"Sergey Lukjanenko - Labyrinth Of Reflections" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lukjanenko Sergey)

The same name in Russian usually can have several forms, reflecting the
attitude of the one who pronounces the name to the one named. The number of
these forms is as far as I can judge, much bigger than in English. That's
why in my translation I preferred to retain the original rules of forming
such names and to provide this note. Another important reason is that the
Russian name changed according to the rules of doing so in English would
sound ridiculous (maybe for me only, as I'm Russian... ;-) ), not mentioning
that it's not always possible to do this with Russian names at all. Example:
John - Johnny. Now try to do the same with, say, my name: Yuri. Yup... My
point exactly. Below is the example of how the first name of the main
character can be 'bent'. The same often happens to other names in the book.
For inexperienced reader it might be confusing, so I apologize... Russia
*is* confusing by definition, so bear with it. :-)
Leonid - the complete name.
Lenia (should be read roughly as Lyo-nee-aa; don't pronounce 'double
lettered' sounds as too long ones though) - this is slightly diminutive,
friendly form used by relatives and friends.
Lenechka (Lyo-nee-chka) - a "pet-name" form, sometimes also used with
sarcasm, depending on the context.
Lenchik - "pet-name"/unceremonious address.
Len'ka ( here ' means softening of the previous sound, 'n' in this name
sounds like 'n' in the word 'change') - Unceremonious address, a bit
slighting. Often used by close friends without any offensive context.
... and so on. No more forms are used in the book, so I'd better not
confuse you any more.
Another trick is how the names are formed n general. In particular, the
concept of the middle name in Russia. It is not 'given', but rather is the
father's name. To be used as a middle name, special endings are attached:
-ovich, -evich for man's middle name (yeah, they are gender specific!),
-ovna, evna for female's middle name.
Examples: Petrovich Alekseevich - men's
Petrovna Alekseevna - women's.
Also, the last names of the Russian origin are gender specific too. To
women's form the ending -a is usually attached: Kalmykov for me becomes
Kalmykova for my Mother, as opposed to her maiden name which is Cellarius -
not originally Russian one and as such not gender specific.
There's much more about Russian 'naming system', but I think it's
enough said here in order to a). totally confuse an unaccustomed Western
reader, and b). to explain the names in the novel for those who managed to
overcome the confusion. {G}
And the last thing:
5). Any feedback will be greatly appreciated! Any questions/opinions
are welcome to [email protected]. Hate mail/flames will be ignored. Thank
you!

Yuri Kalmykov aka Mohatu, Waukegan, IL, February-November 1998.

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