I noted some months ago that Elena loves to be told (in Russian) that she's a sweetie, and she's smart: "Elena slatkaya, Elena umnia." But she also, quite quickly, added her own request: Elena kukayaka. "Elena slatkaya, Elena umnia, Elena kukayaka." It's a little mantra; we'll go through the list and she'll prompt if one is missing.
Me: Elena slatkaya.
Elena: Umnia.
Me: Elena umnia.
Elena: Kukayaka.
Me: Elena kukayaka.
So we've been telling her, for months, that she's "kukayaka." Only problem is, I didn't actually know what "kukayaka" means. The usage here is pretty context-free; all I could tell is that the word was a noun or an adjective. And Elena couldn't really tell us; I doubt too many three-year-olds are that good at providing definitions of words, let alone ones in a different language with no concrete context.
But, I thought, it's time to figure out what the word means. That's not as easy as it sounds: two-year-olds (Elena's age when she learned the word) consistently add or subtract syllables, or change letter sounds, in the words they use. Elena's no different, and she absolutely mispronounced some of her Russian words: substituting a K into "bumaga" (paper) to make "kumaga," for example. So it's not only a hunt for what "kukayaka" means, it's a hunt for how it should actually be spelled and pronounced.
It's unlikely to actually be "kukayaka." There is a "Denis Kukoyaka," who's apparently a Russian actor/comedian who starred in a 2012 Police Squad-style film, and has some notoriety (as seen in this odd little "Kukoyaka-style" video). But, a) I don't think he was well-known in 2011, and b) who calls a baby by the name of a comedian? "Oooo, my precious little Richard Pryor"? C'mon. Nyet. Not likely.
So what's it likely to be? I figured it's probably an endearment, similar in tone to "slatkaya" (sweetie), so I'd start there. After a little searching, I found this list of Russian endearments for children. It doesn't have "slatkaya" or "kukayaka," but it does list "KUkolka," and that's awfully close: turn the L into a YA and it's the right word. (Pronounce both L and YA slowly and see how similar the tongue position is; an easy transposition for a toddler.)
"Kukolka" is a diminutive of "kukla," which means "doll." (as in the title of the old TV puppet show: "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"). "Kukolka," then, means "little dollie," in the same way that "slatkaya" means "little sweetie."
That all seems to hang together as an explanation of Elena's "kukayaka," although when I suggest she's a "kukolka," she immediately corrects my pronunciation back to "kukayaka" (she being the resident expert on the Russian language). So I'm not completely sure I have the correct meaning of the word, but it's at least a pretty good educated guess.
UPDATE, August 1: Elena now likes to also be called a "kukolka," although she now pronounces it as "kookagon," and considers it a seperate word from "kukayaka." Still, "kookagon" amuses me, to the extent that it resembles an as-yet-undefined geometric shape.
Me: Elena slatkaya.
Elena: Umnia.
Me: Elena umnia.
Elena: Kukayaka.
Me: Elena kukayaka.
So we've been telling her, for months, that she's "kukayaka." Only problem is, I didn't actually know what "kukayaka" means. The usage here is pretty context-free; all I could tell is that the word was a noun or an adjective. And Elena couldn't really tell us; I doubt too many three-year-olds are that good at providing definitions of words, let alone ones in a different language with no concrete context.
But, I thought, it's time to figure out what the word means. That's not as easy as it sounds: two-year-olds (Elena's age when she learned the word) consistently add or subtract syllables, or change letter sounds, in the words they use. Elena's no different, and she absolutely mispronounced some of her Russian words: substituting a K into "bumaga" (paper) to make "kumaga," for example. So it's not only a hunt for what "kukayaka" means, it's a hunt for how it should actually be spelled and pronounced.
It's unlikely to actually be "kukayaka." There is a "Denis Kukoyaka," who's apparently a Russian actor/comedian who starred in a 2012 Police Squad-style film, and has some notoriety (as seen in this odd little "Kukoyaka-style" video). But, a) I don't think he was well-known in 2011, and b) who calls a baby by the name of a comedian? "Oooo, my precious little Richard Pryor"? C'mon. Nyet. Not likely.
So what's it likely to be? I figured it's probably an endearment, similar in tone to "slatkaya" (sweetie), so I'd start there. After a little searching, I found this list of Russian endearments for children. It doesn't have "slatkaya" or "kukayaka," but it does list "KUkolka," and that's awfully close: turn the L into a YA and it's the right word. (Pronounce both L and YA slowly and see how similar the tongue position is; an easy transposition for a toddler.)
"Kukolka" is a diminutive of "kukla," which means "doll." (as in the title of the old TV puppet show: "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie"). "Kukolka," then, means "little dollie," in the same way that "slatkaya" means "little sweetie."
That all seems to hang together as an explanation of Elena's "kukayaka," although when I suggest she's a "kukolka," she immediately corrects my pronunciation back to "kukayaka" (she being the resident expert on the Russian language). So I'm not completely sure I have the correct meaning of the word, but it's at least a pretty good educated guess.
UPDATE, August 1: Elena now likes to also be called a "kukolka," although she now pronounces it as "kookagon," and considers it a seperate word from "kukayaka." Still, "kookagon" amuses me, to the extent that it resembles an as-yet-undefined geometric shape.
Hi. I've been enjoying reading your blog. We adopted our son Zac from Arkhangelsk this past December. He's 19 months now and since he was so young and not talking when we brought him home we assumed he wouldn't speak Russian. So I was shocked when I saw you put that Ollie means doll. That was one of his first words. We never knew he could possibly be speaking a Russian word! :-)
ReplyDeleteProbably not "doll," unless he's going after the English "dollie" and dropping the D. It's possible Zac could be trying for the Russian "miliy," which means "sweetie" (as does "slatkaya"), and dropping the M sound. Elena seemed (and still seems) to relish Russian endearments, so you might try out some of the other words on the list I linked to and see if he recognizes them.
DeleteIn any case, thanks for reading! It's nice to know someone does :) Also, hi Zac!