CanceledCzech's Russian School

**CanceledCzech** · 10-02-2009 05:38 AM

Учимься Русский!
с КансэлдЧеком

So, because I am essentially teaching about 5 different people on DreamViews how to speak Russian, I figured I would make this thread to keep things organized, and to advertise my services.

Obviously, this is free. My credentials are this: I taught myself everything I know about Russian. I am not fluent. I am not even what one would call 'proficient'. The reason why I am not at a more advanced level is due to my own laziness.

I'm going to try to keep things organized on this front page - have it be the "hub". I am thinking I will just post lessons and whatnot in the thread and then link to the individual post here. Now, to list the current class.

Enrolled Students:
Carmine
Hercuflea
Kael Seoras
Moose
Shades

I'm pretty sure this list is lacking >_>. I know Banana and Roxxor were interested but because I haven't heard from them at all after I assigned them their shit, so I assume that they just gave up.

Along with lessons I will post as much contest as possible. When I taught myself what I know so far, I used as many sources as possible. So, again, if anyone is interested, just post in the thread or send me a PM and I'll add you to the list.

Remember, this should be fun. If you aren't enjoying it, then stop studying; no worries.

Updates:
Vowels on Lesson 1

Уроки (Lessons)
1. Урок Один - The Alphabet

Другие ресурсы (Other resources)
Typing In Russian (For XP)
Google Translator (use sparingly)

**Hercuflea** · 10-02-2009 05:41 AM

ill sign up

**CanceledCzech** · 10-02-2009 06:20 AM

(lesson one)

Русская Азбука (Russian Alphabet)
Russian uses what is called the Cyrillic alphabet (Кириллица). I remember reading somewhere that it is the most widely used alphabet in the world, second only to the Latin alphabet. After learning this, you will be able to read most of the worlds languages.

Аа - Ah. It makes an A sound like in father. This is the only sound it
makes. Never does it sound like "pat" or "land".

Бб - Beh. Sounds like in 'bat'

Вв - Veh. Sound like in 'vodka'

Гг - Geh. Sounds like "gate".

Дд - Deh. Like "dog".

Ее - Yeh. Like "pet" but with a "y" sound in it. An example would be "nyet" (Нет).

Ёё - Yo. No real English equivalent.

Жж - Zhe. This is the first real tricky letter you'll come across. Nevertheless, it is a very important one. Sounds like the 's' in "pleasure"

Зз - Zeh. Like in "zone"

Ии - I. Important to note, this is always pronounced "ee" like in "seed"

Йй - I Kratkoyeh. Not really a letter. Used to form diphthongs like "ai" "oi" "ey". It's essentially a "y" sound, but it is rarely used for this purpose.

Кк - Kah. Like Kitten.

Лл - Ehl. Like the word "like".

Мм - Ehm. Like the word "mate

Нн - Ehn. Like the word "nasty"

Оо - O. Like the word "rope".

Пп - Peh. Like the word "pez".

Рр - Ehr. Like the word "rapeseed".

Сс - Ehs. Like the word "soap".

Тт - Teh. Like the word "tape"

Уу - "Oo". This is always pronounced with a "oo" sound, like the words "loop" or "crude".

Фф - Ehf. Like the word "fun".

Хх - Kha or Cha. Personally I prefer the first spelling of it's name - it keeps things simple (you'll see why in a second). This is always pronounced like the scottish "loch"

Цц - Tseh. Like in the word "pizza" or "tsar"

Чч - Cha. This is why I like to write Х as "kha". This one is pronounced like "chance".

Шш - Sha. Like in the word "ship".

Щщ - Scha. This one has to be the trickiest letters. One of the ways to make this sounds is to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth as if you were going to say "cha" but make a "sh" sound instead.

ъ - Tvyordii znak (твёрдий знак).This is not a letter, it is a sign. Tvyordii snak means "hard sign" in Russian. Used to indicate a slight pause between syllables.

ы - "ih" or "y". Pronounced like the "i" in "pit" or "sit".

