Russian terms of endearment for an in-law

[visionshadows]

Hi. I'm working on a story set modern day in Pittsburgh. The husband is Russian and his parents live with them. What would appropriate terms of endearment be for his parents from their daughter-in-law? The family is very close-knit. She is not Russian, but has been learning Russian

Comments

[phyloxena]

Dochka (little daughter), dochenka (even littler daughter, suffixes work like this), docha. Any specific term for daughter-in-law wouldn't be particularly endearing. More urban/educated parents will use her name, perhaps with diminutive suffix (if you tell me the name, I can help with a natural Russian diminutive form)

[visionshadows]

Her name is Sidney. What are the chances of them giving her a nickname that would normally be bestowed to a daughter?

[mme_n_b]

They could call her Sidnjusha, but "docha" or "dochen'ka" (depending on their background) is more likely. There are no special,non-negative terms to call a daughter in law. Good opinion of her is demonstrated by calling her a daughter. This does not hold for sons in law.

[mme_n_b]

Actually, I'm wrong. If very folksy or being pretend-folksy they could call her "nevestushka".

[mme_n_b]

A daughter in law would call his parents "mama" and "papa" (or "batja", depending on their social background). She would not use terms of endearment (such as "mamochka" and "papochka").

[visionshadows]

Thank you! I was leaning towards mama and papa, but I wasn't sure if that would be the appropriate terms.

[mme_n_b]

Blades of grass is closer to truth than I am. The full name is always a good bet. This also depends a lot on individual family dynamics. For instance, my husband calls my mom "mom" when speaking to me, and nothing when speaking to her. If he had to call her he'd use her shortened (butnot familiar) first name (Masha, but neeeeever Mashen'ka). I call his father by a full patronymic, and his mother by her first name. Also, when speaking to in-laws Sydney will always use the plural you, but they would normally (unless they acknowledge that she is much higher than them socially) would use "thou".

[blades_of_grass]

Depends very much on class, nationality (are they Russian-speaking, or Russian), country and even city of origin (Russians from Uzbekistan, Russians from Tver, or Russians from St. Peterburg), how receptive they are to change in social customs etc. A word that would sound natural in one Russian family will sound completely false used in another - for reader, I mean.

I'd say go with the full name, as in the given name (not with a diminutive suffix) plus patronymic. This is culturally neutral, respectful and shows her knowledge of Russian culture and language.

[visionshadows]

They are Russian from Magnitogorsk if that makes a difference. What is the patronymic?

[blades_of_grass]

It is the second part of the full personal name, derived from father's given name. If person's given name Petr, and his father's given name was Ivan, then the full name is Petr Ivanovich. This composite name is generally used as a sign of respect: from younger to older, from employee to employer etc.

The suffix ("-ovich" above) is different by gender, but also by name, e.g. Anna, daughter of Ivan is called Anna Ivanovna, but Anna, daughter of Vasiliy, is called Anna Vasil'evna; Anna, daughter of Ilya, is called Anna Il'inichna; Petr, son of Vasiliy, is called Petr Vasil'evich; and Petr, son of Ilya, is called Petr Il'ich.

The apostrophe denotes so-called "soft sign": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_sign

I'm not familiar with the customs of Magnitogorsk, alas.