Thread: Which of these is right?

Originally Posted by Medved

E-learner, you might find it amusing to learn about the difference between "speak a language" vs "speak in a language".
Yes I can speak Russian but I cannot speak in Russian right now.

..."Can you speak English?" might be interpreted sometimes as meaning "Could you speak English?" rather than "Are you capable of speaking English?"
Do you speak English =Can you speak English? - WordReference Forums

So, in certain contexts "Вы можете говорить по-русски?" is a good translation of "Can you speak Russian?"