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Russian intonation

My english collegues often don't understand why russians are so obsessed with language fluency of translation. Their point is if the line is grammaticly correct why don't you like it.



The problem is very language-specific. Russian language is full of sinonims, antonims, omonims and many things can only be defined by context and intonation. While we read text we also consider "intonation" of narrator.


If we meet the line Книги читают in text we suppose it means that (People) read books. But grammaticly exactly the same line means Books read. Put exactly the same line in different context and it's meaning changes to opposite.



Now let's turn to intonation:

From grammatical point of view it is correct to say:
Вы можете сделать это.
Вы можете это сделать.
Это можете сделать вы.
Сделать это вы можете.
Вы сделать это можете.

We only change the order of word, all lines are correct but the meaning is different.
Вы можете сделать это. You can Do it (accent on action. But i spoken russian this is a general form. We create the meanings below by emphisizing on different words)
Вы можете это сделать. I'm giving you a permission to do it. (accent on permission)
Это можете сделать вы. It's you who can do it. (accent on personality)
Сделать это вы можете. You can do it, but... (probably, nothing good will come out of it)

So here I can assume that for russian language so-called language fluence is a way to pick up the only one meaning by rephrasing and emphasizing

Comments

365 sentences said…
one day I hope to read Nabokov's work in Russian.... i am very far away from that. very far. i know no Russian.
kang said…
nice info babe :D
CAROL said…
keep writing insightful articles about russian learning...great help to me. u know I've sworn to learn it well.
Anonymous said…
great tips,keep blogging
molo4nik said…
Thank you. I hadn't understand before that my language's so hard for learning by foreigners. It' s so obvious things for me.

P.S. Sorry for my english.

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