?—?°???µ???°́?‚?µ?»?????‚????: confusion
Language acquisition is a weird process. Sometimes I understand a phrase and even use it and then suddenly realize that I don't have any idea what the actual words in the phrase mean. A perfect example of this is ???µ???? ???‚???€?????? ???·???»?°, which means "I was dumb-founded" or "I was blown away." But what on earth does that curious word ???‚???€?????? mean? And how does it take you (???·???‚??)?
???‚???€??????, it turns out, is from the verb ???‚???€?????µ?‚??, which means to be struck dumb, to be stopped in your tracks and/or momentarily rendered speechless with surprise. ?????????µ?? ?µ?‘ ???° ?????€?????µ, ?? ???° ???µ?????????? ???‚???€?????µ?». (I saw her in the doorway and for a moment I was stunned.)
???‚???€?????? can grab you in various ways — that is, with various verbs. It can be summoned (???‹?·?‹???°?‚??): ???????????µ ???†?µ???‹ ?€?µ?°?»?????? ???‹?·?‹???°???‚ ???‚???€?????? ?€” ?‡?????°?? ???€?????‹???°?µ?‚???? ?? ?‚?€???‰???±?°?…, ???µ ??????????, ???°?? ?‚?°?? ?????°?·?°?»???? ?? ?‡?‚?? ?? ?????? ???»???‡???»?????? ???€?????»???? ?????‡???? (Many scenes really shock you ?€” a guy wakes up in a slum with no idea of how he got there or what happened to him that night.) Or it can take you: ?”?° ?? ???µ????, ???€???·???°?‚??????, ?‚???¶?µ ???‚???€?????? ???·???»?° (I have to admit that I was also taken aback.) Or it can fall upon you (???°???°???‚??): ???‚???€?????? ?? ???‚?µ?????µ?????µ ???°???°?»?? ???° ???µ???? (Shock and embarrassment washed over me.) Or it can even creep up on you (???°???‚??): ???° ???µ???? ???°???»?° ???‚???€?????? (He was stopped in his tracks.)
Sometimes ???‚???€?????? is more of a befuddlement than shock: ???? ?€?µ?°?????€?????°?» ?? ???µ?????????µ?????µ?? ?? ???°?¶?µ ?? ?»?‘???????? ???‚???€???????? (He reacted with confusion and even bemusement.) But most of the time ???‚???€?????? seems to take people's breath away: ???»?????° ?“?€?µ?„?° ?? ? ??????????-???°?????????„?‚?µ?€?µ ???‹?·???°?»?? ???‚???€?????? ???° ?“?°?????°?€???????????? ?„???€?????µ (At the Gaidar Forum, Gref's words abwout Russia as a downshifter knocked people for a loop.)
Another word for this state of shocked confusion is ?·?°???µ???°?‚?µ?»?????‚????, a word that I always find, well, shocking and confusing. I shouldn't be confused: it comes from the verb ?·?°???µ???°?‚??, which means to begin to mix something up, to stir something up, or to entangle something. This form of confusion can be brought on or summoned, like ???‚???€??????: ?’???°?‡?°?»?µ ???‚?? ???‹?·???°?»?? ???µ?????‚???€???µ ?·?°???µ???°?‚?µ?»?????‚???? ?? ???±?‰?µ???‚???µ (At first it elicited bewilderment in society.) Or you can be (???°?…???????‚??????) in a state of befuddlement: ???‡?‘???‹?µ ???°?…???????‚???? ?? ???µ?????‚???€???? ?·?°???µ???°?‚?µ?»?????‚???µ ???‚?????????‚?µ?»?????? ?????»?° ?????????„???†???€?????°???????? ?»???‡???????‚?? (The scientists were rather confused about the gender of the mummy.)
I'm befuddled by ?·?°???µ???°?‚?µ?»?????‚???? (confusion) and ?????µ???°?‚?µ?»?????‚???? (interference). I have to listen carefully to figure out if someone is a mixed-up boob or an interfering busybody.
Much easier to use the word ?€?°???‚?µ?€???????????‚??, which describes being at a loss: ?‘???·???µ?? ?? ?€?°???‚?µ?€???????????‚??. ???»?????°?€?…?? ???€???????‚ ???€?µ?·?????µ???‚?° ?????????? ???µ???‚?? ?·?° ???‚???» ???µ?€?µ?????????€???? (Business leaders have thrown up their hands. Oligarchs ask the president to sit back down at the negotiating table.)
Or the word ???µ?????????µ?????µ, which so obviously means being unable to make complete sense of something: ???µ?????‚???€???µ ???µ?????????µ?????µ ???‹?·?‹???°?µ?‚ ???????????‹???»?µ???????µ ???‚???????µ?????µ ???»?°???‚?? ?? ???€?µ?????‹?±???€?????? ???€?????°???°?????µ ?? ?????‚?µ?€???µ?‚?µ (The ambiguous attitude of the authorities to online campaign propaganda is somewhat puzzling.)
But you know what else is puzzling? How ???‚???€?????µ?‚?? and ???‚???€?????? (to be stopped in your tracks) come from the same root as ?‚???€???????‚?????? (to hurry).
?????»???°?? ?€?°???‚?µ?€???????????‚??! (I'm at a complete loss.)
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.
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