ь - Myagkii znak (Мягкий знак). This is a soft sign. Used to make the preceeding consonant softer.

Ээ - Eh. Like in "pet". Just like "yeh" but no "y" sound.

Юю - Yu. Said pretty much just like the word "you".

Яя - Ya. No real English equivalent, unless you count "ya" as a word.

Update:
On vowels:
Soft---Hard
Я------А
Ю-----У
Ё------О
Е------Э
И------ы

Essentially, this is to make the vowels easier to understand. The soft vowels are simply the hard ones, just preceded with a "y" sound. All except for the last two, и and ы.

There are further details that go along with this. You can read about them in the links below, but I will cover them in the next lesson, "Reading Russian".

External Sites:
http://www.friends-partners.org/oldf...-alphabet.html
http://www.russianlessons.net/lessons/lesson1_main.php
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/t.../alphabet.html
Flashcards:
http://quizlet.com/1034855/the-russian-alphabet

**CanceledCzech** · 10-02-2009 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by Hercuflea

ill sign up

You got it!

**Kael Seoras** · 10-02-2009 06:49 AM

Count me in

**CanceledCzech** · 10-02-2009 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by Kael Seoras

Count me in

Sure thing. Nice avatar, by the way.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-02-2009 07:44 AM

For Windows XP:

1. Open the Start Menu

2. Go to the Control Panel

3. Click "Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options" and then/or " Regional and Language Options" (depending on your layout).

You should see this:

4. Click "Languages"

5. Click "Details"...

6.Then click "Add"...

7. Then in the "Input Language" you want to find Russian, and then apply.

If you have any problems, just send me a PM or contact me on MSN or AIM.

**Jeff777** · 10-02-2009 11:12 AM

Nice CC. I can see Russia from my house!

**CanceledCzech** · 10-02-2009 04:11 PM

rofl

**Lëzen** · 10-02-2009 11:05 PM

Why, I do believe you've inspired me to create a thread like this for German and/or Dutch.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-03-2009 12:19 AM

Oh my god fucking do it. If you need any help I will gladly lend my expertise. I know much about language learning.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-03-2009 06:09 AM

The single most important part of learning foreign language is listening. I'd say that if you want to learn a language effectively, you should listen to it for an hour every day for at least six months.

If you don't, well, whatever. It's not a big deal.

So here is some music:

Spoiler for Музыка:

There is a YouTube account that I like a lot. It's called "Only4Russian". It's basically this girl who takes a bunch of Russian music and adds subtitles to them so you can read along. Very useful.
Only4Russian

I'll make a part 2 eventually.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-11-2009 06:51 AM

(lesson two)

Читать на Русском (Reading in Russian)
Ok, now that you have memorized the alphabet and know it by heart (I hope >_>), it's time to start learning how to read Russian. I admit I waited a little bit to make this, but it's because I was unsure of how to do it. This is probably one of the most important lessons. So, I guess I will just list off the rules in the order I learned them and then give examples for you to read.

O is always pronounced like А unless it is in the stressed syllable. When a syllable is stressed, it means that it is the most 'prominent'. Take 'prominent' for example: PROM-in-ent. Three syllables, and the beginning one is stressed. Take 'pronounced': pro-NOUN-ced. the middle syllable is stressed. So, read these Russian words:

тот-----[tote]----------'that'
кот-----[kote]----------'cat'
он------[own]----------'he'
борщ---[borshch]-------'borscht'
кто-то--[kto-ta]---------'someone'

If you hadn't noticed, the underline is for the emphasis in the word. From now on, when I introduce a new word, I will include the underline to indicate where it is stressed (unless it is monosyllabic). This is very important, because part of understanding Russian is listening to the emphasis as meaning changes depending on where the word is stressed. You will see examples of this later.

