обратно       

flag of Russia
.Russisch für die deutschsprachigen Leutedie Flagge Deutschlands
"Коммунизм в России был построен на равенстве, работнике и силе:
силе духа, тела и характера."

Kenneth Selin(say'leen)É(eh)PC President/Party Leader









  СлаваРоссииRussian flag
Russia
Руусскийязыккрасивый.



 
Learning French, chic;
learning Russian, more so.
1/6 of the world speaks Russian.
It is spoken in Eastern Europe+Central Asia.

Введение

 введение
.5 syllables:  в-ве-де'-ни-е
.pronounced
ve-veei-deei'-nee-eei
.meaning
introduction


 My University of Ottawa philosophy professor,
 Father Stroik Ph.D. (German Catholic Oblate
 priest who lived through World War II in Germany),
 said to me in 1975:

."The best advice, I can give you,
is to learn Russian."


 This is especially true today as we go through
 a 30-year economic contraction that will *not*
 affect The Russian Commonwealth (also known
 as the Commonwealth of Independent States:
 Cодружество Независимых Государств).


 
Cодружество
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 4 syllables: Cо-дру'-жест-во
.pronounced
 
sah-droo'-jeeist-ve (oo in pool)
.meaning 
commonwealth

 Независимыхурок
 (adjective, genitive case, masculine,
  plural)

 5 syllables: Не-за-ви'-си-мых
.pronounced
neei-za-vee'-see-me-ee-ik (soft, throaty k)
.
meaning independent

 Государств
 (noun, genitive case, masculine,
.plural)

 4 syllables: Го-су-дарст'-в
.pronounced 
guh-soo-dahrst-ve
.meaning 
states


 They're the former Soviet Russian-speaking
 countries *minus* those who have joined the
 European Union: Poland, Estonia, Lithuanian,
 Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania,
 and the Ukraine.


 The continuing slide in the Euro and English
 sterling pound combined with the strengthening
 of the ruble  (рубль, 2 syllables: ру-бль' pro-
 nounced roo-blʹ, plural рубли': 2 syllables: руб-ли'
 pronounced roob-liʹ) combined with the European
 economy dependent on the development of the
 Russian economy for mutual benefit will propel
 the European Union into the orbit of Russia's
.Common
wealth of Independent States making
.Russia
*the* 
superpower.


 
(Currently, 1 RUB ₽ = $.02 CAD)

 Who provided Russia with badly needed $$$
 when The Soviet Union was crumbling?


 *Not* the USA who had promised to help Russia
 if it embraced democracy, but Germany.


 Russia's
official name is The Russian Federation,
 Российская Федерация.


 
Россия
 (noun, nominative case, feminine,
  singular)

 3 syllables: Рос-си'-я 
.pronounced
rahs-see'-yah
.meaning Russia


 
Российская
 (adjective, nominative case, feminine,
  singular)

 3 syllables: Рос-си'-йс-кая
.pronounced 
rahs-see'-yes-kuyah
.meaning Russian



 Федерация

 (noun, nominative case, feminine,
  singular)

.5 syllables: Фе-де-pa'-ци-я
.pronounced
feei-deei-rah'-stee-yah
.meaning federation




 Russia (Росси́я) is the biggest nation covering
 1/6 of the globe crossing 11 time zones with the
 most diversed climate.


 At The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, tourists
 were treated to winter in the mountains and warm
 coastal weather by the Black Sea where they were
 lodged.

arrow
 Sochi=Сочи
 2 syllables: Со-чи'
.pronounced sah-chee'



The monumental success of Sochi 2014 Olympic
 Winter Games is testimony to the dynamism
 and capability of the *new* Russia.


 Because the future belongs to
.Russia,
 
my best advice is this:
 learnRussian.


 
План
.pronounced like in English
.meaning the plan

 

 The goal is to ease you ASAP (as *quickly* as
.possible) into Russian in order to facilitate
.flash learning that allows to more easily retain
.the material learned.


.This is done in a simple, logically progressive
.way.



.You'll learn the key to language learning is the
.syllable.


.Languages like Russian and English have syllabic
.stress: one of the syllables in a word with two or
.more syllables is stressed while the others are
.destressed (devoiced).


.You'll learn how palatalization gives Russian it's
.musicality by devoicing the ending of each syllable
.so it can more easily glide into the next syllable.


.This is followed by a short, but thorough introduction
.to the Russian alphabet.


