tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7351778691752546690.post3902810794943797306..comments2023-09-26T12:09:58.509+03:00Comments on English Language Etiquette for Russians: Osip Mandelshtam and Barry McKenzieIan Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05199914038770927077noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7351778691752546690.post-11594775242805135882012-03-25T04:25:03.877+04:002012-03-25T04:25:03.877+04:00This is a common but very annoying mistake, saying...This is a common but very annoying mistake, saying that someone has died in "the Gulag". The GULAG stands for Glavnoe Upravlenie LAGerei (Central Department of camps management). Certainly no one ever died in a Central Department. The places in which people died were camps, not "gulags".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7351778691752546690.post-13925606754598714302012-03-24T11:53:16.447+04:002012-03-24T11:53:16.447+04:00Speaking of shellfish: what do you think is the pr...Speaking of shellfish: what do you think is the provenance of the Australian expression: 'to come the raw prawn with' as in 'Don't come the raw prawn with me, mate'. Your Russian readers may also like to know that Humphries used to stage a startling performance on main streets and crowded railway carriages. Dressed as a respectable businessman, he would fill his mouth with a quantity of Heinz 'Russian Salad' (a substandard concoction of cubed vegetables in salad cream, not resembling the real thing other than in name), affect drunkenness, spew out the 'salad' onto the floor then get down on his hands and knees and eat it. Does this act strike you as Roman or Greek in inspiration?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09605127271605407644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7351778691752546690.post-60672230237795267362012-03-23T16:55:43.485+04:002012-03-23T16:55:43.485+04:00It was very interesting to read right up to the po...It was very interesting to read right up to the point that starts with "That was not very imaginative", which discloses you fully as a latin guy. ;) Mandelshtam could never use any of your examples of what is "truly funny" because in the first place it is totally not. It's a perfect example of "сортирный юмор", which is even now (thankfully) still considered vulgar, and in the times of Mandelshtam was absolutely unthinkable for any member of интеллигенция.<br /><br />I believe, that's the core difference between Latin and Hellenic cultures. Vulgar vs. sophisticated humor. That's why I always considered Rome a barbarian empire (yet very advanced technically).<br /><br />I must say though that although being heirs of Latin culture, Brits usually sport a more intelligent (and also интеллигентный) humor than Americans or, apparently, Australians.<br /><br />As to toilet related idioms, there is a plenty of 'em in Russian as well. If Mandelshtam was a docker, he would probably consider them funny as well. But being a son of a musician, he just couldn't.Alexander Amelkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06197584256548387521noreply@blogger.com