Comments on: «Зачем изучать русский язык?»: continued

By: Anatoly

Anatoly — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:21:58 +0000

(“Почему изучать русский язык?”) – не такая уж и ошибка. Когда иностранцы говорят по-русски, это звучит интересно. Какая-то изюминка есть, которой нет у нас.

I like then foreigners speaks Russian. It sounds well.

By: Josefina

Josefina — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:54:08 +0000

Okay, next post will be dedicated to the difference (hopefully a clear and distinct one) between such expressions of “why?” in Russian as “почему?”, “зачем?”, “для чего?”, “с чего?” and so on and so forth! I’m really looking forward to it, but can’t do it until I’m finished with my last exam for my BA in Russian language & literature which I’m about to get… tomorrow!!

By: Charly

Charly — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:07:41 +0000

My mother tongue is German and there is (or can be) the same difference in German, so I never really wondered about those two, but used them as I would in German. Now however I am little unsure, if the use/the difference indeed is the exact same one…

By: Stas

Stas — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:52:44 +0000

It seems that the question of today is почему или зачем?.. May I ask then, what is the right way to say: не нужно или не надо?.. Туфля или туфель?.. Врач или врачиха, пловец или пловчиха?.. What a mystery, this language!..

By: Bruce Dumes

Bruce Dumes — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:12:46 +0000

I asked my Russian professor (who is from Belarus) for an explanation. This is what she said:

———————————————–
These adverbs are more or less interchangeable. However, sometimes one is more preferred than the other. For one thing, “почему” (why?) is considered an adverb of cause and stands for the reason that caused you to do something: Почему ты не позвонил мне вчера? / Почему ты начаал изучать русский язык? It is something that precedes “therefore”.
The adverb “зачем” is an adverb of purpose: something for the sake of what you do something (for what?). It can be substituted with “для чего / ради чего”: “Зачем ты сюда пришел? / Зачем тебе это надо? (In the last example, I would never use “почему”).

I hope that makes sense. In English, it is harder to explain. The difference is too subtle and maybe for the non-Russian speaker is not important.
———————————————–

To be honest — it’s still not clear to me. I’m going to talk to her more about it today. If I achieve enlightenment, I’ll let you all know.

Bruce