.All that is a prelude to the 15 quick, easy lessons
.that introduces you to the Russian language and
.to Russia.


.The online resources (after the 15 lessons) will
.proof very helpful in your acquistion of Russian.


.The focus is on ease of learning and fun that will
.develop the desire to learn more about Rusian
.and its language.


.As an historical footnote, Russian language
.learning was encouraged in the USA during
.the Cold War.


.When the Chinese Communist Party adopted
.the Russian style of communism, Russian was
.the foreign language that the Chinese learned
.the most for over a decade until the 1960's.



 Удачи!
 3 syllables: у-да'-чи
.pronounced ou-da'-chee
 meaning good luck


 
Добро
..(adverb)
.2 syllabes: до-бро'
.pronounced dah-broh'
.meaning
well
.
 пожаловать
 (verb)
.4 syllabes: по-жа'-ло-вать
 pronounced pah-jah-le-vat
.
meaning to visit
 *both* together meanwelcome



 Russians *traditionally*
.welcome strangers with ...


 a plate
 тарелка
 (noun, nominative case, feminine,
  singular)
 3 syllables: та-рел'-ка
.pro
nounced tuh-reeil'-kuh


 of bread

 хлеб
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)
 pronounced hileeip
.[where
the Russian letter б
 (the
.  Russian b-letter)
 
is pronounced
     as a p-sound because it's devoiced
  at the end of the
syllable]

arrow
 and
 и
 (conjunction)
 pronounced ee


 
salt
 
соль
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 pronounced sohl

 
 
"The Russian language
is...
        the greatness of Spanish,
      the liveliness of French,
      the force of German,
      the tenderness of Italian,
      and, in addition, the richness and strong
      
terse descriptiveness of Greek and Latin.

 - Mikhail Lomonosov,
  18th century
Russian scientist, writer


 
Стресс
 

(noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 pronounced (*almost* like English) streeiss
 meaning stress


 Russian words of 2 or more syllables have
 a stressed syllable that is pronounced with
 more force than the rest (just like English)


 unlike English, however, *every* syllable
 is pronounced *distinctly*


 this stress feature (where one syllable of a
.word is stressed) allows the other syllables
.to be produced quicker: it's a timesaving and
.energy saving feature


 
Note
 a syllable with the prominent

 Russian
 vowel ё (yoh) *always*
 carries the stress



 
Слогarrow
 

(noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 pronouced slok
.[where the Russian
letter г (the
  Russian g letter) is pronounced
  as a k-sound because it's devoiced
 at the end of the syllable]
 

.meaning
the
  syllable


 *the* unit of all languages
.is
the syllable




 a consonant
 
(a *constricted* air flow sound) is *not* a syllable

 consonant
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cons
 http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/consonate
 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition


 a vowel
 
(an *unconstricted* air flow sound) is *not* a syllable

 
vowel
 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vowel
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/v
 http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionar


 a syllable
 a *combination* of ...
 - one vowel
.-
one consonant (or more)


 syllable
 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/syllable
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/syl
 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definiti


 
Example
 my 1-syllable name, Ken,
 has 2 consonants and a
short-e vowel


 Ken is the *short* form of Kenneth:
 2 syllables, Ken-neth

 

.
the *palatized* syllable



.
the Russian consonants б, д, г, ж, В
.are called voiced consonants because the vocal
.cords constrict the air flow 
when they are produced
arrow

.however, they become *these* soft (voiceless)
.consonants of п, т, к, ф produced with
.less force because the air flow is not constricted

.when 
at the end of the syllable
because you are
.getting
ready to say the next syllable


.the syllable *weakens* towards the end making
.breathing easier thanks to this eb and flow effect
.of voiced consonants at the start of the syllable
.ending with.voiceless consonants that are produced
.with less energy

     

     the *palatized* syllable is...
    - voiced up front
    - voiceless at the back

         Example
     the b-sound, represented by the Russian
     letter б,
becomes a softer, voiceless
     p-sound 
at the *end* of the syllable as
     in the word 
for bread, хлеб
     (pronounced 
hleeip)

     voiced, voiceless
     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_%28p
     http://esl.about.com/od/speakingenglish/
     http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/b


