Tiraspol, October 17. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Frumosny (beautiful), galazhiya (fun), kumetriya (fun after christening), tsyba (a command to a four-legged friend), khalabuda (hut) – each country has its own special words that are not so easy to understand, even if you know the language. They are absorbed with a mother’s milk and passed on to their children. This is something familiar that unites people and the nation as a whole, these are unique codes by which you can figure out “your people” – local residents. In Pridnestrovie, such words and expressions arose as a result of mixing different languages, mainly Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan. They were collected in a whole phrasebook and translated into literary Russian. Ekaterina Bulipopova and Alexandra Novak worked on its creation for more than a year.
Ekaterina moved to Pridnestrovie 14 years ago from Russia. The author of the phrasebook recalls how long it took her to get used to the local dialect and try to decipher Pridnestrovian Russian. "I wanted a pumpkin, but they offered me a zucchini, and instead of eggplants – the blue ones," Katya laughs. "And I also literally understood the expression "all the way". I thought that it was about some specific road." That is why, after some time, political scientist and journalist Ekaterina Bulipopova decided to collect in one book the words that confuse visitors to Pridnestrovie, but that have already become native to her.
"A friend told me about a phrasebook that was published in Dagestan, they made such a souvenir product with local slang. And I thought: wow! How cool! We can also do something similar for us and for tourists, because we have too many original words. And so I wanted to create this anthology of the Pridnestrovian colloquial language. I wrote a post on Instagram with an appeal to collect words that people know. And everything went so briskly that literally in a week, amid laughter and squeals - almost all the words are very funny - we collected about 250 colloquial words and expressions. Sasha wrote to me right away: "I want to illustrate it." One can only dream of such an illustrator, so of course I agreed," Ekaterina Bulipopova says.
Alexandra Novak, a well-known Pridnestrovian artist, was responsible for the artwork of the phrasebook. Novosti Pridnestrovya wrote about her earlier. The girl managed to come up with images for 70 words. All the illustrations live together peacefully on 30 pages in warm shades and rounded shapes. "Everything is very light, homely, as if for cater-cousins," Alexandra adds.
Speaking about the phrasebook, the artist notes that for her personally, it is a portal to childhood. "That childhood, where there are grandparents, where children pick up these words, bring them home. Mother says: "Stop speaking like that, you are educated person." This is a cultural code that returns people to their roots, some memories," the publication's illustrator emphasizes.
"Sasha managed to convey the mood, the very essence of this Pridnestrovian vibe. Only a person born in Pridnestrovie could do this. Since my view from the outside, as a visitor, helped me see it all, structure it, sort it through, explain it to tourists, while Sasha conveyed this mood,” Ekaterina adds.
The girls say that they printed the phrasebook so that Pridnestrovians could laugh and feel nostalgic. Especially those who have been living outside their homeland for a long time. For them, this book will become a real treasure trove, filled with something familiar and warm. And for tourists, it will help them navigate the local slang and quickly understand the mysterious Pridnestrovian soul. Such are the nuances of translation from Russian to Russian.
“People buy the phrasebook as a gift for their loved ones. Local residents take it as a gift to their relatives and friends abroad. I can say with absolute certainty that the phrasebook that went beyond the borders of Pridnestrovie was simply the main dish on the table. People laugh, add something, experience the strongest emotions. Its main value is the emotions that you can get from reading it. It touches me when I hear people say: "I brought this phrasebook home, my mom and dad laughed." And I think: how great it is when you make someone laugh without being there, without doing anything for this. We released something that we like," Alexandra says.
The phrasebook has a blank page where you can write words that are not included in the collection. This is how people become our co-authors, Ekaterina says. "Why did I think it was so important to release all this on paper? Because our grandmothers, grandfathers, parents are passing away. We made an initial collection, which is done by ethnographers, folklorists, and then everyone can continue this work," the author shares.
If you think you already know all the local words, we recommend you take a look at the phrasebook. Surely even a native will find a couple of new and funny expressions for themselves. The phrasebook can be purchased at the Likris bookstore or you can write to the authors on Instagram. Calendars and sticker packs with some of the illustrations from the collection have been released in a separate edition.
