"Selyav" is "life." Such is the translation of these words from French. If you approach the meaning of this phrase from a literary point of view, then, probably, the best translation would be “it's fate, and there's nothing to be done about it”. And in one of the popular cartoons of the Soviet era, a poetic retelling of this famous aphorism was given: "Oh, my life, tin, but well, it’s in the swamp." Why is the French expression "c est la vie" so firmly included in our everyday life? Let's try to consider this issue in more detail.
That is life
As a rule, this phrase is used in situations when something does not work out. That is, life in this context appears before us exclusively from the negative side, and we kind of console ourselves with the fact that this is happening not only with us. There is no getting anywhere from this, because our world is filled with imperfections, and it is not at all the best possible. It can be said that with a philosophical approach to this phrase, "selyazhi" is an existential view of life. Such a thing, they say, can happen to everyone. No one is to blame for this, and even there are no special reasons for this.
How to spell
This French expression is often used in writing together. But the rules of the Russian language tell us that this phrase can be used in an ironic-colloquial way. If you adhere to all the guidelines strictly, then you should understand that we are talking about transcription. That is about the Russian spelling of the French three-word expression. Therefore - according to the rules - it is written separately. That is, it turns out "se la vie." But recently, more and more often, especially in a sarcastic context, it is customary to write this expression together. For example: "Such is the" selyav "- this is living in the area forgotten by God and people."
Why do we say that
In Russian, there are many borrowings from French. This tradition, probably, dates back to the nineteenth century, when in the “secular society” it was fashionable to show off the knowledge of a beautiful and harmonious European language. The classic of Russian literature is an excellent confirmation of this. But this phenomenon, although not to such an extent, is also characteristic of our time. And we are talking not only about words, but also about whole phrases. And "selyavy" is no exception. For example, "deja vu", "tête- à -tête", "shershe la fam" and others. Moreover, they are pronounced by people who have never in their life learned French, even at school. Perhaps the whole point is that some expressions from this language are so capacious and ambiguous that they become popular among the people. Moreover, rather complicated concepts in this case can be expressed not in long sentences, but in a few short words.
When we say so - humility
People use this expression in different ways. Sometimes in order to encourage ourselves or others when things happen that are unpleasant to us, but which we cannot change. Although sometimes in such consolation, frankly, hopelessness comes through. It turns out that we do not affect our own destiny. We come to terms with what happened in advance. We bow our heads before troubles. Then it turns out that "selyavy" is the antithesis of the proud phrase from the Renaissance era that a person is himself the smith of his fate. But our life is done by ourselves, and a lot depends on our choice.
When we say so - cheering
But there are other cases when it is customary to pronounce "selyav". The translation of this phrase in this case is similar to another even more popular English expression “shit heppens” - after all, all sorts of troubles happen. That is, if disasters occur, then we are as if inviting the interlocutor to look at this matter without much tragedy, to perk up. No one is to blame, it's just an obstacle on the road. If you fall, get up and move on, if you get dirty - wash yourself. Do not stop and do not think too much about it. This is life, let's move on. There are also many jokes on this subject. Like, why did this “selyavi” happen to me, but is everything okay with the neighbor?
Existential meaning
Some philosophers and psychologists argue that such phrases help a person internally cope with the misfortunes that have fallen on him. They are somewhat consonant with “eternal questions” in different religions about why evil exists. If God made everything good, then why is life like this? Thus, "selyavy" is an attempt to somehow name the structure of our being, from which we cannot get out of it. To some extent, a similar view of things teaches us courage. We must understand that the life path is not strewn with roses, but rather with thorns from them. And this is the tragedy of all human existence. We live in a world where people hate each other, where wars are fought, where injustice reigns. We are mortal, and all things around us are perishable. It was as if we were thrown into this world where all life is filled with suffering. Existentialist philosophers, like religious thinkers, tell us that, perhaps, the whole point is that this being is not true. That this life is not genuine. What somewhere, beyond the horizon, new earth and sky await us, where no one is grieving? Maybe, but we need to think about how to break from the current state to this ideal being. And now we have what we got into.
Popularity
This phrase is included in the names of books, poems, films and videos. She has become extremely popular. There is even an ironic attempt to reveal its meaning as a kind of "law of nature." For example, this expression gave rise to a humorous philosophical principle, according to which the slightest likelihood that something bad could happen is always realized. In a broader interpretation, this theory is called Murphy's laws.