I got a new dresser so it gave me a chance to review my back files and rediscover some personally acknowledged classics, such as Barborka. Real OG friends of mine will of course recall Barborka and the effect that its sublime ridiculousness had on me. I found it in a hole in some alley in Prague. Only much later did I learn that Barborka is a Czech girl's name, similar to Barbara, and that the 'k' at the end is a dimunitive. I had been pronouncing it Bar-BOR-ka because it sounded stupider that way, and this stupid sound and its earnest, clumsy letters seemed so nicely to compliment the loyal, mindless animal below it, the one eternally frozen in chipper ready position. Still makes me laugh.
3 comments:
This is brilliant
I know all about this k diminutive thing. My grandfather and then my sister called me Christinka.
Just to let you know, this is my name as well, and actually you can make many variations out of it (which is a great creative possibility of Czech language..:)
E.g.: Baru, Bara, Barboratko, Baruna (when you´ve been nasty:), Barunka (when you´ve been really nice ;D), Barca, Barbor, Barus, Baruska, Baja, Barka, Borka, Barborinecka, Barbarella, Barometr, etc. :)! And you can do this with almost any name...
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