Thread: Looking for language exchange

Hi, Kevin. I'm gonna start with translation.

Сегодня я лучше почувствую. Я спал всю ночь. Сейчас я мало практиковаю в письме, затем работаю. - - Действительно, сейчас в работе... после того, что я пишу!
Today I feel better. I slept the whole night. Now I’ll practice in a letter, then work. - - Actually, got to go to work now…haha…after that, I’ll write!
Сегодня я чувствую себя лучше. (when it goes about health we say чувствовать себя) Я спал всю ночь. (!) Сейчас я попрактикуюсь в этом письме, а потом буду работать. Вообще-то, я сейчас должен идти на работу. А после работы я опять напишу.

Я закончил с работой. Простите, что я прежде вытянул с моим обяснением. Я постарался, что я был ясно с моими словами. Возможно в будушем, тоже, я мог бы решиться, что общаюсь по скайпу. Прежде этого похождения то, что мне нужен попрактиковать.
I finished with work. Forgive me that I dragged out my explanations. I tried to be clear with my words. In time, also, I could decide to communicate by Skype. Before that adventure it’s necessary for me to practice.
Я закончил работу. Простите, что я так растянул свои пояснения. Я попытался как можно яснее изложить свои мысли. Возможно, в будущем я тоже решу (решусь) общаться по скайпу. (решить = to make a decision, it’s neutral, while решиться = to make a decision after hesitation and indecision. So it’s up to you to choose, решу or решусь.)

Жаль, про вашего кота! Как вы поживали? Мне не нравиться коты. По крайней мере вам возможно то, что вы его удалили. Страшно Об собак моей сестры, мне нравиться один, а другой нет. Она просто упрямая собака.
A pity about your cat! How did you survive it? I don’t like cats… At least it’s possible for you to send it away. Frightful! About my sister’s dogs, I like one, but the other I don’t. She’s simply a stubborn dog.
Грустно слышать про вашего кота. (Actually I didn’t quite get your thought. My version implies that you feel pity for me. If you feel pity for the cat it should be Мне жаль вашего кота.) Как вы это вытерпели? Мне не нравятся коты. (Я не люблю котов. This is more flat and lively. Не нравятся implies that you are not so resolutively against them.) По крайней мере, вы можете увезти его куда-нибудь. Это страшно. Что касается собак моей сестры, то одна мне нравится, а другая нет. Она просто упрямая собака. (!)

Did I answer your question about “general conversation”?
I must be stupid, Kevin, but I still don’t understand “general conversation”. I know the meaning of “conversation” – обсуждение, разговор. General has a few meanings. Can you give me a synonym (I remember, thx) to this word in that particular meaning, maybe from ABBY.

I found it interesting your comment about “кажется”. Again, in English, the word “it” would be implied if omitted. By your explanation, in Russian it is not, and I have to specify to who it “seems”.
I must have stated my point of view in a wrong way. I’ll try to put it as follows. Generally we say Мне (ему, ей, нам, моей матери, Наташе, всем людям) кажется (казалось, покажется) and do not omit мне, ей, ему, им and so on. It’s true of expressing both someone’s opinion and sensation. Ему кажется, что он разбирается в живописи (opinion, he thinks). Ему показалось, что он слышит ее голос (sensation, he felt). Only the word “мне” can be omitted if кажется expresses sensation. Eму кажется, что он слышит ее голос. Мне кажется, я слышу ее голос. or Кажется, я слышу ее голос. But: Мне кажется, что она неправа.
There is one more case standing apart. In the author’s speech in fiction the person is omitted, too, and “I (the author)” is implied. Казалось, он больше не сможет подняться.

On a few occasions I’ve written the phrase “спасибо болшой”, and have been corrected to say “болшой спасиба”. My question is that I have always heard it on television as the former…even heard it this morning. Definitely “спасибо болшой”. So is it improper to say it that way, and should I ignore it?
When I express my gratitude with these two words only, I always say Большое спасибо, as in Russian we generally use this word order: adjective-noun. I’d say that Спасибо большое or Спасибо огромное is common, too. But for me, Спасибо большое sounds a little bit sloppy, as if someone said Спасибо only but then was like, “Oh, I hate to pronounce two words instead of one, but ok, let him think that my gratefulness is bigger.” At the same time I don’t feel absolutely comfortable saying Большое спасибо also because it sounds some pompous. You know I always remember the origin of the word cпасибо. It’s a strange word. It derives from “Спаси (тебя) бо(г)” which means “Save you god” literally or rather “May god save you”. So, спасибо is not a noun yet is combined with adjectives and it makes me feel awquard. Actually I think that combining of cпасибо with adjectives is only a 20th century invention, so... But if one expresses his gratitude in more that these two words like in “Большое спасибо за ваш подарок”, then the opposite word order “Cпасибо большое за ваш подарок “ sounds ok for me and even warm and hearty. It’s only my perception of the use of спасибо in speech, I may be be wrong.

