Thread: Newbie here

Hello,

My name is Gunther, but I'll go by the Russian Гунтер. From what I can tell by searching Google, this is my name in Russian. Correct me if it's wrong, please.

I've been reading the forums for awhile and finally decided to commit to learning some of the language. I'm entering my third year of college German and was concerned about taking up another language because I was afraid it might interfere with my German. I may not get the opportunity to take any Russian classes so I'll probably be doing the Russian on my own. Being a bio sci major minoring in German makes it difficult to squeeze in extra classes and still graduate in four years.

Здравствуйте, Гунтер,

There are lots of us here doing the language on our own. Many are using the Penguin New Russian Course in combination with some method to get pronounciation (Pimsleur, exposure to native speakers [obviously better], other audio courses). The folks here are great. Your knowledge of German will likely help you understand the structure of the grammar.

Good luck.

Ёу ёу. Как оно ?

Neat! I'm a EE major double majoring in German. I would say that if you like learning languages, it should be no problem to learn them at the same time. That is, if you're trying to learn two or more languages by yourself, it might get a little hard, but I never had a problem learning languages in school and a different one at home. A lot of people think you'll get them mixed up but I never had that problem.

About your name in Russian, Гунтер is the name "Gunther" transliterated into Russian(the same name written with the Russian alphabet). Russian doesn't have an "equivalent" name. For example, what do you say when someone named Audrey asks you "What's my name in German?"

BTW, if you actually have Russian classes at your university, I encourage you to take some. You don't know how lucky you are! My university, sadly enough, has none

I still hope to work a few Russian classes into my schedule in the next year. It just won't be very easy considering that I would have to take several classes in summer school which probably wouldn't be available during the summer anyway because of the low demand. I know my university doesn't offer Russian over the summer.

ei gunther.. do u go to UC davis? i was about to go to that college too this fall season but i decided to go somewhere else.. anyways your lucky that your school offers the Russian Language.. thats very cool!!! u wont have a hard time to look for places where they teach it.. as for my school, they only teach spanish, japanese, german, french and latin.. which sucks because i wanted to learn russian than those other ones. well, good luck!!! im sure you will learn lots of russian.

Yep, go Aggies! Languages at UCD include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hebrew, modern and classical Greek, Japanese, Tagalog, Latin, French, Spanish, German, and probably a couple others I can't remember.

Where did you decide to go Bratan?

I dont see the big deal about taking summer classes. Since 80% of the students are gone, classes are usually alot easier, and the proffessors a bit more relaxed. Also... There is no quicker way to graduate in 4 years than take a few extra classes in the summer.

You missed my point Dogboy. The classes I need may not even be offered in the summer so I may not have much of a choice.

I missed it indeed. Good thing i wasn't aiming for an apple on your head.


Good luck with russian, if it's what you want to do, i'm sure you'll find a way !

Originally Posted by Dogboy182

Good luck with russian, if it's what you want to do, i'm sure you'll find a way !

Or die trying!

Originally Posted by Гунтер

Yep, go Aggies! Languages at UCD include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hebrew, modern and classical Greek, Japanese, Tagalog, Latin, French, Spanish, German, and probably a couple others I can't remember.

Where did you decide to go Bratan?

hey there drook (friend).. :P i have decided to go to uc san pablo instead, hehehe.. its alot near my home and if i had to go to uc davis i would have had to rent a dorm or whatsoever. wow! ur school has lots of stuff.. ur so lucky. and you are right about summer classes, some classes are not available for summer classes. i think this policy is same for all colleges.. even mine too. bcos teachers want to go out on a vacation and have fun, not to teach! So, have u started with Russian yet?

UC San Pablo? The last time I knew, these were the UC's.

Berkeley
Davis
Irvine
Los Angeles
Merced (still under construction?)
Riverside
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Santa Cruz

I have started "Russian for Beginners" by Duff and Makaroff. I think it was Pravit who said it is a bit boring and fast-paced and I think he's right, but at least it is better than most books available. I'm still trying to see if I can get a copy of the New Penguin course since I've heard such glowing reviews.

The classes I need which aren't offered in the summer are mostly upper division science classes. Lower division classes like general chemistry and organic chemistry are available all year, but I only have one more o-chem class and that's it. I hate o-chem.

Hmmm...question here. I've found that the Russian equivalent of my name is usually spelled Гюнтер instead of Гунтер. I know that the moderators have rules about having more than one account but I was wondering if it might be okay for me to register under Гюнтер and then have this account I'm on deleted. I like this spelling more because it is a more authentic way of reproducing my name in Russian and it just sounds better.

For the second time, [b]there is no Russian equivalent of the name G

Originally Posted by Гунтер

UC San Pablo? The last time I knew, these were the UC's.

Berkeley
Davis
Irvine
Los Angeles
Merced (still under construction?)
Riverside
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Santa Cruz

I have started "Russian for Beginners" by Duff and Makaroff. I think it was Pravit who said it is a bit boring and fast-paced and I think he's right, but at least it is better than most books available. I'm still trying to see if I can get a copy of the New Penguin course since I've heard such glowing reviews.

The classes I need which aren't offered in the summer are mostly upper division science classes. Lower division classes like general chemistry and organic chemistry are available all year, but I only have one more o-chem class and that's it. I hate o-chem.

yeah u wouldnt know uc san pablo because its actually called CCC, but some people call it uc san pablo just for fun. lolz btw did u learn the alphabet yet? im still trying to learn it, i mean there are still some weird spots.. but the rest is fine.

Actually, yes we have year round summer courses. And now I'm not attending any college, but i think since i probly can't go to russia anymore i'm going to take a few russian classes at the Jr college down the street.
(Green river community college) It's no university, but it's a start.

were u planning to go to russia? but why cant you go there anymore? im sorry to hear that. it would have been really cool if you got to go there.

Yea, for like a year. But im having a hard time getting a visa, and, this whole "4 terrorist attacks in a row" isn't helping.

My mom didn't want me to go anyways, and she's using it as a perfect excuse to not let me go.

where are u living right now? if u dont mind me asking what was ur purpose to go to Russia, well besides getting to know the country.. u see i would love to go to russia too but right now, i cant because of school.. i think its like how my sister went to England.. she had a hard time going there because when she reached england from the USA, they asked her so many questions as if they expected her to be some terrorist just because she came from usa...