one more little anecdote

[calimac]

about the backyard party on the Fourth.

One of the Norwegian guests mentioned that he was reading, in English, the great Russian novel The Brothers ... and then he had trouble with the last word.

I knew how to pronounce Karamazov. Why do you think that is?

Comments

[cmcmck]

It probably helps that I was at school with a bunch of folks with Polish names- kids of those who never went home after WW2.

[wild_patience]

from watching the juggling act, of course!

[conuly]

...is it not pronounced as it's spelled?

[calimac]

Not exactly, no. But even if it is, it's still possible to stumble over it, especially when trying to recall it from memory and not actually looking at the page.