I love responsible urban development. I think it's fabulous that a new metro line will open near my house. What I'm not so crazy about is the 24/7 noise, dirt and bumper-to-bumper traffic detoured through our park. But kudos to the genius who came up with the billboard next to the building site: ???‚?€???????° — ???° ???€?µ????, ???µ?‚?€?? — ???°?????µ?????°. (Construction is temporary, but the metro is forever.) That always buoys me as I get ready to leap over a construction crater the size of a swimming pool.
Of course, my neighbors and I are still a bit worried that the temporary traffic rerouting might remain after the new station is up and running. After all, as Russians like to say: ???µ?‚ ?????‡?µ???? ?±???»?µ?µ ???????‚??????????????, ?‡?µ?? ???€?µ???µ???????µ. (There is nothing more permanent than something that is temporary.)
This got me thinking about people, events and things that are fleeting — or should be.
The adverb ???€?µ???µ?????? (temporarily) and the adjective ???€?µ???µ?????‹?? (temporary) can be applied to just about anything, from workers to housing. ?? ?€?°?±???‚?°?»?° ???€?µ???µ?????‹?? ?????‚?€?????????????? ???????° ???µ ?????‚?€?????»?°???? ???° ???‚?°?‚?????? ?????»?¶???????‚??. (I worked as a temp until I got a full-time job.) ???????????????‚?€?°?†???? ?????€?????° ???€?µ???????‚?°?????»?° ???€?µ???µ???????µ ?¶???»???‘ ???µ????????, ???????‚?€?°???°???????? ???‚ ?????¶?°?€?°. (The city administration provided temporary housing to families who suffered in the fire.)
Sometimes someone is ??.??. (?????????»???????‰???? ???±???·?°?????????‚?? — acting, as in acting director), but he or she might also be the rather dashing ???€???? (???€?µ???µ?????? ?????????»???????‰???? ???±???·?°?????????‚?? — temporarily acting), which always struck me as repetitive — someone temporarily filling a temporary position. But sometimes you don't need any acting at all: ?•???? ???°?·???°?‡???»?? ???€?µ???µ?????‹?? ?????€?µ???‚???€????. (He was appointed temporary director.)
People can be temporary by definition: ???€?µ???µ???‰????. I love this word, although like all Russian words I love, I hate to translate it. ?’?€?µ???µ???‰???? is someone who temporarily holds a high position, usually because he or she isn't qualified enough to keep it for long. It is often used to describe favorite companions and hangers-on in royal courts. Think Potemkin and Catherine the Great: ???‹?????‡?? ?»?µ?‚ ? ?????????? ?±?‹?»?° ???‚?€?°?????? ???µ?????€?°?????‡?µ?????????? ???°???????µ?€?¶?°??????, ???‚?€?°?????? ?†?°?€?µ?? ?? ???€?µ???µ???‰????????. (For 1,000 years Russia was a country with an absolute autocracy, a country of tsars and their favorites.)
Naturally, ???€?µ???µ???‰???? usually has a nasty connotation — someone who is fly-by-night, with no vested interest in the future of a country or company, just in it for what he or she can grab. ?’ ???????????‚?µ?€???‚???? ???€?????»?? ???????‹?µ ?»?????? — ?????»?µ?‚?°???‚?‹ ?? ???€?µ???µ???‰??????. (New people joined the ministry — dilettantes and placeholders.) ?’?€?µ???µ???‰?????? ???€???…???????‚ ?? ???…???????‚, ?? ???????‚?? ???µ ?????¶?µ?‚ ?????????‚??, ?????‡?µ???? ?????????????»?° ???»?? ?????‡?µ???? ???????°???»?° ?‚?° ???»?? ?????°?? ???°?€???µ?€?°. (These people are here today, gone tomorrow, and no one knows why one of their careers took off while another's petered out.)
But sometimes ???€?µ???µ???‰???? is simply a person doing something for a short period of time, with no bad connotation: ?????? ???€?µ???µ???‰??????. ? ?°?±???‚?°???‚ ?»?µ?‚???? ?? ?????‚???? ?????µ?????? ???µ?????‚. (They're not full-timers. They work the summer and then leave in the fall.)
More colorful and usually more comical — or condescending — is the expression ???°?»???„ ???° ?‡?°?? (caliph for an hour), which comes from one of the stories of ''The One Thousand and One Nights.'' English describes this temporary star in a slightly different way: ?????? ?…?°?€?°???‚?µ?€???·?????°?»?? ?¤?????µ?»?? ???°???‚?€?? ???°?? ???°?»???„?° ???° ?‡?°??. (They described Fidel Castro as king for a day.)
Well, they got that wrong. But in the end, ?‚?µ???????? ?„???????‚ (Tempus fugit).
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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