Now, about Softness. Note, this part you can probably skip if you do not care about having a perfect Russian accent. Personally, I think it's important as some words (mostly verbs) end with soft letters and that determines the meaning. The choice is up to you

So, Every letter in the Russian alphabet has a hard pronunciation and a soft pronunciation. Some exceptions of this rule are ж ц and ш (always hard), and ч and щ (always soft).

Soft---Hard
Я------А
Ю-----У
Ё------О
Е------Э
И------ы

Essentially the rule goes as follows: if a consonant is followed by a soft vowel or the soft sign ь, it is said with a slight, simultaneous, "y" sound. Take the word совет (council) is pronounced with five sounds, [s-a-vy-e-t], while in English we know it as six sounds: [s-o-v-i-e-t]

Some exceptions of this rule are ж ц and ш (always hard), and ч and щ (always soft). This means that ч and щ are always said with that simultaneous "y" sound.

A good way to illustrate this is with the letter л. As л, it is pronounced like [l], but as ль for instance, it is pronounced as [ly]. Remember, this is not like, "lee" or "lie". A good example is people and leaf. In people, the L is said like л while in leaf, the L is said like ль. To a Russian, these are completely different sounds, and not just pronouncing the same letter differently.

Some more examples:
мило [mee-la] - nice (hard л)
миля [mee-lya - mile (soft л)

лук [luk] - onion
люк [lyuk] - hatch

мат [mat] - profanity (hard т)
мать [maty] - mother (soft т)

мать [maty] - mother (hard м)
мять [myat] - to crumple (soft м)

With и and ы it's a little different. и itself doesn't have a "y" sounds to it. Regardless, there is still a slight softening to the preceding consonant.

бить [beety] - to beat (soft б)
быть [bity] - to be (hard б)

Remember, the "y" sound should be simultaneous. If you need clarifying, don't hesitate to send me a PM.

Next rule. The first six consonants in the alphabet б в г д ж з are all voiced. This means they are pronounced with the vibration of the vocal chords. At the end of words, they turn into unvoiced consonants.

Voiced---------Unvoiced
б--------------п
в--------------ф
г--------------к
д--------------т
ж--------------ш
з---------------с

So Ленинград becomes "leningrat"

Within words, if a voiced consonant is followed by an unvoiced one, it also becomes unvoiced. So:

водка - vodka - the д is said like a т before the к
завтра - tomorrow - the в is said like a ф before the т
вход - exit - the в is said like ф before the х

Also, the converse is true. If an unvoiced consonant is followed by a voiced one, then it also becomes voiced.

вокзал - station - the к becomes г before the з

The only exception to this rule is в. If an unvoiced letter is before it, it stays unvoiced.

Москва - Moscow - the к remains к before the в

One more thing about pronunciation. When you stress a syllable, it is heavier than you would in English. This is why it is another reason why it is so important. If you don't get the stress right, you will not be understandable.

So, the final note about stress - Basically, е when in the unstressed syllables can sometimes sound like и, much like о sounds like а. And я, when it's before the stressed syllable sounds like и, like язык (language). It is not pronounced [ya-zik], but like [ee-zik].

Some oddities in pronunciation:

что - what - pronounced "shto"
пожалуйста - please - "pazhalsta" usually pronounced without the уй
здравствуйте - hello - "zdra-stvooy-tye" without the first в
его - him - pronounced "yevo" not "yego"
сегодня - today - pronounced "cevodnya", not "segodnya"
радио - radio - because this is foreign, it is pronounced "ra-di-o" and not "ra-di-a"

And that is it. Because I am fucking tired as hell, I am going to put some reading practice with some easy words in the second part.

But, if you're feeling really courageous, then you can head over to the Russian Wikipedia and have a go.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-13-2009 10:15 PM

Just a couple of sites that can add an extra perspective to the phonology:
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Russian_phonology
http://masterrussian.com/aa081201a.shtml

**yuriythebest** · 10-16-2009 10:12 PM

cool thread!! I'll sign up!
---------------
прикольный топик подпишусь на всяк случай

also if anyone wants to practice speaking about LD's in russian via skype add me

**CanceledCzech** · 10-16-2009 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by yuriythebest

cool thread!! I'll sign up!
---------------
прикольный топик подпишусь на всяк случай

also if anyone wants to practice speaking about LD's in russian via skype add me

Haha, seems you are already pretty well versed in Russian. I can't imagine you'd get much out of the next few lessons.

