# All Slavic: "Your money or your life!"



## bragpipes

Something a mugger or an armed robber would say: "Your money or your life!"

Obviously, it is clear from the context that he means "(Give me) your money or your life" or "(Choose between) your money or your life."  

The expression is idiomatic however, and the context is implied.  

How would one translate this phrase in Slavic languages?  Do "your money" or "your life" take accusative?  Or do they rest in nominative as this is an idiomatic expression?


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## ahvalj

Russian: _жизнь или кошелёк? _An ambiguous phrase, since either _отдашь жизнь или кошелёк?_ or _оставить тебе жизнь или кошелёк? _is implied (I personally never knew which one). The nouns are in principle in the Accusative, though out of context they are not perceived as such.


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## Enquiring Mind

The Czech and Slovak versions are literal. Cz: peníze nebo život; Sl. peniaze alebo život. Both have been the title of (native) films in their respective countries. The Czech film title was Peníze nebo život (no comma), but a book with the same title had a comma - Peníze, nebo život.*
The Slovak film title has no comma.

The nominative/accusative issue is interesting, but pretty much academic as in both languages the forms are identical (for these two nouns) in both nominative and accusative. I suspect the answer is as ahvalj described. In the Czech book title, I would say they are nominative, but it depends on what sort of (unstated) grammatical construction the reader thinks is being used.

If the nouns were feminine, such as krása (beauty) and inteligence ("brains", intelligence), it would be clear (because the endings would be different) if they are nominative or accusative, But they would still be in the nominative unless there is something in the same sentence which requires them to be in a different case.
_Krása nebo inteligence? Ženy si stále neumějí vybrat_ (source: novinky.cz)
_Beauty or brains? Women still don't know which to choose. _
Both nouns are nominative, but in terms of meaning they feel as if they are objects of the verb in the next sentence. But that's the point: the verb is in the *next* sentence.

*[I haven't read the book, but it looks as if the sense might be slightly different, comparing the relative importance of money and life, rather than a highwayman's threat demanding that people hand over their money on pain of their life.]


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## ilocas2

Czech:

peníze nebo život!


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## ahvalj

Enquiring Mind said:


> In the Czech book title, I would say they are nominative, but it depends on what sort of (unstated) grammatical construction the reader thinks is being used.
> 
> If the nouns were feminine, such as krása (beauty) and inteligence ("brains", intelligence), it would be clear (because the endings would be different) if they are nominative or accusative, But they would still be in the nominative unless there is something in the same sentence which requires them to be in a different case.
> _Krása nebo inteligence? Ženy si stále neumějí vybrat_ (source: novinky.cz)
> _Beauty or brains? Women still don't know which to choose. _
> Both nouns are nominative, but in terms of meaning they feel as if they are objects of the verb in the next sentence. But that's the point: the verb is in the *next* sentence.


We also find e. g. _panem_ (overt Acc.) _et circēnsēs_ (discussed here: Slovene: Genitive case vs Nominative case), translated into some Slavic languages in the overt oblique case (Genitive: _хлеба и зрелищ, хліба та видовищ, chleba i igrzysk, hleba i igara, kruha in iger_) vs. the again ambiguous Czech _chléb a hry _(Chléb a hry – Wikipedie).


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## ilocas2

I feel it as nominative.


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## Panceltic

Denar ali življenje!

Nom. and acc. are identical anyway.


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## Sobakus

I've had a personal childhood experience of being offered the choice of «жи́знь и́ли маши́нка?» – this instantly caught on as a stock phrase between us – with the nouns in the Nominative. Thus, I don't think there's a verb implied.


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## kloie

Serbian
Pare ili život


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## ilocas2

And who could forget that famous quote from the movie The Godfather - "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Czech: *Udělám mu nabídku, kterou nebude moci odmítnout.*


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## bibax

In Czech the nouns are definitely in accusative. The robber would say rather "peněženku nebo život!" than "peněženka nebo život!" (peněženka = wallet).

The title of the mentioned book "Peníze, nebo život?" has slightly different meaning (Money, or life? _What is more important?_). The nouns are in nominative, I should say. (Peněženka, nebo život? _Co je důležitější?_)


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## nimak

*Macedonian:

Парите или животот!* (Parite ili životot!)_ lit. "The-money or the-life!"_


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## jasio

In Polish "pieniądze albo życie".



bragpipes said:


> Do "your money" or "your life" take accusative?  Or do they rest in nominative as this is an idiomatic expression?


It's not so simple in Polish, because Nominative and Accusative forms of masculine-inanimate nouns, ie. masculine nouns which do not refer to humans or animals, are identical. But considering that a slang version would go "kasa albo życie", I would say that they are in Nominative case (Accusative would be "kasę" like in "dawaj kasę" = 'gimme the money').


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## bibax

In Czech it would be "kasu nebo život", accusative. (kasa = die Kasse)


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## DarkChild

Bulgarian: Парите или живота.


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