The culture of Odesa is a unique blend of Russian,

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

, and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

cultures, and

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...

itself has played a notable role in Russian and Yiddish folklore.Robert A. Rothstein, "How It Was Sung in Odessa: At the Intersection of Russian and Yiddish Folk Culture", ''

Slavic Review The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with Russia, Central Eurasia, and Eastern and Central Europe. The journal's tit ...

,'' vol. 60, no. 4 (2001), pp. 781-801

Dialects

The

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...

as spoken in Odesa is influenced by

and

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the ...

, and phraseology. As a result, many phrases sound inherently and uniquely humorous to Russian speakers and constitute a staple of Odesa humour. Also, the Odesa dialect of Yiddish has plenty of

Russianism Russianism or Russicism is an influence of the Russian language on other languages. In particular, Russianisms are Russian or Russified words, expressions, or grammar constructs used in Slavic languages, languages of CIS states and languages of ...

Cultural image of Odesa

To a significant extent the image of Odesa in

Russophone This article details the geographical distribution of Russian-speakers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the status of the Russian language often became a matter of controversy. Some Post-Soviet states adopted policies of derussi ...

culture is influenced by '' The Odesa Tales'' of

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' ...

. Odesa is often referred to by the

collocation In corpus linguistics, a collocation is a series of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, a collocation is a type of compositional phraseme, meaning that it can be understood from the words ...

"Odesa Mama" (Mom Odesa), a term that originated in Russian criminal ('' blatnoy'') subculture. The reputation of the city as a criminal center originated in

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. Th ...

times and the early

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

, and is similar to the reputation of

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

era

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

.Roshanna P. Sylvester, " Tales of Old Odessa: Crime and Civility in a City of Thieves" (2005)

Odesa humor

Odesa humor is a notable part of both Jewish humor and Russian humor. Since 1972 Odesa has been hosting the annual festival of humor, Humorina. For this and other reasons Odesa was known as the "capital of humor" in the Soviet Union.

"Odesa Mama"

Many places in Odesa are memorable not only for their intrinsic cultural value, but also for their place in Odesa folklore. *

Duc de Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it dow ...

monument *

Derybasivska Street Vulytsia Derybasivska ( uk, Дерибасівська) or De Ribas Street is a pedestrian walkway (street) in the heart of Odesa, Ukraine. The street is named after José de Ribas, who was the builder of Odesa, the head of military and civil adm ...

* Moldovanka *

Odesa catacombs The Odesa Catacombs are a labyrinth-like network of tunnels (subterranean cavities) located under the city of Odesa and its outskirts in Ukraine, that are mostly (over 90%) the result of stone mining, particularly coquina.Bachynska, O. Odesa Catac ...

* Potemkin Stairs *

Prymorskyi Boulevard Prymorskyi Boulevard ( uk, Приморський бульвар, translit=Prymorskyi bulvar, lit=Seaside Boulevard), also known by its Russian-language name as Primorsky Boulevard (russian: Приморский бульвар) is a street loca ...

Pryvoz Market The famous Pryvoz Market, located at 14 Pryvozna Street, is the largest food market in Odesa, Ukraine. p. 18 History Pryvoz began in 1827, with wares sold from the back of horse-driven carts. The market was a large area where carts with g ...

Dialects

Cultural image of Odesa

Odesa humor

"Odesa Mama"

References

Further reading