Russian questions & popular songs in the 50ies.

[0o_higanbana_o0]

Hello, dear LD.
Long time no see! I hope you are all doing well.

I have a few questions about Russian. (Can you spot when a movie with an interesting Russian character comes out? By the flurry of Russian asks? Hehe :) )
(The movie is Man from U.N.C.L.E and the character is Illya Kuryakin, if that helps.)

The action takes place in the early

Comments

[rusquen]

For the translations.
a. How close are they? I.e. do you want to use vous or tu form?
b. Which speaker is which gender? Edit: Oh, sorry, it's all guy speaking, right?

[0o_higanbana_o0]

a/ I'd go for the Tu. Yes, def' "TU"
b/ four sentences are said by the man. He is talking to the woman, she is asleep. Rhetorical question/answers, he is talking to himself.

ETA: Yes it is! All guy ^^; But you are right, it was unclear of me. Thanks a lot!

[rusquen]

- Знаешь, когда я в тебя влюбился?

- Может, в ту первую ночь, в Риме.

- А может, когда ты впервые мне улыбнулась. (Note, literal translation is "Or perhaps when you first smiled at me". If you don't want continuity with "or", just remove the A at the beginning and start with Может. I'm failing to come up with a phrase for "I made you smile" - it ends up way too strong, like "I physically forced you to smile". Other options could be "когда ты впервые улыбнулась моей шутке" ("when you first smiled at my joke"), or "когда я впервыe вызвал у тебя улыбку" ("when I first elicited a smile from you" - although to me this one sounds like she was smiling because he looked ridiculous or said something silly - and that's how he's been making her smile since, too ).

- Не знаю. Знаю только, что люблю тебя.

[rusquen]

About the second sentence - is it important to mention that it was specifically the first night? Because a (slightly) more natural option, to my ear, would be "может, той ночью в Риме" (maybe that night in Rome) or even "может, тогда в Риме" (maybe back in Rome"). Just a thought :)

As for USSR 60s

[psa_98]

2. Humming "Moscov hights" is ok. Anybody in USSR of that time could do that. As for songs of Ots, somebody with a musical talent or education could be humming something really difficult, like that Ots' song from soviet musical film of late 50s by Kalmans Die Zirkusprinzessin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfDcy1zmNXQ

Re: As for USSR 60s

[0o_higanbana_o0]

Thanks, friend!
I think I'll stick with Moscow Nights. But thanks a lot for the recs! Wonderful song, and very useful trivia bit I might use somewhere.

[xenia_27]

as for the 1st question. It seems to me, that kitten is much more modern. My grandparents were born in the 30's and I can not imagine my grandpa call that my grandma. ))) I would rather say something like "душенька" (it literelly means my soul), or may be "милая" (sweetheart)

[alley_skywalker]

My grandpa calls my grandma "кошка" (cat). It's more playful/teasing where as kitten is more sappy, but it's not a huge leap :)

[0o_higanbana_o0]

Duly noted! This is very valuable input to me, thank you so much!

[0o_higanbana_o0]

Thanks a bunch! This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to know!

[brune_hilda]

About the songs.
A lot of them are from movies like "Дело было в Пенькове"(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CPtolIacHw), "Верные друзья", "весна на Заречной улице"(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe0NTzXJb3w). You can find them here http://patefon.knet.ru/50e2.htm for example. Or here. http://music.privet.ru/user/u5ridwnquoalcrzoklw2qzs4761zj5md/album/315380254

The 60ies are represented, for example, by Maya Kristalinskaya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRB8IjFU0WI

[0o_higanbana_o0]

Thank you very much for your input, this is exactly what I was looking for!

[brendichka]

Котенок? It sounds too modern to me. Милая would be the best option, I think.

[0o_higanbana_o0]

thanks, that's exactly the kind of thing I wanted to know. Much obliged, friend.