Culture of Odesa
{{Short description|Culture of citizens of Odesa}}The culture of Odesa is a unique blend of Russian, Yiddish, and Ukrainian cultures, and Odesa 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, vol. 60, no. 4 (2001), pp. 781-801 {{doi|10.2307/2697495}}
Dialects
{{main|Odesan Russian}}
The Russian language as spoken in Odesa is influenced by Yiddish and Ukrainian in grammar, vocabulary, 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 Russianisms.
Cultural image of Odesa
To a significant extent the image of Odesa in Russophone culture is influenced by The Odessa Tales of Isaac Babel. Odesa is often referred to by the collocation "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 times and the early Soviet era, and is similar to the reputation of Al Capone era Chicago.Roshanna P. Sylvester, " Tales of Old Odessa: Crime and Civility in a City of Thieves" (2005) {{ISBN|0-87580-346-6}}
Odesa humor
Odesa humor is a notable part of both Jewish humor and Russian humor.[http://odessareview.com/humor-odessa-traditions-modern-times/ Humor in Odesa: Traditions and Modern Times]
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.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=edW4AAAAIAAJ&q=%22%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0+%D1%8E%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0%22|title = Малая энциклопедия городов|year = 2001|isbn = 9789666700059}}
Memorable places
{{main|Odesa}}
Many places in Odesa are memorable not only for their intrinsic cultural value, but also for their place in Odesa folklore.
References
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Further reading
- Maurice Friedberg, "How Things Were Done in Odesa: Cultural and Intellectual Pursuits in a Soviet City" (1991) {{ISBN|0-8133-7987-3}} (The book is about the life and culture of Odesa of the Soviet era. Its title is an allusion to a Babel's short story "How Things Were Done in Odesa" from The Odesa Tales)
- Anatoli Barbakaru, "Odesa-Mama: Kataly, Kidaly, Shulera" (1999) {{ISBN|5-04-002856-3}} {{in lang|ru}}
- Rebecca Stanton, "Identity Crisis: The Literary Cult and Culture of Odesa in the Early Twentieth Century", Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Foreign Literatures 57, No. 3 (2003) pp. 117-126.
- Brian Horowitz,
Myths and Counter-Myths about Odesa's Jewish Intelligentsia during the Late-Tsarist Period, Jewish Culture and History 16, 3-4, 2014, 210-224. - Steven J. Zipperstein, The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794-1881
Category:Jews and Judaism in Odesa