speakin russian

[6OPUC]

Originally posted by Balamut
Russian music is fun too, once you begin to pick things up.
Heh, especially Leningrad.

Yes! I especially like "Ludi Ne Letayut" and "Alkagolik"! X3

But that is for another board

[Voyager13b]

Originally posted by 6OPUC


You'll find that unlike English, every letter in a word is pronounced exactly like it's spelled.

Boris,

That is almost sort of true, except for the several letters that are pronounced like completely different letters, or simply ignored depending upon where the letter falls in a syllable. The letter 'o' is a prime example. In a typical Russian word like Õîðîøî, the three O's represent two completely different sounds. The first two are unstressed, and could be well represented by the letter 'a', while the last is stressed, and is clearly an 'o'. Every language has it's quirks....


Voyager

[Balamut]

Well, I think it's just for easy talking. You could pronounce Harasho faster then hOrOsho. If you would say hOrOsho, it's not going to be a mistake, but would sound little strange. But there are regions in Russia that pronounce all O's and sometimes even where it's needless.

[6OPUC]

Originally posted by Voyager13b
Boris,

That is almost sort of true, except for the several letters that are pronounced like completely different letters, or simply ignored depending upon where the letter falls in a syllable. The letter 'o' is a prime example. In a typical Russian word like Õîðîøî, the three O's represent two completely different sounds. The first two are unstressed, and could be well represented by the letter 'a', while the last is stressed, and is clearly an 'o'. Every language has it's quirks....


Voyager

Salutations, Voyager

That is a good point, however, for one who is just learning the language, I'd like to think my suggestion is at least half-way decent for beginners. You are correct of course, and your point should be taken into consideration once basic words and phrases have been learned.

There is also the point of the two silent symbols, which affect the sound of consonants, but not to a degree in which the word itself is changed.

Me

[Voyager13b]

Originally posted by Balamut
Well, I think it's just for easy talking. You could pronounce Harasho faster then hOrOsho. If you would say hOrOsho, it's not going to be a mistake, but would sound little strange. But there are regions in Russia that pronounce all O's and sometimes even where it's needless.

Balamut,

I have heard that certain eastern enclaves pronounce O as O no matter what. In the southern US, and in the New England states of the US, people butcher American English to a similar degree. It sounds ignorant if words are spoken that way by a foreigner, and just funny (allowing for regional differences) if spoken that way by someone who has a genuine accent from the region in question.

In the case of Russian language, the root of the formal rule regarding pronunciation of a letter vs it's position in a word might be founded in "easy talking" over a period of generations, but it has become a rule, and is taught as a matter of course in schools across the entire country, as well as in Russian as a second language courses offered throughout the world. For the sake of unity in a very large country, only one set of rules is official. The other forms of speech are tolerated by the main as dialectical differences.

Foreigners have a near impossible task of properly communinicating in most any alternate language. For a Chinese student to learn a south-central Alabama dialect, and try to pass it off as English in the rest of the US would be akin to suicide. On the other hand, learning "proper" American English will give you a free pass in every region of the country, as "proper" American English is understood by all (sometimes with a chuckle), while regional English is considered to be a deliberate attempt at stroking local pride, rather than a movement to change the language of the country.

A foreigner should learn the official form of American English, and pick up local variations as circumstance dictates. The same goes in Russia, where a foreigner saying "horosho", "spaceebo", or "poka" would likely be met by hands scratching heads, wondering "WTF?", as opposed to someone with a foreign accent saying "harascho", "spaceeba", or "paka". I think you understand what I am getting at. No second language is "easy", and you are better off learning it right the first time, rather than sounding silly, or being misunderstood for the first few years of your effort.

Voyager

[Voyager13b]

Originally posted by 6OPUC

Salutations, Voyager

That is a good point, however, for one who is just learning the language, I'd like to think my suggestion is at least half-way decent for beginners. You are correct of course, and your point should be taken into consideration once basic words and phrases have been learned.

There is also the point of the two silent symbols, which affect the sound of consonants, but not to a degree in which the word itself is changed.

Me

Boris,

Don't take my point the wrong way. Also, you are very correct on the 'hard' and 'soft' signs that are completely alien to a born English speaker. I wasn't really complaining about what you said, as I was reacting to the same concept written by so many others trying to sell language courses in the past. There are some aspects of Russian that are easy compared to English, but there are others that make it a real pain in the memory to get right. I was just pointing out that as in English, Russian language has certain rules that should be followed, even though they defy the classic image of Russian being a straight forward language to read. As is the case with English, Russian is not easy to read on the basis of either expected letter pronunciation, nor by inherent rules of syllable stress. As is the case with English, if you have not heard the word in question spoken before, you might be screwed if you try to pronounce it without benefit of understanding the various pronunciation "rules", and having heard the word first, as there are no real rules, or indication of where stress must be placed within a word.

That being said, I think every English speaker should learn the Russian language, as it is both a beautiful and expressive language, and is the official language of the largest country on Earth. Besides, once you get past the the first hundred words and rules, it's just plain fun, and you end up meeting a lot of fine Russian people who take special pride in your effort.

Nothing promotes understanding and friendship between two peoples separated by great distance than the willingness to meet in the middle.

Voyager

[Balamut]

Nice writings.
What can I say? I totally agree with you.

..and is taught as a matter of course in schools across the entire country, as well as in Russian

Are they? Long time haven't been in the school. I don't remember.