I have a neighbor here, Bill, who is learning Russian. I help him out from time to time. For example, I recently enlightened him that “the kettle takes a long time to boil” and “the kettle doesn’t boil for a long time” mean the same thing. It turned out that the concept of “a kettle boiling” is quite foreign in America; they don’t really use electric kettles.
How do you explain to an American why we sometimes say “Let’s go!” when saying goodbye?
Why do we say “Quietly” or “Be careful” when we drop something?
Why do we say “hands haven’t reached watching it”? And “legs in hands, and forward”?
Also, in the Russian language, the words for candy (леденец) and icicle (сосулька) are mixed up.
How, for example, to explain to a foreigner that “a goat” and “a billy goat” are the same animal but different genders, while “a wasp” and “a donkey” are completely different?
Or why do “eat like a pig” and “get drunk like a pig” denote completely different things? If the first one is to overeat, in the second case it’s not about eating at all.
Or how to explain to a foreigner that “very smart” is not always a compliment, “smart very” is a mockery, and “too smart” is a threat?..
On the other hand, here’s the example of Maria’s eleven-year-old daughter. She’s been living in the USA for a year and is starting to forget Russian. I should ask her today to tell me about this poem, for example:
“Plowing through fluffy furrows,
A dashing sleigh flies.
The coachman sits on the box seat
In a sheepskin coat, with a red sash.”
But, I’m not sure children her age could explain what it’s about in Russia either.
I remembered a joke. A husband and wife are arguing, shouting. She says to him: — And now, a poem! He’s staggered: — What poem? — Poem is a verb! He sat down and quieted.
Interesting from the comments:
1. “I really like ‘got cockroaches’ and ‘cockroaches divorced.’ Clearly, they imply different things, but still funny and almost the same, though they sound like antonyms.”
2. Go explain to a foreigner why we can say “Here he is!”
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 