Thread: Why do you choose to learn Russian?

Originally Posted by Platinum

Let me ask my question in a different way. Perhaps you already answered it, but anyway...

I want to learn Bulgaria AND Russian. Since I'm going to Bulgaria in 2 months (and staying there for 1 month), should I switch my studies to hard-core Bulgarian? So far I know almost zero Bulgarian. I know a few words, but that's all. Or should I just stick with Russian and deal with Bulgarian later? In two months of learning Russian I can't yet communicate well, but I know some basics.

I'm guessing in two months of learning Bulgarian, I'll be about where I am now in Russian.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just new at this learning-a-language game. Still trying to figure it all out.

I'd try and switch to Bulgarian. I am sure there are some books out there. You already have some recognition vocabulary due to your Russian studies, plus Bulgarian grammar should be a lot easier for you, so you'll probably be further along than you are now with Russian.
You can always continue with your Russian studies once you come back.

You're probably right. "Total fluency" is almost impossible to do. I think a person can become "fluent enough" in any language, but only if he/she is in that country. I'm surprised to know that you found communicating with people easier than reading English. For the record, I think your written (typed) English is VERY good. Honestly, I cannot tell a difference in your English compared to a native speaker.

How old were you when you started learning English? I think there are several factors involved. For example, my wife came to America at the age of 17, with NO knowledge of English. Since she was in complete immersion, with virtually nobody to talk to in Bulgarian, she was "fluent" within 1 year. Even today (7 years after coming to America), her accent is not very strong. You can tell that maybe she's not from America, but only if you listen carefully. The funny thing is...other native Bulgarian speakers have said that her Bulgarian is not good anymore. She has an "American" accent when she speaks her native tongue. I think that's strange, but understandable.

I was 13-14 when I started learning English. I didn't think that I would get so interested in English at the time. Thanks for the praise of my English. When I was in Canada this summer there was a boy from Saudi Arabia who came to Canada with no knowledge of English. The only two words he knew were 'yes' and 'no'. I'm not exaggerating! When I came to Toronto he had been there for about two months. When I first talked to him I thought he had been studying English for something like a year or even more. He knew a lot of words, which allowed him to communicate with others. His grammar was not as good as his vocabulary but the main point is that he could quite easily communicate with both Canadiens and us, foreigners. It's impressive. The reason why my written English looks pretty good to you is probably because I mostly write what I'm sure of. If you ask me to write an article about the recent events in Pakistan for a newspaper I'll probably bomb. I'm not familar with such language. I mean formal language.

Let me ask my question in a different way. Perhaps you already answered it, but anyway...

I want to learn Bulgaria AND Russian. Since I'm going to Bulgaria in 2 months (and staying there for 1 month), should I switch my studies to hard-core Bulgarian? So far I know almost zero Bulgarian. I know a few words, but that's all. Or should I just stick with Russian and deal with Bulgarian later? In two months of learning Russian I can't yet communicate well, but I know some basics.

I'm guessing in two months of learning Bulgarian, I'll be about where I am now in Russian.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just new at this learning-a-language game. Still trying to figure it all out.

Because you have managed to learn the basics of Russian in just about two months you could start learning - that is, continue learning Bulgarian a month before your trip. You will have learned a bit less that you have learned in Russian by that time but you will learn much more while in Bulgaria. If you are not shy or something in Bulgaria you will find at the end of your stay there that your Bulgarian has improved greatly compared to the level you were at when you arrived.

You can always continue with your Russian studies once you come back.

I read in some article concering learning a foreign language that you shouldn't drop a foreign language for more than a month so you don't start forgetting it. I think you should remember that.

Sounds good to me.

Here's another funny thing. I used to know some Bulgarian in the U.S. Their English was not very good, but understandable. I found myself, when talking to them, speaking very poor, broken English. I subconsciously felt that they could understand me better if I spoke bad English, like they could. I really knew that they understood me well when I spoke "real" English. It just was contagious!

There's a guy from Vietman in my class in university and he speaks pretty bad Russian. Therefore, we have to use comparatively simple words when speaking to him. But we don't speak broken Russian to him as he may begin using some incorrect things thinking they're correct because we said so.

Originally Posted by ReDSanchous

I read in some article concering learning a foreign language that you shouldn't drop a foreign language for more than a month so you don't start forgetting it. I think you should remember that.

Hmmmm...interesting thought. Maybe as I begin my hard-core Bulgarian studies tonight, I can review my russian vocabulary perhaps once a week.
And you're right, total immersion forces a person to learn a language at an incredible rate.

Originally Posted by ReDSanchous

There's a guy from Vietman in my class in university and he speaks pretty bad Russian. Therefore, we have to use comparatively simple words when speaking to him. But we don't speak broken Russian to him as he may begin using some incorrect things thinking they're correct because we said so.

Yes, of course. I didn't mean to use broken ENglish. I think it was just that I was hearing broken English and it made me want to speak that way. Maybe I'm just wierd. Probably that's the case.

It's a great shame you cannot go on talking to natives after coming back. If you don't write down what you gained during your stay you are highly likely to forget it in some time. Neither in Canada nor in Britain could they teach me something I hadn't learned in Russia. Apart from some phrases, words etc. But they were crucial. Hardly any teachers (except for native English speakers and some very good Russian teachers) can teach you such things here in Russia. If you knew Bulgarian pretty well you would also find that a lot of things you've heard (I mean after you've gotten back) do not comply with 'formal/official grammar. It is always so. There are only a few textbooks that say something about real language. Textbooks that show real examples.

