"Upside down" is only a matter of perspective. Space has no "up" or "down", and the earth sits in a void of space. It's only euro-centric tendencies and tradition that centers a globe on the Northern Hemisphere.
one could call it an anthropocentric tendency too, since most people live in the Northern hemisphere. What is funny about "usrus" in russian? Is it entirely impossible to translate?
Unless this is your hotel or you have insider knowledge, you cannot say with certainty that it's not a "profound ideological stance". I presume the best of people, until proven otherwise.
That's the problem right there. :-) A Russian speaker does not see having an ideological stance as better than being simply careless. Just the opposite. :-)
is it true that a lot of bawdy russian humor centers on actually that....shitting? I was reading this excerpt from a book by a British author called "Stalin : the court of the Red Tsar(http://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Court-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/1400042305) and there was a mention of dirty puns centering on the act of defecation. It is interesting how a sense of humor can vary with cultures, and maybe you are ideally situated to do a post on that, comparing Hispanic, American and Ukrainian/Russian humor. :)
As a native Russian and Ukrainian speaker, I must say that this awfully funny name of the hotel has absolutely nothing to do with 'Russian' and/or (??) Ukrainian sense of humor. The authors meant nothing funny at all. As Clarissa is trying to explain, that's a matter of mere carelessness: they wanted to give the hotel a name that combines two words: 'Ussuriysk' (the city where the hotel is located) and Rus (Russia), so they put 'Us' and 'Rus' together. But the result, all of a sudden, is an awful pseudo-word meaning what Clarissa mentioned in her comment.
Again, it has nothing to do with the 'Russian sense of humor'. The only thing it does have to do is incredible carelessness.
11 comments:
They're doing their bit to fight northern hemisphere imperialism - good for them!
Oh, I thought that was the Tea Party globe for a moment!
"Upside down" is only a matter of perspective. Space has no "up" or "down", and the earth sits in a void of space. It's only euro-centric tendencies and tradition that centers a globe on the Northern Hemisphere.
I like how everybody wants to suspect the Russians of some profound ideological stance when in reality it was just carelessness and inertia. As usual.
one could call it an anthropocentric
tendency too, since most people live in the Northern hemisphere. What is funny about "usrus" in russian? Is it entirely impossible to translate?
It means something like 'I will take a dump" but in a much cruder way.
The funny thing is that they were trying to say something completely different.
Unless this is your hotel or you have insider knowledge, you cannot say with certainty that it's not a "profound ideological stance". I presume the best of people, until proven otherwise.
That's the problem right there. :-) A Russian speaker does not see having an ideological stance as better than being simply careless. Just the opposite. :-)
is it true that a lot of bawdy russian humor centers on actually that....shitting? I was reading this excerpt from a book by a British author called "Stalin : the court of the Red Tsar(http://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Court-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/1400042305) and there was a mention of dirty puns centering on the act of defecation. It is interesting how a sense of humor can vary with cultures, and maybe you are ideally situated to do a post on that, comparing Hispanic, American and Ukrainian/Russian humor. :)
As a native Russian and Ukrainian speaker, I must say that this awfully funny name of the hotel has absolutely nothing to do with 'Russian' and/or (??) Ukrainian sense of humor. The authors meant nothing funny at all. As Clarissa is trying to explain, that's a matter of mere carelessness: they wanted to give the hotel a name that combines two words: 'Ussuriysk' (the city where the hotel is located) and Rus (Russia), so they put 'Us' and 'Rus' together. But the result, all of a sudden, is an awful pseudo-word meaning what Clarissa mentioned in her comment.
Again, it has nothing to do with the 'Russian sense of humor'. The only thing it does have to do is incredible carelessness.
Michael
I suggest that it is an elaborate ploy to ensure that Russian-speakers would never ever stay in this hotel... :) :)
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