Yelena McCafferty
Very Russian Problems
Have you heard of Very British Problems? It’s a humorous book about Britain and Brits. Russians, too, have their idiosyncrasies!
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Yelena McCafferty
- Jul 6, 2019
- 2 min
The story of Russian name-days
In pre-Communist Russia by tradition parents named their newborn baby after a saint whose feast day it was. And you could only christen your
Yelena McCafferty
- Jun 7, 2019
- 1 min
Where brands connect
Why translate Russian brands when you can make a clever use of Cyrillic and Latin alphabets? Some brands will use Russian characters to writ
Yelena McCafferty
- May 3, 2019
- 3 min
Another type of alcohol problem
It’s no secret that alcohol and crime can sometimes go together. During police interviews questions can come up about how much a suspect had
Yelena McCafferty
- Jan 11, 2019
- 2 min
Slips of the Tongue
In Russian the direct calque of “nationality” is “национальность”, but it means something different. It denotes a person’s ethnic origin, fo
Yelena McCafferty
- Jul 13, 2015
- 2 min
Are you Russian?
To most people nationality is equal to citizenship, but not for Russians. The fact that you are Russian can indicate that you a citizen of R
Yelena McCafferty
- Feb 11, 2014
- 1 min
Public signs, language and fun
Public signs in countries around the world can tell a fascinating story of their own, and a lot of funny articles have been written to highl
Yelena McCafferty
- Jun 10, 2013
- 2 min
Observations on modern Russian language: cause for concern or natural progression?
Language is an evolving phenomenon and my recent trip to Moscow has proved just that. Over the past few years I have read a few articles on
Yelena McCafferty
- Apr 22, 2013
- 2 min
Professional Days in Russia
Visitors to Russia who have happened to live there for a period of time longer than you would expect from a tourist, will have noticed the c
Yelena McCafferty
- Mar 20, 2010
- 2 min
Why a Washing Machine Turns into a Car or on Linguistic Interference
Russian speaking migrants living in the UK are beginning to confuse things too. Local councils are referred to by them as Consulates. So a c