Thread: Helpful (I hope) links for beginners to try

Please complain if links are broken. Today all were working for me.

I play .mp3 files with Winamp, .ram with a Realplayer imitation, and video (.wmv, mpg, avi) with Windows media player. If you lack multimedia applications you will have problems with some of this stuff; I have tried to note what kind of files are there.

I have never had a problem with these sites or with downloading files from them -- if you find the pages filled with annoying features or you download a giant virus, don't blame me.

You'll notice I'm obsessed with anything written in Russian with matching audio. That's because I find phonetic transcriptions nearly useless compared to hearing the word spoken. I'm also just a bit obsessive in general.


Pronunciation guide from Reed College. 30 pages of written exercises plus "listen and repeat" mp3 files.

The speaker frequently rustles her papers and sighs. I like that for some reason. Anyway, lots of practice here with the soft consonants and stressed/unstressed vowels (and lots of words to add to your vocabulary.)

http://www.library.reed.edu/lang/russia ... ystem.html
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Also, the main site contains a large chunk of a first-year Russian course in audio, 500 MB of soothing Russian voices, though not much written material.

http://www.library.reed.edu/lang/russia ... 0_f04.html
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English to Russian talking dictionary. When staring at the words isn't enough. Not very extensive. The speaker sounds like his head might be mostly electronic parts, but I am drawn to him regardless.

http://www.livelaughlovelearn.com/gloss/
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If like me, you Russified your computer and don't like the standard Windows Cyrillic layout for the keyboard, you can try a more natural one, so the Russian letters are mostly where your fingers expect them to be (I didn't need to memorize many key placements using this.) Page contains detailed instructions and necessary files. If you're comfortable moving files around on your computer you'll find it painless (and it is easy to undo.)

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage ... /mod_e.htm
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Streaming video - Russian TV. Russian movies, newscasts and documentaries. High-speed connection helps. These links open in Windows Media Player. Not always on 24 hours/day, so if you have trouble connecting try again later.

mms://www.sgutv.ru/hsgutv
http://www.rambler-audio.ru/asx/video/rambler-tv.asx
mms://64.132.55.2/Kino_256
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For help with reading and speaking. Works by Russian authors, with the Russian text, English translation, and audio. Even a Russian text version with the stressed syllables marked, and information about the author and work, if you try all the buttons. Audio is .ram only.

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/russian/R ... thors.html
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Russian alphabet, numbers, phrases etc., with audio (.wma) Written both in Cyrillic and phonetically.

http://www.waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/Russian.html
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Lists of links to a variety of Russian stuff.

http://academic.reed.edu/russian/links.html
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/cr ... tudies.htm
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Russian poetry.

http://lel.khv.ru/poems/poems.phtml
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Introduction to Russian grammar.

http://russian.dmll.cornell.edu/grammar/toc_mac.htm#L3

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Originally Posted by Bex[b

]...You'll notice I'm obsessed with anything written in Russian with matching audio. [/b]...---

It's a good obsession. I think it is the best way to learn.
By the way, have you noticed how many songs and texts with matching audio I placed here: http://masterrussian.net/mforum/viewforum.php?f=7 ? These are all topics I've initiated.

I did actually see those Thanks

Thanks for all the links!