Русскй язык

morngnstar

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Привет. Can someone help me with an astronomical translation problem? What do Russians call the Big Dipper? Or Ursa Major. Whichever one you consider the more recognizable constellation. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dipper, most Slavic languages use something that means "The Great Wagon" (Кола, Колесница, Воз,Арба, Телега, Повозка, Колымага, according to http://www.icos2014.com/wp-content/uploads/icos2014_v5_104.pdf), but if you click on the corresponding page on Russian Wikipedia, the title is Большой Ковш, or Great Bucket.

Which of these is the most common for a modern speaker? My character is Russian and thinks in Russian, but the book is written in English, and her thoughts are translated so the English speaking reader can understand them naturally. But I like to keep a little Russian flavor by being aware of the differences, so it would be nice to get this right.
 

Fencer_24

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I asked the wife, your best bet would be Большой Ковш.

Привет всем! Я Оливье из Белгии, и сейчас живу в России, я поэтому говорю на русском. Я сначала учил этот язык в школе, потом долго забыл о нём, но я сейчас восстановыл свой уровень и могу использовать русский язык для работы без особенных проблем. Это мне полезно также и для разработки моей книги потому, что большинство истории происходит в СССР. У меня самая большая проблема в том, что мои персонажи - военные, и что тот стиль языка, который естественный для военных, не приветствуется в литературе)
 

Maenad

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It is also Большая Медведица (bolshaya medvedica), which is the translation of Ursa Major. Both names (dipper and ursa) are widely used.

Depending on how old your character is, they might know cartoon Умка (Umka). There is a beautiful lullaby sequence referencing this constellation. Might work for flavor?
 

morngnstar

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It is also Большая Медведица (bolshaya medvedica), which is the translation of Ursa Major. Both names (dipper and ursa) are widely used.

Depending on how old your character is, they might know cartoon Умка (Umka). There is a beautiful lullaby sequence referencing this constellation. Might work for flavor?

She's 20, but it's set in 1997. It looks like that cartoon is from 1969, so she would probably know it. How does it relate to the name of the constellation? Is Умка used as a name for the constellation? I like the idea, but it probably doesn't work in the context, because she's trying to communicate to an English speaker. She would probably assume that the English name was a translation of the common Russian name, but not that an American would know about Russian popular culture.
 
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ramendik

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Всем привет! Тред мёртвый какой-то, может оживим?

Hello everyone! this thread looks dead, anyone up for reviving it?

I am originally from Russia. I left Russia in 2006, for non-political reasons back then, but am surely glad not to be there now. I can answer Russian/Soviet research questions.