     Russian palatalization
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVq
     http://www.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian/
     http://www.russianforeveryone.com/Rufe/
     http://www.livinglanguage.com/communit

arrow
     Example
      the d-sound, represented by the Russian
      letter д,
becomes a softer, voiceless
      t-sound 
at the *end* of the syllable as in
      the word for 
city or town, город
      (2 syllables: го'-род pro
nounced goh'-ruht)


     Example
     the g-sound, represented by the Russian
     letter г,
becomes a softer, voiceless
     k-sound 
at the *end* of the syllable as
     in the word 
for train station, вокзал
     (
2 syllables:
вок-зал' pronounced vahg-zahl')


      .Example
     the j-sound, represented by the Russian
     letter ж,
becomes a softer, voiceless
     k-sound 
at the *end* of the syllable as
     in the word 
for spoon, ложка
     (2 syllables: лож'-ка pro
nounced lohk'-kuh)


      .Example
     the v-sound, represented by the Russian
     letter в,
becomes a softer, voiceless
     f-sound 
at the *end* of the syllable as
     in the word 
for bus, автобус
     [2 syllables: ав-то-бус pro
nounced
      af-toh'-boos
(the oo in pool)]


1-letter prepositions

.the 1-letter consonantal preposition for
.in, в, is pronounced as an f-sound
.when followed by a *voiceless* consonant
.like the Russian letter к:
в Канаде
.(pronounced fkuh-nah'-deei meaning
 in Canada)


.Note
 
the 1-letter consonantal prepositions
 are pronounced as part of the *1st*
 syllable of the word following the
 preposition


.Note
.Канаде is the prepositional case of
.Канада.

 
.Канада
.(noun, nominative case, feminine,
  singular)

     prepositional case
     http://masterrussian.com/aa081500a.shtml
     http://www.russianlessons.net/grammar/n
     http://www.russianforeveryone.com/Rufe/L 



the *unstressed* syllable

  .A. the Russian letter а...
         the Russian letter а in an *unstressed*
         syllable
is pronounced like a short-a,
         uh-sound


         Example
         ехать
          (verb)
          2 syllables: е'-хать
          pronounced eei'-huht (with a short-a, uh-sound)
          meaning to go
          (It looks like the 
English word exit.)

          HOWEVER, in a *stressed* syllable, it's
          pronounced as a long-a, ah-sound

arrow

 .B. the Russian letter о...
        the Russian letter о can be
         pronounced 3 ways...
            1. in the *stressed* syllable
                as an o-sound
            2. in the syllable *before* the
                stressed
syllable as a long-a,
                ah-sound

            3. everywhere else as a short-e, er-
                sound or a short-a, uh-sound
 

          HOWEVER, Russians seem to often
          prefer the short-a, uh-sound, over
          the short-e, er-sound, as in хорошо

     хорошо
     (adverb)
     3 syllables: хо-ро-шо'
     pro
nounced *huh*-rah-sho'
     meaning well


     Expression
     С Новым Годом
     Happy New Year

     С
     (preposition)
     pronounced s
     meaning 
with

     новым
     (adjective, instrumental case of новый,
       masculine, singluar)
      2 syllables: но'-вым
      pronounced noh'-vihm
      meaning new

     годом
     (noun, instrumental case of год,
      masculine, singular)
     2 syllables: го'-дом
     pronounced goh'-dem
     meaning year

     Note
     the 2nd
o in го'-дом
     is *always* pronounced
     with a short-e, an er-sound.


     like in спасибо
     (adverb)
     3 syllables: спа-си'-бо
     pronounced 
spah-see'-be
     meaning thank you

     Note
     the o in спасибо is 
     *always* pronounced as 
     a short-e, er-
sound (not
     like a short-a, an uh-sound)



     Expression
     ехать за городом
     to go out of town


     городом
     (noun, instrumental case of город,
      masculine, singular)
     3 syllables: го'-ро-дом
     
*usually* pronounced 
goh'-ruh-duhm
     meaning town

arrow

     instrumental case
     http://masterrussian.com/aa073000a.shtml
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzGt8
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMDy
     http://www.russianforeveryone.com/Rufe/L


     за
     (preposition)
     pronounced zah
     meaning out of


     ехать
     2 syllables: е'-хать
     pronounced eei-huht
     (with 
a short-a, uh-sound because it is in
     an *unstressed* 
syllable)
     means to go (It looks like the English 
word exit.)

     Note
     the
o in an *unstressed*
     syllable in a word of foreign
     origin like радио is
     pronounced as an o-sound.


