# Forum Learning Russian Language Getting Started with Russian  How & Why Did You Start To Learn Russian ?

## russianrulz

_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._

----------


## Axystos

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.

----------


## V

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

----------


## Litllmiss

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... =)

----------


## scotcher

I picked Russian because it looked difficult. 
I was correct  ::

----------


## MasterAdmin

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

----------


## scotcher

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.

----------


## Cargopilot

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.

----------


## framai

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 !!!!!   ::

----------


## hollow rain

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   ::

----------


## Methos

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.

----------


## Rahul

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.  ::

----------


## zelenymal'chik

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.)   ::

----------


## Laureken

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

----------


## Sinister_Cleric

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)

----------


## z80

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

 Only to some.

----------


## medvezhornok7

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   ::

----------


## Tu-160

Of course, it is Masterrussian  ::

----------


## piehunt

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.  ::

----------


## jle5509

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.

----------


## EvaPeron454

hmmmm....I started Russian because, well I liked it.  The way it sounded, the history of the culture, and also because I always have to do the thing no one else does and no one else is taking russian in middle school.  French and spanish are sooooooo easy and boring I always liked doing the hard thing so Russian was just perfect.  I also really liked the group taty so it made me want to learn it even more and now I just love russian, but I do speak french and some spanish.     ::   ::

----------


## cruithne3753

Just registered, first post! 
It's been a language I've thought about learning for several years, and as I'm interested in space travel I'm already familiar with words like "Спутник", "Восток", "Союз" and "Мир" (but didn't know how to spell them properly  :: ). 
Well, recently, a certain pop duo has come to my attention (вы знаете кто!  :: )  and upon hearing their songs in Russian I've been checking out some other Russian music, and it's kicked me into actually starting to learn. 
Fortunately I know somone who's Russian, which is a Хорошо Thing.   ::

----------


## z80

I got intrested in Ladas, and then intrested in russia. That was about 11 years ago. I still haven't learnt much russian, and stuff, but I've steped up my effots a little. I have recently found a russian social club in Perth, and I'm not sure, but I think that they ether do, or are trying to get russian lessons started on sundays.  
If I have to drive down there twice amonth to learn I will. It's 600km's away though.

----------


## Aaa

I already speak English, can get by in Spanish.  Those are the two languages most useful for travel. 
Next would probably be Russian or French.  Russian seemed fun, especially with all the backwards letters.

----------


## Dogboy182

god i cant freakin help it, i love teaching people, any newbies who just really want to learn and arn't gunna give up on me (like so many people in the past) after a few days, please, let me know. i get a kick out of teaching people, and i always learn somthing new too, so please, if ur interested, lemme know.  
why i started russian 
1. behind every boy learning russian is a russian girl
2. "я люблю русский размер"
3. needed a reason to live   ::   
 ok пока

----------


## mike

::  Man, sometimes I think I must be the only person on this forum not learning Russian because of my spouse.

----------


## z80

The lada isn't my spouse, mind you they chew up money like a woman though. If you let them, or if your a perfectionist like my self (Note to perfectionists, the only car you can buy and be happy with is a Volvo).  
Out of curiosity, why did you start learning Mike? I know you have told us before, but I can't remember, cause it's like 10:20pm right now.

----------


## mike

Well, I _know_ I'm not the only one, it just seems like it sometimes reading the posts from the newbies.  As odd as it sounds, I honestly don't remember why I started.  I think I just wanted to learn a language that didn't use the Latin alphabet.  Plus I had read a lot of Russian books, like Взаимная помощь, Братья Карамазовы, and Бог и государство and was curious about reading them in Russian.

----------


## Dima

BTW Lada is Russian female name.
There is a song about a woman with this name: 
Хмуриться не надо, Лада!
Хмуриться не надо, Лада!
Для меня твой смех награда, Лада!
Даже если станешь бабушкой,
Всё равно ты будешь Ладушкой,
Для меня ты будешь Ладушкой, Лада! 
So, if your Lada will behave badly you can tell her "Хмуриться не надо, Лада!" 
I have got the Lada, too. VAZ 2109  ::

----------


## z80

The nivas (vaz 2121) do it hard out here in the Australia out back, but they keep going.

