Posted 5 декабря 2022, 13:07

Published 5 декабря 2022, 13:07

Modified 24 декабря 2022, 22:38

Updated 24 декабря 2022, 22:38

Question of the Day: who writes congratulations to Muscovites on behalf of Sobyanin?

5 декабря 2022, 13:07
The congratulatory letters that Moscow residents receive from their mayor are replete with all sorts of errors.

Muscovites have long been accustomed to congratulating Mayor Sobyanin on a wide variety of holidays, including his birthday. Such "high" care cannot but evoke reciprocal feelings - respect or tenderness. But only if the formal execution of these congratulations would correspond to their content. At least from the point of view of elementary literacy ... But these cute letters that Muscovites regularly get out of their mailboxes are more like formal bureaucratic replies, sometimes even mocking, such as this one, which journalist Maria Korolyova cited on her blog:

“On transfers and philological harmfulness - harmfulness in every sense of the word.

Received for a friend's birthday. And I wouldn’t just be happy for Anatoly Alexandrovich - there are so many “you” and “you” with a capital letter here, respect! - so no. My gaze was fixed on transfers.

Wise

dom

Of ma

ny

And "Birthday" with a capital letter, just like City Day.

And a name with a patronymic on different lines.

Ah, yes: either “long life”, or “many years”, but not “many years of life”.

The courses would have such writers, if I may say so. Always at such moments I try to imagine them (not transfers, but writers and typesetters).

And so - a good letter, happy birthday, Anatoly Alexandrovich!

Along the way, the Queen explained to her readers why the word "day" in this case is written with lowercase letters, and not with capital letters, as many believe:

“Official holidays that begin with the word “day” are capitalized: City Day, Mother's Day, Independence Day, and this is understandable - this is a nationwide (or citywide) holiday, one for all. But each person has his own birthday, and this is not the name of the holiday..."

As one reader rightly pointed out:

- The Russian language (spoken and written) is, in fact, like a litmus test in chemistry - it shows the state of society. What language, such society. I have never encountered such total illiteracy as now.

Most of the commentators unanimously responded to one of the phrases of this congratulation, which really sounds ambiguous:

- "Always with you" - it's scary!

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