I’m still very appreciative of the time you spend to help me.
Don’t mention my time spent on this thread. I’m practicing and acquiring knowledge from you. I’m the one who ought to thank you.

You know, Kevin, I’ve never in my life immersed myself into the Russian grammar so deep. And now, after refreshing a tiny part of it in my mind, I am like, “OMG, how can it all be learned by a foreigner?” I am deeply impressed by the huge amount of knowledge to be acquired and by the necessity of learning to think a different way. It’s not that I’m trying to discourage you, no way. I’m just trying to imagine how much the person should be resolute to succeed.

Originally Posted by Helenej

Hi, Kevin. I'm gonna start with translation.

Sorry my last letter was so long Lena…lol…I’m still mindful of your time in all this. Sometimes I can really ramble on. It seems to me from your corrections that I’m still not specifying enough, such as using “этого письмa” instead of just “письмо”. If I said, “I’m still incorrect,” would I say “Я ещё неправильно,” or “Я себя ещё неправильно”?

I like your use of some phrases, like the message where you said you’d do it “standing on your head”…lol. After I learn some more about proper sentence structure, I’ll try and pick up some of the Russian phrases you use.
Lol…well, I was saying I felt pity for you about the cat incident…ha ha. How did you survive it? Sometimes we poke fun by exaggerating a circumstance. It’s just American humor. That’s another thing I want to look at in the future, is the Russian sense of humor.

Сейчас я слушаю русскему телеканалу. Этого разговаривания так быстро! Вы чувствуете себя такой про английского? Я понимаю, что в течение время блекнет этого ощущения. Я этого ожидаю с не терпением.

Right now I’m listening to a Russian television station. This conversation is so fast! Do you feel the same about English? I understand that after a time this sensation will fade. I’m impatiently waiting for this.

Скажите мне Лена, вам нравиться кинофилм? Cloud Atlas последний филм, что я хочу посмотреться. Несколько филмы я посмотреть на DVD, а когда-то я хочу идтй в кинотеатре. У вас есть в киеве театра?

Tell me Lena, do you like movies? Cloud Atlas is the next movie that I want to see. Some films I watch on DVD, but sometimes I want to go to the movie theatre. Do you have a theatre in Kiev?

А на восточный берег США щёл огромный шторм. Вы послышали? Это страшное. У вас есть трудные зимы там в киеве? Я никогда не видал такой снег. А вы ли путешествовали? Я в японии поехал когда я был молодее. Я был в войске (US Marine Corps).

A huge storm came to the east coast of the USA. Did you hear? It was terrible. Do you have difficult winters there in Kiev? I’ve never seen such snow. Have you traveled? I went to Japan when I was younger. I was in the armed forces (US Marine Corps).

Well that’s all for now, I’ll keep this short for you…lol.

Originally Posted by kgcole

I like your use of some phrases, like the message where you said you’d do it “standing on your head”…lol. After I learn some more about proper sentence structure, I’ll try and pick up some of the Russian phrases you use.

Uh-oh. This expression is not Russian whatever. It's English and it's in the ABBY. You can look it up.

do it (standing )on one's head делать с легкостью. Right, old boy. Leave it to me. I can do this on my head. — Ладно, старик. Оставь это мне. Мне это раз плюнуть.

I thought you knew. The more this expression occurs in the devine Jesus Christ Superstar.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - King Herod's Song - YouTube
But if you have never heard of it then it must be not common. Perhaps I shouldn't use it. What do you think?

Originally Posted by Helenej

Uh-oh. This expression is not Russian whatever. It's English and it's in the ABBY. You can look it up.

do it (standing )on one's head делать с легкостью. Right, old boy. Leave it to me. I can do this on my head. — Ладно, старик. Оставь это мне. Мне это раз плюнуть.

I thought you knew. The more this expression occurs in the devine Jesus Christ Superstar.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - King Herod's Song - YouTube
But if you have never heard of it then it must be not common. Perhaps I shouldn't use it. What do you think?

Don't worry, Lena, you just misunderstood what I wrote...lol. What I was saying was that I liked how you used the expression, you did it correctly. I just want to learn some for myself that are Russian, when I have the time. No worries

If I said, “I’m still incorrect,” would I say “Я ещё неправильно,” or “Я себя ещё неправильно”?
I would go with Я все еще делаю ошибки or Я все еще неправильно говорю or Я все еще неправильно пишу.

Lol…well, I was saying I felt pity for you about the cat incident…ha ha. How did you survive it? Sometimes we poke fun by exaggerating a circumstance. It’s just American humor. That’s another thing I want to look at in the future, is the Russian sense of humor.
I hope that I have a sense of humour. But as I speak English I am often afraid to make a step left or right. This Russian expression means that I am often uncertain about what I hear, I often presume that there may be some different meaning which I don’t know. That’s because I do often bump into lots of sentences that I don’t understand.

