« Oblomovshchina of the Blog | Main | Russians: always racially sensitive »
July 17, 2005
A Phrasebook to Get Killed By
The Zompist's Phrasebook in Russian, Italian, Danish and Dutch for world-weary cynics, featuring translations of "It's better in the States", "There's a corpse on my bed. Please change the sheets", and "We kicked your ass in World War II", though I'm not sure in what context an Italian would ever have cause to use the latter. Look out for Russian omissions for cultural reasons, and certain crosscultural transformations:
I admire you above all for your purity of spirit and your appreciation of the arts.
V rot, kiska.
Compare with list, from the same site, of ludicrous phrases from actual phrasebooks:
I'd like to go to a Komsomol party.
Ja khotel by pojti na komsomoljskij vecher.(Berlitz Russian for Travellers)
Posted by michele at July 17, 2005 10:48 AM