**sheogorath** · 10-18-2009 09:55 PM

I am interested in Russian and i am wondering if there is much good music in russian. This is important for me to stick with it, but i cannot find anything that i like. I prefer a rock/metal type, like KoЯn, SOAD, Rammstein. All i can find is garage bands and Tatu. Russian just seems like the perfect language for rock.

**yuriythebest** · 10-19-2009 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by sheogorath

I am interested in Russian and i am wondering if there is much good music in russian. This is important for me to stick with it, but i cannot find anything that i like. I prefer a rock/metal type, like KoЯn, SOAD, Rammstein. All i can find is garage bands and Tatu. Russian just seems like the perfect language for rock.

maaany. I'm no expert by try "sector gaza"

**CanceledCzech** · 10-19-2009 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by yuriythebest

maaany. I'm no expert by try "sector gaza"

Ah, yeah! Dude, Sektor Gaza (Сектор Газа) is really good, how could I forget them?

**CanceledCzech** · 10-20-2009 11:09 PM

Here are some words that will be very familiar to you. These kinds of words are called "cognates".

Лондон
Токио
Амстердам
Мадрид
Санкт Петербург

БАНК
ДОЛЛАР
ПАССПОРТ
БАГАЖ
САН ФРАНЦИСКО
САНТА КЛАРА
КАЛИФОРНИЯ
АМЕРИКА
АНГЛИЯ
АВСТРИЯ

These should be pretty obvious. I probably got the stresses wrong on a few of them but for these words it probably doesn't matter.

Now, listen to this song and follow along with the lyrics:

Spoiler for песня:

I realize this song might be grating to some people. Also, I put it up mostly so you could see the de-voicing of words, mostly in the chorus. This song is a lot slower, a lot easier to listen to, and really shows you the soft consonants.

And now some words for you to listen to:

любовь

только

царь

говорить

центральную европу

And one last thing. If you want to learn Russian hand-writing, then go here.
Russian Hand-Writing
Nola from Only4Russian was awesome enough to make a hand writing version of Шумел Камыш so you can practice that a bit, as well. I recommend learning this, but it's not necessarily vital. Most things you will come across are written in Russian block letters.

Spoiler for Shumel Kamish:

Next lesson we will be biting into the real meat of Russian grammar, and then, your first full vocab list. Удачи!

**Banana** · 10-21-2009 12:20 AM

Ты любишь сиськи?

Я люблю сиськи.

lolz

You should add me to the list since i was technically first. And i really need to actually start learning again. lul

**Lëzen** · 10-21-2009 03:22 AM

Originally Posted by sheogorath

I am interested in Russian and i am wondering if there is much good music in russian. This is important for me to stick with it, but i cannot find anything that i like. I prefer a rock/metal type, like KoЯn, SOAD, Rammstein. All i can find is garage bands and Tatu. Russian just seems like the perfect language for rock.

Then you'll love Kipelov (Кипелов). YouTube it...there's some pretty sick songs, and the Russian they sing is simply beautiful. They kind of remind me of a Russian version of Nevermore.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-21-2009 05:02 AM

Originally Posted by Lëzen

Then you'll love Kipelov (Кипелов). YouTube it...there's some pretty sick songs, and the Russian they sing is simply beautiful. They kind of remind me of a Russian version of Nevermore.

Haha, really weird, earlier today I was thinking about them for some random reason.

**CanceledCzech** · 10-21-2009 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by Banana

Ты любишь сиськи?

Я люблю сиськи.

lolz

You should add me to the list since i was technically first. And i really need to actually start learning again. lul

Haha, I'm gonna do away with that first post, replace it with something better.