Instant Communication
Language learning simplified> Russki yazik <
FIRST OFF
Who will understand you: Russian is a universal language in all the former Soviet Union. You'll also find that many people in other Warsaw Pact countries learnt some Russian at school in the same manner that English is taught in many secondary schools around the world.
The Russian bear is not a poor analogy when learning pronounciation. Words are pronounced as they are spelled, enunciating each syllable fully. Vowels resonate as if the Russian bear had given you speech lessons. Stressed syllables receive full emphasis.
Transcribing any language, even when it does use the Roman alphabet, is fraught with difficulty. For now it is simply a matter of getting the pronounciation right. If you get a mystified look, just try again ..
In Russian some consonants and vowels are more aspirated (ie followed by stronger exhalation) than others. Wherever necessary, the transcription adds an H to emphasize this aspiration. (e.g. DOK-TUHR - doctor)
What part of the word to stress is often very important. When a syllable is distinct, the transcription emphasizes this by hyphenation, but if syllables tend to flow together, the hyphen is omitted. The stressed syllable is indicated with bold lettering. E.g. >> EN-CYCLO-PEDIA << (Try saying it to yourself - EN-CY-CLO-PE-DI-A sounds artificial, doesn't it?)
Make up your own and help the listener. Think of what you are talking about (the noun) and put it in motion (the verb). If its not doing something, then it may be worth qualifying (the noun + to be + adjective; e.g. "today is hot" gets the message across fine).
Start with the most important part of the sentence first (the subject) then tell the listener the rest in order of importance. E.g. "I + go home + now". If it is a question, then stick to placing the question word at the beginning (e.g. "Where .." signals that I am now asking a question very important to me ..)
They rarely add much meaning. Luckily, Russian doesn't have any.
Add/substitute-i for nouns ending in a consonant or in -a.
E.g. teh-'ahtr => teh-'ah-tri, or - 'kom-na-ta => 'kom-na-ti (rooms)
Substitute -a for neuter nouns ending in -o and shift the stress.
E.g. pih-'smo => 'pih-msa (letters), or - 'slo-vo => slo-'vah (words)
Russian really is easy, it doesn't even have this verb. ANTHONY IS A DOCTOR translates as ANTON DOK-TUHR. Simple. There are words for some important related concepts though, e.g NA-KHODITSA - to be (located) somewhere, YEST - there is (exists). More further on.
ty - informal >you<
vy - polite >you<
In many languages it is polite to invoke more formal registers when addressing someone deserving more respect due to age or social status. While in English this is limited to the use of first or nick-name versus surname and the general choice of a more reserved vocabulary (e.g. avoiding slang words), in other languages the conjugation of the verb also reflects the level of respect implied. In other words, there are two forms of "you" in use depending whether you consider yourself on first-name basis with the other person, or not yet.
This can become a serious detour for the language learner and we recommend the following strategy.
1) Avoid where possible the need to distinguish between informal or polite forms of address. Reducing "Can you tell me when the train departs?" can easily be reduced to: "Excuse me. When does the train leave?"
2) Don't memorise complex conjugation, but simply get entire phrases under your belt. You will find phrases that are likely to be needed in formal settings will be provided in the polite form, while informal dialog - e.g. "Would you like to share my sandwich?" - will employ informal verb forms.
3) It's your privilige, as a learner, to make mistakes and expect understanding. You are likely to give more offense by refusing to communicate, so just keep talking and encourage others to correct you.
Declinations, genders .. English speakers seem to communicate satisfactorily without.
Russian does have different forms for nouns, adjectives and verbs if used with respect to male and female subjects. Do listen out for these. However, it is an important first step simply to learn the stem - typically it will be the male gender - and be aware of the gender difference. The meaning will be understood equally well. Don't know the other gender form yet? Simply add the name or subject explicitly in the meantime: Were is the 'woman' doctor? Your sister, lives where? If in doubt, spell it out.
More on grammar .. (is not necessary at this stage)
Every person you encounter is a language tutor for free. Use them. You can elicit sympathy and a favour from even the most dour looking Soviet official for your efforts to express yourself in their treasured language. Make the people you meet smile deliberately. It'll brighten their day, especially if they themselves are not on an exciting adventure abroad.
Go out of your way to find people that have a moment of leisure to chat with you. How about hotel staff and fellow guests? A bored shopkeeper? Fellow travellers? An old man with his dog sitting on a park bench?
Don't know what to talk about? Try asking about: family, marital status, work, life at home ..
Steer away from even innocent allusions to: politics, religion and anything else that might elicit strong opinions - you haven't got the language skills yet to extricate yourself gracefully if you invite strong opinions. Be prepared to be addressed as if you were an intimate adviser to Bill Clinton or Tony Blair!
Yes, we'd love some! Once you've had a go, send us an e-mail ..
"Just
what I needed!"
"Nearly
perfect, except .."
"How
about .."
