Thread: How & Why Did You Start To Learn Russian ?

It's a simple question, I know. I started learning Russian 6 months ago and I'm hooked on it. I go to Russian websites, listen to Russian music, eat at Russian restaurants ... I just love it. Funny thing is that I'm of African-American origin (Haitian) and ALL my friends are stunned and surprised that a 'black' person would want to study Russian.

I want to know, what got you hooked, why are you studying the languages and if you are studying "Modern Languages", what other languages do you study.

Thank you.

Well..I've always liked learning languages, and then came the time to pick a study (or to go to work, but I wasn't ready for that yet..and still not ) and so I chose 'russian' at the translation university, because basically that was the greatest challenge and the language that appealed to me most.

(Wow..I explained it all in one sentence.. )

Axystos.

Wasn't there a real book with like seven sentences in it?

I started Russian because so many of my friends speak Russian that I feel awkward when they talk, as my boyfriend now is Russian I think it will make things alot easier. Impress him... =)

I picked Russian because it looked difficult.

I was correct

So I see you wanted to have a challenge. Now that you know it's hard what do you think?

I am enjoying it so far, and the fact that it is difficult just makes it more rewarding, though it's not nearly as difficult as I imagined. The only other language I can speak is Japanese though, and I think anything else would seem easy after that

Learning new vocabulary is the most difficult thing for me, but the grammar of the language is very straight-forward if you know the rules. I actually find pronunciation surprisingly easy and natural, (I spoke briefly to a colleague in our Moscow office recently and he didn't realise I wasn't Russian until I told him). I guess that could be because I am Scottish, my speach patterns are already well suited to Russian (trilled "R"s et al)

One thing I have learned, both from learning Russian and Japanese, is how little I actually know about my own language. I am so glad I am a native English speaker, because I would hate to have to learn it as a foreign language.

I basically need it for my profession. Sometimes I end up with flight instructions in Russian. Thank god my co-pilot can usually speak it well enough to get us down safely.

i'm a frenchy and my future wife is russian. We live in France and she's learning french but i also want to learn her langage. I buy a book for that (ASSIMIL method) but i'm looking on the net other way to learn.
i'm watching russian TV but i'm a beginner and i'm only catch words some time to time.
But i will speak russian one day !!!!!

g'day, i started learning a couple of months ago after i read war and peace...i am now hooked on russian lit and want to be able to read it in its native tongue.
Cya
Luv Gin

I'm just a ployglott - I love languages...

I studied German, Spanish and French at University, I speak them all reasonably fluently now, and I wanted more!

I had always been interested in learning a language with a different alphabet, and well, when people ask you to name a language with a different alphbet, what is the usual answer?

And here we are!!!!

Phil.

Yah I like learning languages too. I speak English, French, Malayalam and can read and speak small amounts of Arabic and Hindi. Russian seemed very interesting to me and it still is. I just wish I knew a lot more of it.

I've always loved and been fascinated by languages,
What has always drawn my attention is the independent unique musical quality each language possesses, in fact I occasionally find myself listening to radio programs in languages I can't understand but whose aesthetic values I enjoy while doing other things (for example: Welsh, Hebrew, etc).
And so when I began to learn Russian it was most out of appreciation for its sound qualities, of which I like to describe as being deep and resonating.
I think I'd call Russian a cello, while French for instance would be a flute (an instrument I find irritatingly annoying.)

Well,I just love languages and I have tons of friends that're russian. I hate it when they speak russian because I can't understand them so I started to learn it. It's going quite well but they speak quite fast,I'm happy if I get some of the sentences :P

Well I live in austraila so anything got to do with russia is like uncommon but basicly I wanted to learn a 2nd language that used a different alphabet I tryed Japinese and i'm like WTF 3000 Kanji letters.... F.u.c.k. this so I moved onto russian but Im hooked now iv'e been doing it for 2 years but i have only actually started going a bit more indepth in the last 2 weeks

(Sorry about the swearing, im austrailan... it comes natrually)

Originally Posted by Sinister_Cleric

(Sorry about the swearing, im austrailan... it comes natrually)

Only to some.

I'm very interested in learning russian. I have a russian girlfriend and she's helping me learn. I now know tons of words and try to practice learning something new everyday. But the verbs...I only know a few verbs and that's becuz I hear them all the time. The language is very hard but I like it cuz it's a challenge. Does any body know some cool website to go for russian vocabulary and verbs conjugation.

Thanks

Of course, it is Masterrussian

I started properly only a few months ago, although i did a few months last year on my own. I give up because i found without external help i was getting no-where. Now that i have found a tutor i am really back into it with a vengence.
I started my interest in the language because of a girl. I'm still hooked on her too.

I started learning Russian like 9-10 months ago i think or is it 8 I'm not sure. I started learning because of a girl (she was Ukrainain) i didn't know that until when i started learning the language. anyway she came to our class one day in junior high 7th grade i believe, she always said she was russian from kiev.

from then on i started learning more about the history, the map of russia, the culture etc. One of the things that i loved about russia was the power of the CCCP the weapons, the nuclear arsenal, the fact that russia was a mysterious country to the US it was bad, and a reluctant friend. im in 12th grade now and last summer i started learning russian because i was so facinated with the culture,language,history, and everything (im obssesed about Russia even) so i thought "well what is the best thing to do if i love russia so much.......i know learn the language" my friend had taught me how to count in russian and how to say привет,как дела?, back in 7th grade but i wanted to understand russians and findone to be my friend (i havent seen any russians here in anaheim where i live, so i have to look for them)

at first i found a site www.bbcrussian.com and i heard it and honestly i didnt like it, i was actually disapointed that such a great country had such an upleasant sounding language. never the less i started learning it, as i knew more and as i got used to the sound i started loving it, now to me russian is one of the most beutiful languages ive ever heard. the reason why i thought it was kinda ugly at first is because it some what resembled how mexican-indians (not from india but the native tribes) speak spanish (but know it sounds so beutiful that i kinda wonder why it sounded like that at first when it is nothing like that ......oh well)

like i said before now i love it and im hooked on it

by the way im Mexican (i was born in the US though) i speak Spanish
and English fluently and now i can understand russian to some extent and have a conversation with some one (but im not fluent in it yet)
because i speak spanish i can understand portuguese, a little of italian, some words in french, so another one of the reasons is that i didnt want to learn an easy language like the ones i named above but a different language so russian is perfect for me.