----------


## A

::  I was compelled to learn Russian many years ago, in order to survive the harsh Russian life.
I agree with many of the previous speakers that the phonetic and writing systems are rather simple and understandable, unlike the English ones. 
Just an analysis of Eng.: Eng. has 44 sounds and 28 letters(only!). Eng. has absolutely outmoded grammar/spelling system, and there's no attempt in sight to improve it.
The above is not an offense against Eng., it's just observation.
So, considering all the said, it took me only a few decades to MASTER RUSSIAN.
Also, the Russian songs tend to be more melodic and they rhyme much better than Eng - on an average.
I like Russian, and distinctly spoken English, too.
But, I think the future language of the planet will be a cross between English and Chinese.
Am I wrong, dear fellows?

----------


## scotcher

> But, I think the future language of the planet will be a cross between English and Chinese. Am I wrong, dear fellows?

 I hope the future language of the planet is something similar to the wonderfully ideosycratic and quirky English you use  ::   I'm not joking or  "having a go at you" either, I genuinely enjoy reading your posts.

----------


## mike

What are the two letters in English I am forgetting?  A-Z is only 26.

----------


## V

Oh, you forgot about these two:

----------


## Dogboy182

well, not all of us live in the wonderfull video game world of sweden were u can jsut go around making up alphabets whenever and however you please.

----------


## ekalin

[quote=V]Oh, you forgot about these two:

----------


## mike

No, they aren't.

----------


## Aaa

> But, I think the future language of the planet will be a cross between English and Chinese.
> Am I wrong, dear fellows?

 Yes, you're wrong.  English itself is the "lingua franca", and will remain so.  Esperanto is dead.  
If the universalists want a universal and relatively rule-based language, the only one they could actually sell to the world would have to be English-based.  Simplify the spelling, simplify most of the grammar (with a few important irregular verbs). 
Make it something native English-speakers could still understand, and learn with minimal effort.  Face it, the economic domination of the world is English.  USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, UK, South Africa, India all have it as an official language, and it's taught almost everywhere else.  That's 1/4 of the world population, and over 1/3 of the world economy.        
Am I wrong, dear fellows?[/quote]

----------


## piehunt

Aaa,
Nope, you not wrong, its just the way it is. And the way it will be in the future. Still i think it would be nice for every English speaking person to know at least one other language.  ::

----------


## Anton Kuratnik

just because US is huge right now doesn't mean english will be universal forever. I bet the interest in the language will decrease by a great deal when some other country takes USA's place. But here we are, going into politics.

----------


## mike

Yes, and speaking of politics that is the problem with English being a universal language.  The purpose of universal theory is that there is a language free of any politics or ideology and is 100% diplomatic.  By the way, they tried to simplify English to make it a universal language in the early 20th century.  It was called Basic English and consisted of about 800 words.  Churchill was fond of promoting it.  Orwell wrote a book parodying it--maybe you heard of it.  His was called Newspeak.

----------


## A

::  
Hi,
did not expect such lively discussion on my joke of the future language for all.
First, all you should know it is human to try to predict the future, to the best of their contemporary knowledge, of course.
Second and final, no one yet has been able to predict the future. Never before and never all the time ahead. It is just one of fundamentals of the incomprehensible Nature and one of a few things the humanity has been able to learn, up to the date.
May it will change. May not. At present nobody does not know nothing about it.
Just look how people live. They send ships to the nearby space and are not able to prevent stupid wars and feed hungry. Saying that, I meant that we cannot organize our societies. I don't mention even that United States can't adopt common Road Rules for all their States. What are we talking a possible future language?
United States still use archaic Imperial measurement system. Still!!
Why did I leash out at the US? 'coz it's most powerful and advanced English speaking country. And, as a Russian would say, it not only can't give a head to itself, but manages to stir up trouble to others. And here is no any credible and sustainable light ahead.
By the way, when an American Embassy's consul, during an interview in Moscow, was asked about some aspects of America's future, he open-heartedly replied,"No one can predict a person's future, so what to say about a whole country?"

