That's the phonetics for "I speak Russian badly".
I was very lucky and found a Russian Interpreter at work that was willing to give lessons and I had my first one last week. Wow--it is going to be difficult to learn. I am so looking forward to being able to use it when I am in Kaz--I am hoping they will speak Russian where I am going because I don't know anyone to teach Kazakh.
My teacher, Olga, reviewed the language books she found at Barnes and Noble and picked the one she thought taught the language the best. It is called "Beginner's Russian" by Rachel Farmer and comes with a CD package so you can actually hear how the words are pronounced.
The first lesson was learning the alphabet and memorizing some easy words--that means words that are similiar sounding to English. My biggest problem is that I can not roll my r's--my tongue just won't do it. Olga says you have to roll your r's to sound Russian. Oh well--if I can sound like an American that speaks the language, that will be good enough. Wish me luck as I continue on this endeavor.
Matt and Suzanne spoke about the time in a restaurant when they mistakenly told a waiter he was handsome--who knows, maybe I'll be better at flirting in Russian than I am in English. That would be a bonus!
Here is an address for a great on-line lesson site.
http://www.russianlessons.net/lessons/getting_started.php
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Learning the alphabet will be so helpful - everything else is bonus. With the alphabet you will be able to read street signs & names of restaurants :) Focus on useful phrases & words and don't stress on the grammar. I had fun taking classes, I hope you enjoy it! We were in Kaz so long my Russian got better & better and i found myself wishing I had more time to develop it. Good luck!
Ya nimnoga gavaryoo pa-roosky! (I speak a little Russian).
Isn't it a gorgeous language? I'm loving it. I'n only about 9 weeks into a class, and 6 lessons into my Pimsleur CDs. But I can now actually form sentences! For whatever reason, it took us forever to get to the verbs. So I was just walking around with all these random nouns in my head. But we're conjugating away now. Woo-hoo!
That is great that you are trying to learn Russian. I am finding the book Russian in 10 Minutes A Day helpful for good travel basics. Also Rosetta Stone is a great learning tool. I think I have learned the most from this program. The class I took at the community college used The New Penguin Russian Course book by Nicholas J. Brown. This is a great book for learning the grammar and putting it all together. But the best practice will be over in Kaz :) Hope your wait won't be too long.
This is so great. I have started looking into what I could purchase to help learn the language - I'm glad to see the advice on what might be worthwhile.
Thanks.
Darlene
We learned how to count, the alphabet and important phrases before traveling to Russia to adopt Noah. It was very helpful and we got along well. We still remember everything two years later for our trip to Kaz.
Good for you Mary! Guess we should be starting to learn some Russian as well. I was glad to hear that your dossier is at the MOE!
Yea, I wouldn't worry about sounding Russian. Just focus on the basics - getting what you want and being able to read signs. I speak at a beg/intermediate level and I still have to sound out words like an elementary school kid just learning how to read. It is a VERY challenging and complex language. That's terrific that you are taking some time to learn the language. I think this will make your time that much easier and more special!
Too funny, I could never roll my R's either nor can I do the guttural thing that the dutch do. Good for you learning some Russian!
We have really enjoyed learning Russian via the Pimsleur audio CDs. We are on the Russian II set, about halfway through. I think it will be a big help, although I know we will find ourselves frustrated many more times than not. Another GREAT web site is www.mangolanguages.com
how is the Russian going? Hoping that we will travel at the same time so that you can interpret!
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