Monday, March 21, 2011

Bilingualism at a public bathroom in Kyiv - a request (in Russian and Ukrainian) to please not dump objects, as well tea and coffee, into sinks:






4 comments:

  1. How very different the two sentences are! It really surprises the outsider that I am.
    Genia

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  2. Yes, but the text is not identical in these two notes. Sorry I didn't mention it.

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  3. I guess the point really is that bilingualism is actually quite random here, uneven. I don't think the notes' authors meant to provide a translation from either of the languages. My guess is that one toilet cleaning lady was upset about various objects in the sink, while the other didn't like that some shopping center employees (because this is a public bathroom at a shopping area in an underground pass) were washing their teapots there. The former felt more comfortable writing in Russian, the latter in Ukrainian. That's it. Maybe something else, too, of course, but usually it's that simple - and, at the same time, quite complex... :)

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  4. Thanks Neeka,for this reframing : adding even more interest to this post. I also like the former one : charity ads on (snow-covered) benches.

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