Language

[Sage777]

Hi. Well anyway I would love to visit Russia, but first I would like to learn the language. Pronounciation isn't hard for me in most languages so i don't know if that would help or not but if anyone knows something or if someone would like to try to teach some introductory things , it would be greatly appreciated.
Spaceeba. (or however you spell it)


Blessed Be!

[Doktormartini]

Spaseebo!

If you live by a bookstore, and if they have this book, get it. It is called The Complete Idiots Guide to Learning Russian. I don't know Russian, but I am learning as well! This book is very good and has helped me a lot. I also found this other book called Russian in 10 Minutes a Day which is like a work book with lots of pictures and flashcards in stuff. Check them out!

[Voyager13b]

Both of those books are pretty useful, but no book can do it alone, or prevent you from picking up very bad pronunciation habits. Get a CD or tape based course to work with along with your books. There are many available, and most are pretty cheap. If you try to learn Russian by book alone, you will be SCREWED in a big way, and will end up spending lots of time confusing Russian speakers when you try to talk to them, and looking confused when they try to talk to you.
Do it right. If you can't find or afford a tutor, buy one or two on CD (and still read the book).


Voyager

[Sage777]

That's cool. I've heard about the Russian in 10 minutes a day also. I've also heard about these websites that can tutor you also . But thanks very much or even better...
...Spacibo. I really hope thats how you spell it.

[TiraChitra]

Originally posted by Sage777
That's cool. I've heard about the Russian in 10 minutes a day also. I've also heard about these websites that can tutor you also . But thanks very much or even better...
...Spacibo. I really hope thats how you spell it.

Great Idea Voy.

The 10 min a day thing sounds like a good idea for you, Sage. I am not an expert, but I believe it is spelled Spasiba. An "A" at the end. Study for how ever long that you can without getting bored or drifting off. Take your time and keep your confidence in learning the language up. Best of luck to you.

[Alex_Ivanov]

Originally posted by TiraChitra
I am not an expert, but I believe it is spelled Spasiba. An "A" at the end.

...and I never tire to repeat, there's "O" at the end.

[Voyager13b]

Originally posted by Alex_Ivanov

...and I never tire to repeat, there's "O" at the end.

True enough, Alex. There is an "O" at the end. That's all the more reason that a student of Russian language should pay attention to the subtle details of Russian rules of pronunciation. In practise, it sure sounds like an "a", but to spell it that way would be in error. I imagine that many non English speakers would prefer to spell "cake" as "kake", but somehow, it would look wrong.

I think Tira was trying to defend spoken Russian language in this post, and point out a classic difference between the way a common word is spelled, and the way it is normally pronounced.

The entire discussion reinforces my feeling that transliteration is both a waste of time, and counterproductive. I'm a fairly poor speaker of Russian, but I find it much easier to comprehend and pronounce a new Russian word if it is presented to me in cyrillic, rather than one of countless Latin transliterations. The same goes for presenting English words to a Russian audience. A Russian speaker will have much more success if he (or she) has a basic understanding of the English alphabet, as well as a basic understanding of English rules of pronunciation when confronted with new Englidh words.

Your English skills are remarkable by any standard, so it is possible that my thoughts don't apply in your case. Still, as a native English speaker, it really pisses me off to read a post where it is obvious that the author took the time to understand Russian language, yet can only express it through translitration to broken English text.I have read many renditions of the same thought in translit fashion, and have always found it to be tougher to understand than the same thought written in proper cyrillic.

Maybe it's too much to ask, but if a person accepts the challenge of learnng Russian, why not go for it all, and become comfortable with the alphabet that brings those Russian sounds to life? The same for Russians learning English. There are no negative conotations to learning a second language in it's entirety, no matter how much long term effort is involved.

Both Russian and English represent languages that are used by large portions of the greater western world. Other than the mutual value of adopting words from one to another, there is no real respect in transliteration.

Voyager