The Russian language lacks a definite article, i.e., the word “the”, and I’d be very surprised if Russian has an indefinite article, i.e., the word “a”.
If the language doesn’t have a word for “a” or “the” then a Russian cannot say “I have been hit by a lightning”, all he can say is “I have been hit by lightning” and whether it is “a” lightning, “the” lightning or just “lightning” has to be deduced from context.
I suspect the story is fake, however there is an apparently well-documented case of a Russian commander averting global meltdown by ignoring procedures and not launching missiles when all the systems were telling him that he should. I can’t remember his name, does anyone remember? I’m sure there must be an article on Wikipedia about this incident.
Incidentally, Latin and Chinese don’t have “the” either; Hebrew has “the” but not “a”. It’s incredibly hard for Russians and Chinese to learn how to use “the” in English, the rules are far, far more complex than you’d think.
Richard.
Sign In
