The Moscow Times

Friday, November 19, 2004. Page 8.

The Politically Correct and Incorrect

By Michele A. Berdy
Àìåðèêàøêè: Russian slang for Americans

Talking about ethnic groups and nationalities is a constant challenge: Just
when you think you’ve mastered the current, politically correct term, the
folks go and change it and you have to start all over again. And once you
master the terms in one language, you discover yourself at a loss in
another.

For example, Russian makes the nice and clear distinction between citizens
of Russia (Ðîññèÿ), who are ðîññèÿíå, and ethnic Russians, who are ðóññêèå.
English ignores the “o” in Ðîññèÿ and calls both categories “Russians.” If
you need to make sure everyone knows you are talking about people of any
nationality who live in Russia, you have to spell it out in English: Ñðåäè
ðîññèÿí åñòü àðìÿíå, ãðóçèíû, òàòàðû è ïðåäñòàèòåëè ìíîãèõ äðóãèõ
íàöèîíàëüíîñòåé. (There are Armenians, Georgians, Tatars and people of many
other nationalities among the citizens of Russia.) You can also say
ðóññêîÿçû÷íûå — Russian-speakers — although this means just that: people
who speak Russian. I once translated a speaker struggling to be utterly
politically correct and describe the citizens of the Russian Federation who
were united by culture: ðîññèéñêèå, ðóññêîÿçû÷íûå … ëþäè ðóññêîé êóëüòóðû
(Russian citizens, Russian-speaking people, people who identify with Russian
culture).

Great country that this is, there are some people who think that Russian
culture is the best in the world. Some of these folks are patriots; others
are just plain old øîèíèñòû (chauvinists). The latter folks are likely to
use crude and insulting names to describe non-Russians. While you should
never even think about using these words, it’s useful to know them, if only
to recognize a chauvinist when you see — or hear — one.

The slang word for Ukrainians (óêðàèíöû) is õîõîë (a man) or õîõëóøêà (a
woman). It is also the word Russians use to describe a tuft of hair: In
times of old, Ukrainians shaved their hair, leaving only the topknot
(õîõîë). This can be said fondly, but don’t risk it. íàøåé ãðóïïå áûëà
îäíà õîõëóøêà — áåëîêóðàÿ, ïûøíàÿ, åñ¸ëàÿ. (We had a Ukrainian woman in
our group who was fair, buxom and cheery.) The slang word in Ukraine (and
other former Soviet republics) for Russians is ìîñêàëè. This was originally
the word for people from the state of Muscovy. While it can be used
jokingly, it generally has an edge to it. For example, one headline reads:
Ïîíàåõàëè ìîñêàëè: ýêñïàíñèÿ ðîññèéñêèõ òîï-ìåíåäæåðî íà Óêðàèíó. (The
Invading Russians Are Turning Up the Heat: the expansion of Russian top
managers in Ukraine.)

The $64,000 question is: How do you know this headline appeared in a Russian
newspaper? The answer: Because of the preposition íà. Since 1991, Ukrainians
have requested that English-speakers say “in Ukraine” rather than “in the
Ukraine,” and Russians say Óêðàèíå rather than íà Óêðàèíå, since it is a
country, not a territory (as implied by “the” and íà). Russians complain
this is hard to do — ðåæåò ñëóõ, it grates on the ear (literally “cuts”).
Ukrainians to Russians: Get over it.

If you hear a Russian referring to õà÷èê or ÷óðêà, move away: These are very
crude and derogatory slang words for an Armenian (or anyone from the
Caucasus) and a Central Asian. Move away very quickly if someone refers to
people from the Caucasus as ÷¸ðíûå (blacks). This word can also be used in
reference to people of color; in either case, it is extremely insulting.
This can confuse English-speakers, for whom “black” is an acceptable term.
On the other hand, the Russian word íåãð, while sounding like a very
derogatory word in English, is, on the contrary, a neutral and acceptable
Russian term that simply means Negro.

What do Russians call us Americans? They used to call Americans øòàòíèêè
(something like Stateniks), but this is now dated. They sometimes call us
àìåðèêîñû (a kind of sound play on àìåðèêàíöû and àáðèêîñû — apricots) or
more frequently àìåðèêàøêè, a slightly condescending diminutive.

Russians to àìåðèêàøêè: Get over it.

Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.