----------


## davidg

> Aaa,
> Nope, you not wrong, its just the way it is. And the way it will be in the future. Still i think it would be nice for every English speaking person to know at least one other language.

 We English could also learn "American"!  ::   ::   ::

----------


## A

> What are the two letters in English I am forgetting?  A-Z is only 26.

 I gave two extra to flatter English speaking populace

----------


## mike

Well, I think English should have diphthongs for the ai and ei sounds.  There's the two missing letters.

----------


## Propp

> Well, I think English should have diphthongs for the ai and ei sounds.  There's the two missing letters.

 Don't forget about 2 "th" sounds, "ch"-sound and "sh"-sound.

----------


## ekalin

> Don't forget about 2 "th" sounds, "ch"-sound and "sh"-sound.

 Ch and sh are pretty well represented by "ch" and "sh". (Tough these groups could be used always.) As for "th", we could certainly use two symbols for two sounds...

----------


## Propp

I mean voiced th as in "the" and unvoiced th as in "throw"

----------


## ekalin

> I mean voiced th as in "the" and unvoiced th as in "throw"

 That's what I said. It wouldn't be bad to write "dhe", "dhem", etc. But it would only solve 1% of the spelling problems of English.

----------


## mike

Personally, I like the "th" sound in English.  I don't know why it isn't in more languages.

----------


## Aaa

If you want to get technical, and want a letter per sound in english: 
CONSONANTS : 
b,d,f,hard-g,h,k,l,m,n,p,r,s,t,v,w,y,z all standard 
qu (kw): a letter for a sound not necessary, could always use k-w 
sh:  necessary 
ch:  not necessary, could be written as t-sh 
soft-th:  thin 
hard-th:  though 
zh: necessary 
j = d-zh:  not necessary 
glottal stop:  not necessary for English, could just pronounce carefully the t's in words like kitten 
x:  could use k-s 
ng: necessary 
ng-k:  don't forget about this one: "think".  not necessary, though.  
VOWELS: 
aeh:  cat 
ah:  got, stop 
oo:  smooth 
oo with a caret on top:  book 
eh:  get 
ee:  lean 
oh:  boat 
aw:  law 
uh:  bug 
ih:  sit 
dipthongs: 
ow (how)  ay (hay)  iy (hide)  oi  (boy)  ar (car)  er  (bird)  eer (steer)  or  (bore)  ure  (lure)   
Did I forget any?

----------


## Kareina47

I began to read Russian litearture on my own time and I instantly fell in love with Anna Karenina (Hence the nickname). I began wondering what it was like living in Russia back then, began to become fascinated by the royal tragedy, and began eating the food of the culture. (Can't say I'm too thrilled about that.) I listened to folk music, and than many popular artists today like t.A.T.u and Zemfira. And now I wanted to learn the language. I am completely inthrilled with the culture, and will begin to study there next summer in St. Petersburg. (Another way to learn a language is to go to a school that teaches it!)  
---Sara

----------


## Brandon8

i think this board is getting a little  ::  . I started to learn Russian because i wanted a challenge. Sure I take Spanish and I am also learning German on my own. But Spanish is a breeze and German isnt much harder. I wanted a challenge. I have a fascination with languages. Its kinda weird you know. Along with going out with friends, sports, kayaking, backpacking, etc. as hobbies... i learn languages. But any way about the challenge part. Russian can expand you mind and can improve your memorization because of all the cases and declanations. But Russian sounds a little primative when it is directly translated into english. For example: In english we say "This is a book" but in Russian you say "Это книга" which is "This (is a) book". Sounds kinda caveman-ish doesnt it?

----------

