Уро́к 2
2.1 Language and Culture – Russian Names
Culture
Watch the following slide show video to learn about names in Russian!
Part I. What’s in a Russian name?
In Russian, the word for a first name is и́мя. Russian first names ALL have a short, diminutive form. You will learn and just get used to these. In fact, check out this list of common Russian names [add link].
Наприме́р
- Ива́н is ‘shortened’ to Ва́ня,
- Татья́на to Та́ня,
- Михаи́л to Ми́ша,
- Светла́на to Све́та, и так далее…
Просмо́тр ви́део (Video viewing)
Имена́ (Names)
Watch Molly and Heather go over some common short, or diminutive, forms of Russian names. Review the table of names [INSERT LINK] or refer to it while watching this. We include this because simply looking at a list is not always sufficient for becoming familiar with the behavior of language. It’s just also good to hear it, and this is what we’d do if we had you in a classroom with us!
Счастл́ивая Пра́ктика – Happy Practice
Diminutives / Short-form names
It takes some practice – often lots of happy practice – to get accustomed to Russian naming conventions. You may have heard stories about how hard it is to keep up with names in Russian literature. It’s true. For the uninitiated, the naming system is not intuitive, so let’s get into it and tackle this beast head-on.
Part II. About Тhe Patronymic
In place of a middle name, Russian names include a patronymic, or о́тчество, which refers to the first name of a person’s father.
In formal discourse and to show respect, Russians often address each other by first name and patronymic. This was especially true during the Soviet years.
Наприме́р
Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин was Alexander Pushkin’s full name in Russian. His о́тчество, Серге́евич, indicates that his father was Сергей. Александр Сергеевеич means Alexander, the son of Сергей.
Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, the famous tennis player, is Мария, daughter of Юрий.
Formation of the Patronymic
Father’s и́мя + suffix
–ович / –евич (for males)
–овна / –евна (for females)
How to choose between -о / -е in spelling:
If the имя ends in a HARD LETTER add -ович for males and -овна for females.
If the имя ends in the SOFT SIGN or Й, drop this ending and then add -евич for males and -евна for females.
Наприме́р
If оте́ц is Бори́с,
- then his son’s о́тчество is: Бори́сович
- and his daughter’s о́тчество is: Бори́совна
Наприме́р
If оте́ц is Серге́й
- then his son’s о́тчество is Серге́евич
- and his daughter’s отчество is: Серге́евна
If оте́ц is И́горь
- then his son’s о́тчество is: И́горевич
- and his daughter’s о́тчество is: И́горевна
Счастл́ивая Пра́ктика – Happy Practice
The Russian Patronymic
Russian names are truly no joke! Match the male first name with the correct patronymic form. Remember sons and daughters have slightly different forms!
Фамилия – Last name / Family name
The word for surname, or family name, is фами́лия and only ever refers to a person’s last name.