Сейчас я слушаю русскему телеканалу. Этого разговаривания так быстро! Вы чувствуете себя такой про английского? Я понимаю, что в течение время блекнет этого ощущения. Я этого ожидаю с не терпением.
Right now I’m listening to a Russian television station. This conversation is so fast! Do you feel the same about English? I understand that after a time this sensation will fade. I’m impatiently waiting for this.
Сейчас я слушаю русский телеканал. Они так быстро говорят. У вас такое же впечатление от английского? Я понимаю, что со временем это ощущение пропадет. Я с нетерпением жду этого. (It shall fade, I have some evidence of that )

Скажите мне Лена, вам нравиться кинофилм? Cloud Atlas последний филм, что я хочу посмотреться. Несколько филмы я посмотреть на DVD, а когда-то я хочу идтй в кинотеатре. У вас есть в киеве театра?
Tell me Lena, do you like movies? Cloud Atlas is the next movie that I want to see. Some films I watch on DVD, but sometimes I want to go to the movie theatre. Do you have a theatre in Kiev?
Скажите, Лена, вы любите кино? (Only любите, нравится implies a smaller degree of confidence about liking it.) Следующий фильм, который я хочу посмотреть, это “Облачный атлас”. Я смотрю фильмы на DVD, но иногда мне хочется сходить в кино. А у вас в Киеве есть театр? (Here the conjunction “a” expresses contrasting of the two last sentences. It makes the utterance sound more natural and lively.)

А на восточный берег США щёл огромный шторм. Вы послышали? Это страшное. У вас есть трудные зимы там в киеве? Я никогда не видал такой снег. А вы ли путешествовали? Я в японии поехал когда я был молодее. Я был в войске (US Marine Corps).
A huge storm came to the east coast of the USA. Did you hear? It was terrible. Do you have difficult winters there in Kiev? I’ve never seen such snow. Have you traveled? I went to Japan when I was younger. I was in the armed forces (US Marine Corps).
На восточный берег США обрушился сильный шторм. (“A” is not to the point for there is no contrasting between movies and the storm here.) Вы слышали об этом? Это было ужасно. А в Киеве суровые зимы? (That’s correct, there is contrasting between the weather in the USA and Ukraine.) Я никогда не видел такого снега. (видал is the Past Tense of видать, which is an archaic word.) (Я никогда не видел такой снег is correct, too, but I’d definitely choose такого снега, the genitive is much more common in negative sentences than the accusative.) Вы когда-нибудь путешествовали? В молодости я был в Японии. (Я был в Японии, когда был моложе is possible, too. But the former sounds neutral while the latter makes me think that you are sorry about your not being young anymore.) Я служил в вооруженных силах (корпус морской пехоты США).

And now about your questions. I know that it would be more useful for you if I answered in Russian. Yet I find it much more useful for me to see the results of your revision.

Do you feel the same about English?
No doubt, natural English speech is too fast for me and I understand much more when I’m spoken to slower. I don’t remember if I told you that I understand only about 20-30% when I watch an American movie where the characters speak fast, lol. I could never have done the work I mentioned without having scripts. 

Do you like movies?
Yes, but only good ones, those that have an idea, that make me think. I don’t watch a lot, though. I’ve heard of Cloud Atlas and even tried to read the novel that it is based on a couple months ago, before the film was released. I read two parts out of six and started to read the third one. Then I said, “What a trash” and put the book aside. The first thing I don’t like about the novel is its being so complicated in form. Two in one or six in one, for me that means that the author is not talented enough to express his idea in a more natural way, telling just one story. I read the first part and I was like, “What is it about? It’s about nothing. Nothing to think about, just a history of a people on some islands.” It was boring. Yet I proceeded. The second part was a story of a mean swindler. Nothing new, nothing special, unnecessary spicy details. It may be exquisite literature yet I didn’t get it. Maybe if I had made myself read the novel to the end I would have got the point, I don’t know. Yet I chose not to waste time on it. The more I am always sceptical about the mainstream. But the film may be thrilling.

Do you have a theatre in Kiev?
Yes, we do. Kiev is a big village.  Actually we have 66 theatres and 58 movie theatres. You can look them up. Here is the link.
ТЕАТ

A huge storm came to the east coast of the USA. Did you hear?
Sure. I’ve seen those terrible videos and pictures. It’s awful.

Do you have difficult winters there in Kiev?
Sometimes we do. But generally winters are not too severe. It can be 5-10 degrees, though thaws are common too, and once every 5 years we have above 20, but such big frosts never last long.

Have you traveled?
Not much, I used to travel more when I was younger, too. I was to Russia: Moscow, St.Petersberg, the Urals, then Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Latvia, Belorus. I only travel about Ukraine at present.