Originally Posted by ReDSanchous

It's a great shame you cannot go on talking to natives after coming back. If you don't write down what you gained during your stay you are highly likely to forget it in some time. Neither in Canada nor in Britain could they teach me something I hadn't learned in Russia. Apart from some phrases, words etc. But they were crucial. Hardly any teachers (except for native English speakers and some very good Russian teachers) can teach you such things here in Russia. If you knew Bulgarian pretty well you would also find that a lot of things you've heard (I mean after you've gotten back) do not comply with 'formal/official grammar. It is always so. There are only a few textbooks that say something about real language. Textbooks that show real examples.

Are you talking about native Bulgarian speakers? I will have TOTAL access to one...my wife! Yeah, she's rusty, but she's still a native speaker. Maybe I will abandon Russian temporarily until I'm very good at Bulgarian. I'll definately be able to practice more and more Bulgarian. I always wanted to speak Bulgarian in our home. Otherwise the children will soon forget the Bulgarian they learned these 4 months in Bulgaria.

I was talking in general. Don't worry too much over she's rusty or not. I am positive that she's a lot better than any non-native Bulgarian teacher in the States. Of course, abandon Russian temporarily if you need Bulgarian in the immediate future.

Maybe I will abandon Russian temporarily until I'm very good at Bulgarian.

It will surely take a lot of time. I think more than a year. Though it depends what you mean by 'until I'm VERY good at..." Do you mean 'close to total fluency'? I think it all depends on you. I sometimes hear embassodors to Russia speak Russian and they surprise me. They sometimes speak pretty poor Russian. They have a very good chance to master a new language since they live in the country this language's spoken in but they don't want or don't need to jump at this chance.

Originally Posted by Platinum

Maybe I will abandon Russian temporarily until I'm very good at Bulgarian.

Abandon Russian Fine, just don't abandon us!

Wow...

I finish work, go to the pub, get back and this thread is onto 3 pages!!! I have very sneekely managed to get hold of the pimsleur course; lessons 1, 2 and 3, so am hoping that will do me a lot of good.

As for useage - maybe I will. I mean for example I think I will be joining the RAF after my travelling, which one of my mates uses in the RAF - intelligence I think. Maybe it will be useful, but I guess probably not.

thast said, hopefully I'm going to get all skyped up, off to a uni course and *hopefully* wil be able to at least communictae with Russians./

Apologies for any drunkard vocab/language, but ...I'm a little drunk. However...nothing compared to the vodka you drink in Russia I'm sure!!

Andy

At first, I actually didn't really want to learn Russian, but I told my friends that I thought Cyrillic was awesome.

Apparently, one of my friends misinterpreted this, and bought me a "Learn Russian" book for my birthday...

After that, I became interested in learning it -_-

Well I would like to learn Russian eventually. I hope to travel to Russia and most of eastern Europe, and I just love how it sounds.

Originally Posted by andrewsco

I'm just interested to hear why you have chosen to learn Russian?

Am I crazy?

Andrew

I have learned Russian because I did not have a choice. Learning Russian, which is very difficult to master and used by a decreasingly small portion of the world, when you have a choice and no practical reason to know it, is OK. Memorizing a telephone book is OK too, if you have the time and find it entertaining enough.

The reason why I leant Russian is that I am native Russian and nothing can beat this fact. I think that I mastered it at the very early age. Suprisingly, I think that I love English more than Russian.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Abandon Russian Fine, just don't abandon us!

Sniff......I'm touched. I'm glad to know I'm loved around here. Sniff sniff...

Ha ha. Thanks. Don't worry, I won't abandon ya! After all, I will be coming back to learning Russian soon enough. I'll probably brush up on my little russian from time to time, so I don't totally lose it. Thanks all for your advise!

Originally Posted by ReDSanchous

I was talking in general. Don't worry too much over she's rusty or not. I am positive that she's a lot better than any non-native Bulgarian teacher in the States.

I agree completely.

Of course, abandon Russian temporarily if you need Bulgarian in the immediate future.

I think that's my plan for now.

It will surely take a lot of time. I think more than a year. Though it depends what you mean by 'until I'm VERY good at..." Do you mean 'close to total fluency'?

I'm "eventually" after total fluency. But I'll be satisfied with enough to communicate rather easily and be able to read and write at a moderate level.

The reason why I leant Russian is that I am native Russian and nothing can beat this fact. I think that I mastered it at the very early age. Suprisingly, I think that I love English more than Russian.

I have the same reason. Furthermore, it sometimes seems to me that I like English better than Russian as well. But it seldom lasts longer than a couple of secs I think Russian is a great deal tougher than English.

Platinum, we seem to often share our interests and plans...

Why on Earth do people like English better than Russian, I can't for the life of me figure it out. Is it because it makes it easier to communicate with the world? Or do you actually like the sound, the expressions, etc.?

in Russian you have alot more freedom in expressing yourself, a much bigger vocabulary, a powerhouse of artistic potentiality! Yes, it is harder, but that is what makes it so much more rewarding to know it!