Disobedient Words

Vitaly Babienko – writer, translator, publisher, teacher, head of the journalism department of the Institute of Journalism and Literary Creativity (2003–2021). "Disobedient Words" is a book about words that seem stubborn at first glance but readily become known if one... listens carefully to them. The history of each word is full of paradoxes. Their paths are intricate, whimsical, and fascinating… The author, like a detective, moves from one discovery to another. Encounters with "familiar strangers" – everyday words – form the core of the book. Who would have thought that the words "heel" and "jacket," "bull" and "bee," "cabbage" and "hat" share a common origin? In Vitaly Babienko's book, there are countless such examples. It's about how words are born, live, transition from language to language, clash, and diverge, only to unexpectedly appear in the light – with new meanings and new senses. This brings astonishing diversity to our magical, virtuoso Russian language.