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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hello and welcome to Culture Class: Russian Superstitions and Beliefs, Lesson 5 - Itching Right Palms and Itching Left Palms. I'm John and I'm joined by Karina.
Karina: Привет! (Privet!) I'm Karina.
THE TWO SUPERSTITIONS
John: In this lesson we will talk about two common superstitions in Russia. The first superstition is about bad luck. What’s the superstition called in Russian?
Karina: правая ладонь чешется, (pravaya ladon' cheshetsa).
John: Which literally means "itching right palm." Karina, can you repeat the Russian phrase again?
Karina: [slow] правая ладонь чешется [normal] правая ладонь чешется
John: Hold on, one second. My hand’s itching.
Karina: Really which one?
John: The left one.
Karina: Oh good. If it was your right palm, you might give away or lose some money soon.
John: This is because in Russia, the right hand is considered to be the "giving hand.”
Karina: and the left one is the "taking hand."
John: So I probably won’t be losing money any time soon.
Karina: No. In fact, maybe the opposite.
John: The second superstition is about good luck. What’s the superstition called in Russian?
Karina: левая ладонь чешется, (levaya ladon' cheshetsa).
John: Which literally means "itching left palm." Let’s hear it in Russian again.
Karina: [slow] левая ладонь чешется [normal] левая ладонь чешется
John: In Russia, it's believed that if your left palm is itching, you are about to receive some money.
Karina: Which is good news for you!
John: Yes! As we said earlier, the right hand is considered to be the "giving hand," and the left one, is the "taking hand."
Karina: So to get some money, you should scratch your left palm more often.
John: Well I won’t need to. If this superstition is true and I come into some money, I’ll buy you dinner.
Karina: Well now my left palm is starting to itch!

Outro

John: There you have it - two Russian superstitions! Are they similar to any of your country’s superstitions? Let us know in the comments!
Karina: Пока! (Poka!)

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