I haven't read the book you mentioned, but I am a Pushkin fan! After looking in every bokkstore in my town, nearby towns and the capital I finally found one that was willing to order 'Evgenij Onegin' for me... Iceland is a small country, and believe me I went to EVERY bookstore.

I've mainly read his poetry but I began reading his books just last week... so in a few days I'll be able to comment more on him.

but since you mention it, how did you like the book you just read?

[Jay]

Title translated a bit different but here's The Captain's Daughter (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13511)

Eugene Onegin (http://www.pushkins-poems.com/Yev001.htm) :)

[Koa]

Oh right, I wasnt sure of the title as usual...

Of what I've read, I prefer Pushkin's poetry rather than the prose...

As for the Captain's Daughter or whatever....well, I can't say I enjoyed it that much... I read it ages ago and was left with some fog in my mind... I read it again a couple of months ago and I was going on like 'uh, at least it's short' cos I really can't find it exciting...I mean the style is good, the story is not even that bad in its simplicity...But I can't call myself a great fan of the book... It's like, some things are only based on feelings, I couldnt name a major fault of the book but I can't say I loved it...
And I spent all afternoon reading essays and my notes about it cos it's part of my Russian Lit. exam... and I even can't remember some parts of the novel, so I was thinking of reading it again...d'oh...

Ah, the good all times when my Russian Lit. exams was the most enjoyable thing of Uni... This must mean I'm really fed up with being a student (quite convenient as this will be the last exam)

[Jay]

I know the book as The Captain's Daughter as well, gotta be a translation thing.

Haven't read it btw. Only thing of Pushkin's I read was Onegin... in Russian, lol, that one was fun as it took me quite a while to go trhough it :p

Not really a fan, all that 'fabulous' thing seemed a bit overrated to me.

[Koa]

I read Onegin like overnight to get to the end before the teacher came to tell us... Can't remember a word of course... It was Italian translation with Russian text next to it...but it was my first year of Russian so I couldnt really compare much...

Jay, did you have the time to experience the forced learning of Russian (I assume you're too young for that?), or was it your conscious choice? ;)

[Jay]

Yeah, too young for forced Russian (well, in '89 I was 6 :p), it was voluntary on my part though the teacher might have felt forced into it as I was like the only student in the class and I was having lessons during breaks :D

edit

and oh yeah, I read Onegin in my first year of Russian as well, that's why it took me so long :p
read a word, if you happen not to kn ow it find it in a dictionary... with the alphabet having the letters in different order and all that :D

[Koa]

Yeah, too young for forced Russian (well, in '89 I was 6 :p), it was voluntary on my part though the teacher might have felt forced into it as I was like the only student in the class and I was having lessons during breaks :D

edit

and oh yeah, I read Onegin in my first year of Russian as well, that's why it took me so long :p
read a word, if you happen not to kn ow it find it in a dictionary... with the alphabet having the letters in different order and all that :D

That's it, I'm often too impatient to use a dictionary in normal conditions, the Russian one cam drive me crazy at times! :mad: If I'm really tired I can't even read Russian! And I'll never manage to remember the order LOL...towards the end they're all a mess :D

As for the forced Russian, I guessed so but I know a girl from Eastern Germany who did study Russian... In primary school I think... Or maybe it was later and it was optional...I dont really know (in '89 she was 8)

Yesterday I was trying to read Povesti Belkina (The Belkin's Stories?) and Pikovaija Dama (no idea) in Russian cos I already knew the story anyway...It was one of the typical moments when I realise that I'll never get a decent level of Russian...I couldnt understand a word and Pushkin is said to be a very simple and clear author (still, I try to blame it partly on the almost 2 centuries we have between...but...:rolleyes:)

[Jay]

No idea about the Povesti (aside of it being a Czech word ;)) but I know the Dama one (another Czech word ;)), haven't read it though.

I understand Russian better if I hear it... as reading's still got something to be desired :D

[Koa]

Dama can be Italian as well :D

Povesti (plural) as in something between a short story and a novel (short as a short story, with plot as a novel).

No wonder though, Czech is supposed to have some similiarity to Russian (that might maybe be like me trying to read in Spanish...or maybe not, cos Spanish seems soooooo similar to Italian at least in vocabulary). I can occasionally understand random words (rarely sentences) in Slavic languages. In Serbia I had no problems reading the menu :D Though I sometimes tried to speak Russian (for lack of better options when English wasn't understood) but noone understood me :D But I could ask 'where' and say 'sorry' :D

[Jay]

Pověsti (pl) in Czech mean legends, a narrative story with mythological background, close to fairy tales (for example there can be a povest about a castle's ghost, or origin of the nation - who, when, where, how... came to inhabit the area...)

[Koa]

I guess there must be some common ethymology...

[Jay]

Well, say 'Slavic languages' :D
Though there's quite a lot differences between Czech and Russian. for example stresses, in Czech the stresses are fixed while in Russians they're not (if I remember correctly, lol), in Czech the stress is always on the first syllable, in Russian it's rarelly on the first syllable (in longer words of course)
Hey can you say 'off topic' :D

[Koa]

It's not that off-topic... Russian is in-topic :D
Ever heard of my ability to turn anything into a discussion about languages?

Yes thestress in Russian is painfully varied...and totally unpredictable. Of course it's not that similar to Czech, but a lot of words are recognisable I think.

[Jay]

Well, so's some Polish words though their meanings are so NOT the same :D, the most funniest being Polish 'to look for' which in Czech means to f***, imagine a guy in a shop asking you what you're ****ing for, lol

[Koa]

LOL yes there are those funny cases around languages...

The Finnish word for 'look' (as in, you look) means d*ck in Italian :D :D :D
Also in the abovementioned Spanish there are cases like this but not this funny... (the Spanish word for donkey means butter in Italian :D)

[Koa]

Er... I'll go back on topic... Today I was revising The Captain's Daughter and instead of re-reading some passages I ended up reading the whole book again...:rolleyes: and I enjoyed it more than ever before, maybe partly cos I was looking through it for all the comments that I heard from my teacher or read in critics...