Thread: Why you study Russian? Survey and comments...

Please take the survey to indicate your reasons for studying Russian, and write something to explain/clarify!

That's a very well-designed poll.

Check out this one on the same topic. It has almost 4000 responses.
http://masterrussian.com/aa120999a.shtml

My father and his side of the family are russian [:

для удовольствия!

for the hell of it!

(do Russians have a phrase equivalent to "for the hell of it"?)

do Russians have a phrase equivalent to "for the hell of it"?)

Просто так.

I was originally only studying it for my foreign language requirement, but I have grown to like it so much that it is now my college major. I hope to work as a translator within a US government agency (CIA, FBI, NSA, etc.).

do Russians have a phrase equivalent to "for the hell of it"?)

Originally Posted by Marcus

Просто так.

От нечего делать.

I need multiple check boxes. Here are my reasons.

I don't currently study at the university, but I did.
I admire Russian culture in general (music, art, film..)
I am interested in Russian (and USSR) history.
I think Russian sounds cool and I like Cyrillic letters...
Other: I want to communicate with a Russian-speaking person.

I think the poll questions omitted one obvious choice: A sense of religious connection with Russia. This does not describe me, but over the years I've met a few Americans who began to study Russian because they felt strongly drawn to "Eastern Orthodox Christianity."

Originally Posted by krwright13

I was originally only studying it for my foreign language requirement, but I have grown to like it so much that it is now my college major.

Many moons ago, I was a biology major who decided to take a few semesters of Russian "to fulfill the foreign language requirement"... but I ended up switching my major to Russian!

I think the poll questions omitted one obvious choice: A sense of religious connection with Russia. This does not describe me, but over the years I've met a few Americans who began to study Russian because they felt strongly drawn to "Eastern Orthodox Christianity."

There is no obvious connection between Orthodox Christianity and the Russian language.

It says you can choose more than one, but you can't...

I chose the one about literature in the original, but it is only one of my reasons, and none of the others are on the list...

I need a hobby, food for the brain. Language learning is perfect.
I have Russian-speaking contacts, friends and neighbours, whom I'd like to understand better.
I love languages.

And additional reasons to continue:
I have come to like some Russian bands
Runet has much to offer.

Here are my reasons, which I'll enter in the poll if it becomes multi-optional.. (right now it only lets me choose one option)
1. My family has Russian roots, which were lost when my great-grandfather came here (he wouldn't even tell his own family why he left; just that we were Russian, and once lived in Minsk.)
2. Ever since I was a kid, America has had a really.. funny attitude, about Russia.. first when I was very young or looking at media from before my time, there was a mistrust toward Russia/USSR and a distaste for communistic theory. Neither sentiment did *I* ever trust so I wanted to know more about Russia, to see for myself that these sentiments were foolish.. (I'm now 100% sure they were foolish sentiments, and they'd misrepresented Russia to me in my childhood.)
3. Many people think French is the most beautiful language, but for me it's the sound of Russian that melts my ears' heart; I think it's the most beautiful language to listen to spoken that there is on Earth.. second I'd put Icelandic and Germanic languages, but first is definitely the Russian language.
4. Russian sentiment about dealing with their middle position on the globe, on having an understanding of the good and bad parts of their neighbors, as opposed to a blunt and racist understanding of them, could be the key to the US better understanding some groups of people that we seem to poorly understand - the general communities of muslim nations, and the far east, to be specific.. If the US were as tolerant, well-informed and understanding of these groups as the Russians are (politically), the world would be a more peaceful place. I wanted to see these things through Russian eyes.
5. It's simply the biggest country in the world - большой страны. To know the language of the biggest country in the world has to broaden one's horizons and increase one's options.
6. Russian people are NOT american, nor nearly as influenced by Americanization (yet) as they sometimes think they are. They still possess a lot of the strength in their community's personality that many other nations have lost.There are a lot of lessons for me to learn from people like this, from financial and political to moral.
7. I know the local Repubs at the golf tavern would tar and feather me for admitting it, but I'm not always sure I want to stay here forever.. I think I'd really like to live in Russia, even knowing that there are hardships and mitigating factors involved. Russian people are always mis-portrayed as being cold and unfeeling, but my experience is the opposite, and I'd be honored to be amongst them in my future old age.
8. If I couldn't or can't do #7, I'd at least like to work with the Russian language in some way, and be of some benefit to slavic people.

I think Russian sounds cool and I like Cyrillic letters...
Other: I want to communicate with a Russian-speaking person

for love reasons too lol

Originally Posted by bitpicker

It says you can choose more than one, but you can't...

I chose the one about literature in the original, but it is only one of my reasons, and none of the others are on the list...

I need a hobby, food for the brain. Language learning is perfect.
I have Russian-speaking contacts, friends and neighbours, whom I'd like to understand better.
I love languages.

And additional reasons to continue:
I have come to like some Russian bands
Runet has much to offer.

Good feedback, I will see if it is possible to modify the poll. I agree with most of your reasons.

Edit - it is not possible to change it. We will have to fit the comments here instead.

FYI, we have a feature on Top 10 reasons to learn Russian.

FYI, we have a feature on Top 10 reasons to learn Russian.

Well, it is interesting what real people think, not abstract reasons.

Originally Posted by Marcus

Well, it is interesting what real people think, not abstract reasons.

Are you surprised by the reasons, or is it what you would have thought?

I am surprised that so many people are seriously studying Russian just in preparation for a holiday. I would never bother learning a language just for the sake of one holiday.

Are you surprised by the reasons, or is it what you would have thought?

Well, I'm surprised by kikdboom's view: it's very romantic (is it the right word?). Your view of the Russian language is also rather romantic. I don't know if you have changed your mind significantly, but it the Russian language seemed unusual, dissimilar to other languages and even a little mysterious to you. It's always very nice to read you, although you are sometimes wrong (in this question). For example, you wrote that Russian had a very difficult grammar, which is used to express the idea which is expressed by diffferent words in other languages, that it had very different word order, intonation than Germanic and Romance languages, which you always put together. Sometimes I would like to get a more specified opinion: with examples, explanations in order to understand your logic.

I am surprised

So am I.

Well, in Sweden, you are automatically considered clever if you know Russian. Suits me fine, LOL!!!
Nobody is impressed by skills in English, German or French because they are less difficult to learn, and more common.

Back in the days of compulsory military service, they used to IQ test the guys when they registered for the service. Those who had the highest IQ and who ideally had studied Russian in school, were given training, and then sent to a military base where they worked with decryption etc for two years. This type of military service was considered among the most prestigious, and one of the side effects is that the person can understand Russian quite well. LOL!!! Not sure if this still goes on, or if it stopped in the 90s. Just today I was reminded of this, as a colleague mentioned that he had done exactly this type of military service. He happens to be a virtual genius. (In case this annoys anyone; he also said that he did literally nothing for his entire military service, since he did not consider the USSR an enemy. So he just sat around for two years... )