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25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be)

25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be) 25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be) 25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be) By Mark Nichol Many Russian words have been appropriated by the English language. Some, like mammoth and sable, are easily assumed to be from a more closely related language. Others were originally specific to Russian culture but can be applied to analogous Western concepts, such as a reference to an American politician retreating from Washington, DC, to his dacha, or to a comment about a troika of conspirators. Here is a list of well-known Russian words and their original meanings and later connotations, if any. Below that you’ll find another set, that one consisting of words known to few, if any, speakers of English who are not bilingual in Russian or familiar with Russian culture. The latter list is ripe for exploitation in English. (Try referring, for example, to an elite cohort as the nomenklatura or to a petty bureaucrat as a namestnik.) Either list can be mined for analogous meanings. Some require no annotation, while others should be introduced carefully in context or even glossed; which approach to take depends on the content and its audience. Familiar Russian Words (Absorbed into English) 1. Agitprop: artistic political propaganda, from a truncated form of the Russian forms of the words agitation and propaganda 2. Apparatchik: a Communist Party member and/or functionary, from the Russian form of the word apparatus 3. Babushka: in Russian, â€Å"old woman†; in English, a type of scarf commonly worn by babushkas 4. Beluga: a type of whale or sturgeon 5. Bolshevik: a revolutionary or radical, from name of the majority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, ultimately from the Russian word for â€Å"majority† 6. Commissar: an official 7. Cossack: a Russian ethnic group associated in popular culture with military prowess and a nomadic society; the name, like the ethnic appellation Kazakh, derives from the Turkish word for â€Å"nomad† 8. Dacha: a country house 9. Duma: a legislative body 10. Glasnost: a policy of political openness and transparency, from the Russian word for â€Å"publicity† 11. Gulag: originally an acronym for a Soviet-era system of forced-labor camps; it now can refer to any repressive or coercive environment or situation 12. Intelligentsia: the intellectual elite of a society, from the English word intelligent 13. Kopeck: a Russian coin 14. Mammoth: a prehistoric mammal, and, by extension, a synonym for massive 15. Menshevik: the name of the minority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, originally in power briefly after the Russian Revolution but defeated by the Bolsheviks 16. Perestroika: the Soviet-era system of reform, from the Russian word for â€Å"restructuring† 17. Pogrom: originally, violent persecution of Jews in Russia; now, any officially sanctioned attack on a particular group 18. Politburo: the Soviet-era primary source of government policy decisions, a truncation of the Russian forms of the words political and bureau 19. Ruble: the basic unit of Russian currency 20. Sable: a mammal related to the weasel whose sleek black coat was long prized as a clothing material, and, by extension, a synonym for black 21. Samizdat: prohibited literature produced clandestinely 22. Samovar: an urn for heating tea 23. Sputnik: a traveling companion; also, the name given to a series of Soviet-era satellites, the first objects launched into space 24. Taiga: the far northern coniferous forests of both Asia and North America, from a Turkish or Mongolian word 25. Troika: a carriage or sleigh pulled by three horses, or a triumvirate (a ruling or administrative trio) Unfamiliar Russian Words (Not Yet Absorbed into English) 26. Druzhina: a unit of bodyguards and elite troops 27. Glavlit: the Soviet-era government censorship agency 28. Izba: a log house 29. Knout: a whip used in punishment 30. Konyushy: an official responsible for horses used in ceremonies 31. Kulak: a well-off farmer 32. Lishenets: a disenfranchised group 33. Matryoshka: a set of Russian nesting dolls 34. Muzhik: a peasant 35. Namestnik: an administrator (from the Russian word for â€Å"deputy†) 36. Narkompros: a Soviet-era agency responsible for education and culture, later called the Ministry of Enlightening 37. Nomenklatura: the Soviet elite, holding prestigious government and industrial posts (from the Latin term nomenclature, â€Å"list of names†) 38. Okhrana: the Tsarist secret police 39: Oprichnik: Ivan the Terrible’s brutal bodyguards and henchmen 40. Prikaz: originally, a bureaucratic position; later, an administrative directive 41. Propiska: a Tsarist regulation requiring subjects to remain in their hometown 42. Rasputitsa: spring and fall periods in which, because of heavy snow or rain, unpaved roads are impassable (possibly related to the name of Rasputin) 43. Sambo: a form of martial arts 44. Silovik: the elite 45. Spetsnaz: special-forces soldiers 46. Tamizdat: prohibited literature produced outside the country 47. Tovarishch: a companion or fellow traveler; used as a direct form of address in the Soviet Union, equivalent to comrade 48. Ukase: a decree; refers specifically to a government proclamation or generically to an arbitrary command 49. Ushanka: a fur cap with ear flaps 50. Zek: an inmate Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1Running Amok or Running Amuck?How Long Should a Synopsis Be?

Court Reporting. Write up two court reports, from the given material Essay

Court Reporting. Write up two court reports, from the given material each with a commentary - Essay Example While presenting the case, the prosecution reiterated that the girl had been found murdered in a field near Seaburn Metro Station over the weekend. She had five stubs in the stomach and medical reports presented in the court showed that she died from shock and internal bleeding. Before the body was discovered, the 14 year old girl had gone missing since Friday when she failed to return from school. A dog walker discovered the body of the girl lifeless in the field the following morning as police was already conducting a search. According to witnesses, the accused boy had squabbles with the dead girlfriend days before the incident. Detectives are still awaiting the test results of DNA samples collected from a knife used in the murder. The defendant’s lawyer, Doug Richardson asked the court to bail him out, citing the defendant had no previous criminal records. The court denied request for the bail given the weight of a murder charge. The defendant remains in police custody awai ting the next court hearing as the victim awaits burial next month. Commentary Whereas journalists have the responsibility to provide the community with accurate information of the happenings going on around them, there are legal responsibilities they have to consider when reporting events (Banks 2012, 02). Court proceedings are sensitive. While reporting the murder case involving the teenager, Paul Ross, the law requires that the name of the defendant be withheld. Whereas there is never any problem mentioning the name of the victim unless in a sexual assault or rape case, I chose to withhold the name of Monica Smith to protect identity of the accused. Additionally, the report does not detail the names of the parents of the accused and the victim for the same reason of protection of identity. This is particularly imperative given the fact that a defendant remains innocent until proved guilty in a legal procedure. In addition, the report fails to mention remarks reported in the court as having transpired before and after the incident. Before the murder, the defendant is reported to have states, â€Å"If I can’t have her, no one can.† Additionally, Ross is recorded to have broken down and confessed killing his girlfriend during police interrogation. He said, â€Å"I didn’t mean to kill her, just frighten her with the knife.† This report dodges these comments primarily to prevent a scenario that may show prejudice and bias. The journalist report fails to mention these statements as that would seem as though the journalist already has a formed opinion that Ross is guilty. It leaves the legal responsibility of determining innocence or guilt to the judiciary. Second Court Case The Newcastle Magistrates Court on Monday bailed out a revered Newcastle barrister after an awry â€Å"blind date† led to a lawsuit. The 33-year-old resident was charged with attempted rape of 19 year old Sunderland University Law student. The two were strang ers to each other until Friday night when they met at a popular nightclub in town. The young woman claimed that they did not know each other until that evening when the defendant bought her drinks and asked her out to smoke cigarette. She says it was at that moment that the defendant tries raping her, raised an alarm and escaped before calling the police. In his defense, the 33-year old Newcastle resident reiterated that they had mutual consent to spend the night in a hotel room next to the