Getting acquainted
When meeting people it is necessary, as well as interesting, to know their rules of communication. In Chapter One, you discovered the differences between ты and вы. In this chapter you will learn how to introduce yourself, introduce your friend or colleague, and how to answer questions when getting j acquainted.
First and foremost, you should be aware that Russians have a pat* ronymic, in addition to their first and last names. In many countries when getting acquainted people give their first name and last name, but Russians give their first name, last name, and patronymic J On Russian documents (such as passports and driver’s licenses)! the first name, last name, and patronymic are indicated without fail. Naturally, people are named when they are born (for example Mikhail, Pavel, or Boris for men-Yelena, Irina, or Alia for women) Their patronymic is derived from their father’s first name. Thus, if their father is Boris, his son’s patronymic will be Borisovich, and his daughter’s patronymic will be Borisovna. If a son is named Mikhail, and his father is Boris, then his name will be Mikhail Borisovich. If a daughter is named Yelena, and her father is Boris, then she will be Yelena Borisovna. Russians’ last names are usually the same for the whole family. For example, the father and son will be Petrov, the mother and daughter will be Petrova, but they will all be Petrovy. After getting married, most Russian women take their husband’s last name, although there certainly are exceptions.
You should pay particular atJ tention to the fact that most first names in Russian have a shortened version: Alexandr becomes Sasha, Nikolay becomes Kolya, Vladimir becomes Volodya, Maria becomes Masha, Galina becomes Galya, and so on. Shortened names are used without the patronymic, regardless of the usage of «вы» or «ты»-You can hear, “Masha, вы…” as! well as, “Masha, ты…”. When using the full first name instead of the shortened version though, the patronymic should technically be used (for example, Maria Alexandrovna). Nevertheless, you will hear exceptions, mostly in big cities under western influence. When using the full first name and patronymic, it is common to address people as «вы». In addition to full and shortened names, there are) also other forms of names in Russian: the endearing form of a name such as Mishenka or Irochka, and the rude vernacular one such as Mishka or Irka.
And now a few words about getting acguainted and introductions. If you are introducing yourself, your first phrase will be «Давайте познакомимся! Меня зовут.. (“Let’s get acguainted. My name is…”), after which you would give your first name and last name. In this situation, the Russian person to whom you are speaking will also give his or her first and last names. If the acquaintance is being made in a formal setting, he or she will give his or her first name, last name and patronymic, as well as their job title and responsibility. For example: Victor Petrovich Sergeyev, factory director. In this case, уоц also have to give your job title and responsibility. If the acquaintance is being made in an informal setting, or if the people getting acquainted are young, it is sufficient to give one’s first name alone. If there is a third person making the introductions, it still matters whether the setting is formal ои informal. If the setting is formal, this person will give the full first names, patronymics, last names, job titles and responsibilities of the people being introduced, andl will say: «Познакомьтесь, пожалуйста, это Виктор Петрович Сергеев, директор завода. А это Стив Браун, бизнесмен иМ США.» (“Let me introduce you. This is Victor Petrovich Sergeyev, factory director. And this is Steve Brown, a businessman from thej USA.”) In an informal setting, just as when introducing yourself, only the names of the people being acquainted will be given: «Познакомься, это Джон» (“Let, me introduce you. This is John”),| «Познакомься, это моя подруга Наташа» (“Let me introduce youl This is my friend Natasha”). In all of the above-mentioned cases, the reply will be «Очень приятно!» or «Очень приятно с вами познакомиться» (“Nice to meet you”).
After being introduced, address your new acquaintances as Шел1 were introduced to you: Alexey or Alexey Nikolaevich, Sergey orl Sergey Ivanovich, Irina or Irina Sergeyevna, and so on. Be sure to I address someone as «вы» when you are introduced to them by their first name and patronymic, I and as «ты» when introducined to them by their shortened name, or if your acquaintance suggests:! «Можно на ты» (“We may use ты”) or «Давай на ты» (“Let’» start using ты”).
In either case, addressing peo-l pie as «вы» even while calling them only by their first name, will appear only as a more polite form rather than as a mistake.
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