"Дженни, где багаж?"
Translation:Jenny, where is the luggage?
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Maybe I am just unexperienced in english, but why it can't be just "Where is luggage?" It sounds natural to me, as my native language is czech. And cannot it be also "Where is a luggage" If not, why?
"Where is luggage?" in English would mean that you are looking for luggage. Not any specific luggage, just any piece of luggage. It could be used but it would almost never be asked because you generally are looking for your own luggage. Technically I think this would be a correct direct translation and might be used in Russian but I don't think it's the best option. "Where is a luggage?" would be incorrect in English because as Raspberry-shake said it would be a mass noun or uncountable noun. You don't have 0 luggage, 1 luggage, or 2 luggage, you either have luggage or you do not. Therefore by process of elimination, you would go with "Where is the luggage?" since there is also no Russian possessive word attached.
Hope this wasn't too confusing :]
You would never say 'where is luggage' in English. It's not a complete sentence because it lacks a definitive. Russian has no definitives (along with many slavic languages) and so 'where is luggage' is just the direct translation. But if you were translating it into English you require a definitive.
It sounds unusual, but are you sure it is not a complete sentence? My native language uses articles very similarly as English, and to me, the sentence sounds correct, albeit unusually general and unspecific - as if asking for any places in the world where luggage can typically be found. "Where is luggage?" - "In trains, planes, in stations and airports, everywhere where there are people travelling."
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As an British English speaker, the sentence "Where is luggage?" sounds wrong, but perhaps it would be acceptable to put it in context. I might hear "Where is luggage found?" or "Does anyone have luggage?" and you wouldn't necessarily use the article. But these are general sentences that don't specify that there should be luggage. For example "Does anyone have THE luggage?" would suggest that there is luggage that is known to the people involved in the conversation. I hope that makes sense.
This my sound a bit contrived, but I think the only time an English speaker would say "where is luggage?" is in a situation in which "luggage" is being used as a name for a physical space, such as a baggage compartment in a vehicle or an area of a department store that sold luggage. So, although not typical usage, it is possible.
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Well, Russian doesn't use articles (a, an, the) either way, so "Where is luggage?" and "Where is the luggage?" are both "Где багаж?".
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As you'll learn later on, Russian names decline and foreign names don't. That's why all the early examples are foreign. This includes the words, too
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And again the tip about the sound Ж: it's the same as the first sound in the word "genre" or the last sound in "garage"
Yes. Final consonants are devoiced, i.e. в, г, д, ж, б, з will be pronounced like ф, к, т, ш, с at the end of the word (unless immediately followed by a voiced consonant except м, н, л, р, в, й).
There is no difference in pronunciation between "кот" and "код", "рок" and "рог" or "мышь" and "мы ж" (in these exact forms).
Russian words usually do not end in и in the singular. Typical "Russian" girl's names do not end in a consonant either. They rather end in а or я (with the exception of Любовь).
However, a number of names of foreign origin are also used—simply because Russians are not the only ethnicity in Russia. To give you an example, Чулпан Хаматова is a famous actress born in Kazan—and her name does end in a consonant. Russian is widely spoken in Kazakhstan, too, where yet more non-Slavic and non-Christian names are used (e.g., Гаухар, Айгерим, Гульназ, Жансая, Эрмине, Асель).
Regarding the real name of your friend, Женя is a possibility. It is a diminutive form of Евгений or Евгения.
Thank you for such a detailed explanation, Igor.
I'd only assume that Jenny was an abbreviation. All Polish female names end with "a" as well, and since it is so similar to Russian, I wouldn't expect it to be much different.
Женя makes a perfect sense. I believe that's what I've been looking for. Thanks again.
If you are using Windows 10, go to settings, Time and Language, Region and Language, Add a language and select Russian. That is what I did. Now I can switch between English and Russian keyboards by pressing Windows key + Spacebar. You can also switch by using Control + Shift. Then I went to Google Images and searched "Russian keyboard layout." I printed it out and keep it with me while typing in Russian. Be careful, there are several Russian keyboard layouts so be sure to get the correct one.
Why are names with J written with 'Д' at the beginning? First I noticed that with Джой, and now Дженни
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How do you guys write the sentences in Russia with the keyboard? I use the transliteration into the latin alphabet but DL doesn't always accept my answers. I write "Jenny gde bagash/bagaj/bagaz/bagash" but I always get this answer wrong
Для этого надо учить Английский на Русском, а не наоборот))
Потому что 'a' - неопределенная форма (мы не будем говорить "какой-то" багаж, потому что это не имеет смысла) 'The' - определенная форма, т.е. тот, у кого спрашивают или кому говорят имеет представление, о каком именно предмете идет речь.
В данном случае - о конкретном багаже, за которым следила Джени. Или который они ждут с самолета, или который принесут, или о котором они говорили раньше.
В общем, тот, о котором знает Джени (а не какой-то абстрактный багаж)
They are different sounds. It may depend on your native language—for example, it may be hard for you if [b] and [v] are more or less the same consonants in your language OR if you lack one of them.
Б, б [b] is a sound produced by pressing your lips together and blocking the stream of air. For the next sound, you accumulate some air inside your mouth and then let it burst out. It is abrupt. The voicing is a bit more pronounced that in English or German ("boring", "Baum").
В, в [v] is a fricative sound produced by touching your upper teeth with your lower lip, blowing the air through. The articulation is similar to English ("vet", "give"), only a bit weaker