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I wondered this when I started studying the language... my book started me off with the Cyrillic alphabet, and then immediately wanted me to learn how to read/write script too. Do people in Russia write in script a lot, or is it used a lot in Russian materials, etc?
I guess I just found it strange because even though American schools still teach cursive handwriting, I don't see it used often over here (except for the older generation).
Well, nowadays people do not write at all, they type. :) But when Russians do write by hand, they use cursive 95% of time.
I don't see how it can be useful for a beginner, though, unless you're going to correspond with some Russian penpal by writing actual letters.. like, you know, on paper.
Cursive is also often used for decorative purposes (in postcards, signs, sometimes even in books - for titles and such), but again you most likely have to come to Russia to stumble across it.
+1
When people are taught how to write in schools they are taught to read and write cursive.
If you're not going to write by hand or read handwritings of other people you probably don't need to learn the cursive.
On the other hand, two points:
1) if you use written exercises in your Russian studies, cursive is better than "handwritten printed letters".
2) Often Russian printed/typed text in italics resembles cursive, not printed. A 't' often appears more similar to m than to т. So at least knowing cursive is useful.
I find that Russian leaners' books tend to present a very elaborate form of cursive, which not many Russians use.
No, but it's just a standard, a pattern. Once you know it you can make all the variations you want. My handwriting is far from what I was taught in school, and it was impossible to match the patterns from the get-go because I am left handed. I finally ended up writing more or less vertically, and I don't connect many of my letters, either!
So, do you type your food shopping list into the computer, or do you hand-letter it on a scrap of paper, or do you actually WRITE it?
Спасибо :)
I guess I will worry about it later on, as I have enough to learn with the grammar as it is. I really like the way the cyrillic alphabet looks in its standard/typewritten form, though... would Russians laugh at me if I wrote like that? Would it look uneducated/inelegant?
I spend a good amount of time visiting local russian stores; knowing cursive/script is very handy. A lot of times shops have hand written signs, and a fair amount of food products use "fancy" lettering that can be a mix of print and script...
Unfortunately, you will have to learn to at least read Russian cursive because a lot of stuff will be written that way, at least occasionally, where ever you go and what ever you read, billboards advertising, textbooks, newspapers, novels, etc.. The cause, I put down to Russian inefficiency. In Russian schools they teach kids to read block letters in text books but at the same time write in cursive by hand from day one, instead of teaching kids to read first, and then later on teach them to write cursive when they have already managed to write in print as they do in most English speaking countries. (Except in Amerika where they are sometimes forgetting to teach cursive at all!!!)Therefore, as adults in Russia, there can be much confusion in understanding what someone has written on legal forms and medical records or anything at all really, especially if someone has messy handwriting in script.
Written and recorded by DDT & Possum: over and out: end of transmission
Nonsense, if you ask me. :) I don't see any sense in that system.Quote:
In Russian schools they teach kids to read block letters in text books but at the same time write in cursive by hand from day one, instead of teaching kids to read first, and then later on teach them to write cursive when they have already managed to write in print as they do in most English speaking countries.
Moreover, Russian kids usually don't have problems with learning English cursive at school (exactly because they are used to writing in cursive), while englishs-peaking adults keep complaining how hard it is to learn. So I'd say Russian system of writing in cursive "from day one" beats you "block-letters" system easily.
PS. Many kids who come to school already know how to read and write in block letters anyway, so it doesn't matter. Also I can write in cursive since I was five and it didn't make my handwriting any messier.
Not how hard it is to learn but how hard it is to write neatly and read. Even Russians can't read it half the time!Quote:
while englishs-peaking adults keep complaining how hard it is to learn.
Learning Russian cursive is just as important as learning English cursive. Without being able to read it you won't understand signs, teacher notes on the blackboard, or handwritten letters and cards from friends. Also printing is very slow, you'll take faster notes if you can write in cursive. It's easy to learn if you just buy a childrens' penmanship textbook or notebook. Get the kind that has the arrows on the lines of each letter, showing how to make the strokes. Take tracing paper (onionskin paper) and practice tracing over the letters. You'll be writing in no time!