Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

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aaleks
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby aaleks » Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:19 am

even if you can conjugate laisser (let) and pousser (push) without even thinking, still, it doesn't guarantee that it will help you with understanding of a phrase laisser pousser — to grow a beard).

laisser pousser can be translated to English as let it grow, and if you see the phrase in a context you more likely will be able to guess/figure out the correct meaning.

But since, among other languages, we're speaking of Russian here I'll bring another example - шнурки в стакане ;) (shoelaces in the glass). This is from kids slang of course, and even in my time no one seemed to use it but everyone knew the 'true' meaning of the phrase anyway.

And I can't help but link the first episode of the satirical/comedy series for kids Ералаш :D - "Почему мы так говорим?"/"Why we speak like that?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG2k2Z8IO04
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby einzelne » Tue Sep 28, 2021 1:19 pm

aaleks wrote:laisser pousser can be translated to English as let it grow, and if you see the phrase in a context you more likely will be able to guess/figure out the correct meaning.


Sometimes it indeed helps, sometimes not. (there are some SLA research papers which demonstrate that learners are horrible at guessing)
I brought laisser pousser because it's a recent example when my intuition failed me. In the scene, two characters discuss their former exs and the female charter asks the male: "Vous étiez comment avant de la laisser pousser?" The beard is mentioned before that but I didn't pay much attention and thought that she was asking about his ex, so I read this phrase something like: "What were you like before you dumped her?"

Btw I think never heard "шнурки в стакане"! And it looks like this is the reason.
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aaleks
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby aaleks » Tue Sep 28, 2021 1:54 pm

einzelne wrote:Btw I think never heard "шнурки в стакане"! And it looks like this is the reason.


I believe I heard the phrase somewhere around 1988-1991. До 16 и старше... was first aired in 1983 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Till_16_and_older... ) so that might be true that they were the authors of the phrase. As I said I did never hear it really used by anyone. Back then we rather talked about the phrase and its meaning.
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby einzelne » Tue Sep 28, 2021 2:52 pm

aaleks wrote:I believe I heard the phrase somewhere around 1988-1991.


Yes, now I'm also dimly aware of some TV sketch from 90s which ridiculed the new slang. May be that's how this expression appeared.

Slang is tricky. I remember Luca had an old video on how he worked with vocabulary. He showed his notepad and said something like: "Here, I have a Russian expression I heard from a Russian speaker during one of my itaki sessions: "Я в малине" (I'm in raspberries). It means something like 'I'm good, or I feel great'". And my only reaction was: "What???" Judging from the comments section, I wasn't the only one who was really baffled by this phrase.
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aaleks
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby aaleks » Tue Sep 28, 2021 3:20 pm

einzelne wrote:Slang is tricky. I remember Luca had an old video on how he worked with vocabulary. He showed his notepad and said something like: "Here, I have a Russian expression I heard from a Russian speaker during one of my itaki sessions: "Я в малине" (I'm in raspberries). It means something like 'I'm good, or I feel great'". And my only reaction was: "What???" Judging from the comments section, I wasn't the only one who was really baffled by this phrase.


Baffled by the phrase or by its interpretation? I mean "малина" in this or a similar context is a word from a criminal slang, and this phrase means something like 'I'm at the safe house/in the hiding place'.

Btw there's also "быть в малиннике" which has a rather different meaning, and has nothing to do with the criminal world.
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby einzelne » Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:21 pm

aaleks wrote:Baffled by the phrase or by its interpretation?


His video is no longer available. I know a very common phrase "не жизнь, а малина" but I never came across "я в малине" in real speech. (And he didn't refer to the criminal argo.) May be it was some regional thing but Luca initially was quite convinced that's a common response to the question "How are you?" in Russia, until he got a feedback from dozens of Russians in his comment section:)
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby aaleks » Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:49 pm

einzelne wrote:
aaleks wrote:Baffled by the phrase or by its interpretation?


His video is no longer available. I know a very common phrase "не жизнь, а малина" but I never came across "я в малине" in real speech. (And he didn't refer to the criminal argo.) May be it was some regional thing but Luca initially was quite convinced that's a common response to the question "How are you?" in Russia, until he got a feedback from dozens of Russians in his comment section:)


:lol: :lol: :lol:
The phrase looked off to me but for some reason I did't realize that you were talking about the wording. I've never heard this phrase in real life either.
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby vonPeterhof » Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:01 pm

FWIW I've also never heard or even read the phrase "шнурки в стакане", ironically or otherwise, even though I do have the vaguest of memories of glimpsing До 16 и старше... on TV as a kid. I might have heard "я в малине" though and its criminal undertones are clear to me, although I wouldn't be surprised if actual Russian speakers were also using it while having no idea about its origins. My dad says that the structure быть по жизни кем-то was firmly associated with criminal argot back when he was growing up, but nowadays you hear phrases like "он по жизни оптимист" in the media like it's the most innocuous thing ever.
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby aaleks » Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:44 pm

Just for the record :D , I don't remember watching До 16 и старше... I vaguely remember that I didn't find the show interesting but I don't remember why. I learned that phrase from other kids I hanged out with at the time.
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Re: Which language has less vocabulary in everyday speech: Russian, Turkish, or Spanish?

Postby luke » Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:00 pm

I'm getting the impression that Luca, being Italian and all, might be a member of that organization that was the inspiration for movies like The Godfather. :shock:
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