     радио
     (noun, nominative case, neuter,
       singular)
     3 syllables: ра'-ди-о
     pronounced rah'-dee-oh

     meaning radio


     see
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqa
     http://ask.masterrussian.com/229/when-

 
the y-glide
(the y-semi-vowel)

 5 vowels *begin* with the y-glide
 1. Я (yah) (2 vowels coming together)
        
(last letter of the alphabet, the "I" pronoun)
.2. и (ee) (2 vowels coming together)

 3. е (yeei) (2 vowels coming together)
 4. ю (yoo as in pool) (2 vowels coming togehter)
 5. ё (yoh) (2 vowels coming togehter)
        (Its syllable *always* carries the stress.)

arrow

 the y-glide is a *transition* vowel
 that glides* into the next vowel

 y-glide
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/semi
 http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/Defaul
 http://english.stackexchange.com/questions

 
Палатализация

 (noun, nominative case, feminine,
.singular)
 7 syllables: Па-ла-та-лиз'-а-ци-я
 pronounced
puh-luh-tuh-leez'-uh-stee-yah
.meaning
palatalization



 palatalization is the *key* feature
.of the Russian
language


 it involves the pulling back of the tongue
 *upwards* towards the back of the palate
.giving it a *gutteral* sound effect



 as mentioned previously above, it affects
.the last consonant of the syllable by

 making it *softer* and more *relaxed*
.because it is produced with *less* effort


.IN ADDITION, there are some consonants
.that are palatalized and some that are
.never palatalized


.these 3 consonants are 
.*not* palatalized...

 1. ж (je)
 2. ц (st)
 3. ш (sh)


 the overall effect of a *palatalized* consonant
.(ending with a y-glide) followed by a *palatalized*
.vowel (beginning with a y-glide) is the elimination
.one of the 2 y-glides

arrow
 these 2 consonant are
.*always* palatalized...

 
1. ч (ch)
 
2. щ (shsh)


 Example
 час
 (noun, nominative case,
  singular)

 pronounced chyas
.meaning
hour
 Note
.b
etween the ч consonant
.and the а vowel there is a
.y-glide

the soft sign, ь


 the ь is called the soft *sign*
.because 
it's *not* a letter, but

.a sign



.when it follows a consonant, it *palatalizes*
.the consonant by giving it a y-glide (ye-sound)
.at the end


 the soft signь
 http://www.russian-blog.com/hard_n_soft
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/so
 http://livinglanguage.com/community/disc



 affects case endings:
.a word ending with the soft sign
.means the case ending will be -
.of course - a *palatized* vowel



 Example
 учитель

 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 3 syllables: у-чи'-тель
.pronouned oo-chee'-teeil
(oo in pool)
.meaning
teacher

 
its feminine equivalent takes
 a*palatized* vowel case ending

 
учителя.
arrow

 compare that with a word
.*without* the soft sign...

 студент

 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 2 syllables: сту-дент'
.pronounced stoo-deeint'
(oo in pool)
.meaning student

 its *feminine* equivalent
.is
 
студента


 
Russians call the soft sign, ь
 мягкий
 (adjective, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)
 3 syllables: мяг'-ки-й 
.pronounced meeyahk'-kee-ye
 Note
 the Russian letter 
г (the
 g-sound) is pronounced
 as a k-sound because
 it's at the *end* of the
 syllable

 
meaning soft



 знак
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 pronounced
znak
.meaning
 sign


 palatalization makes a consonant
.sound more guttural (throaty) and smoother
.(softer) (*not* as
sharp as a hard consonant)
 giving Russian a melodic, languid quality


 
palatalization
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdlW
 http://www.britannica.com/topic/palataliz
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roevs
 http://therusblog.com/2012/02/18/palataliz


 the hard sign,ъ


 the ъ is called the hard *sign*
.because it's *not* a letter, but a sign

arrow

 Russians call the hard sign, ъ:
 
твёрдый
 (adjective, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)
 2 syllables: твёр'-дый 
.pronounced tvyohr'-(dee-e)ye

 
meaning hard


 знак
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 pronounced
znak
.meaning 
sign



 
the soft sign, ь, indicatesa ye-sound

.the hard sign,ъ,indicates the *absence*
.of sound due to a break in the air flow, a
.glottal stop



.it's found in between...
.- a prefix and the root word
.- a word and another word
   of a compound word



 
Note
.only a *few* words

.have the hard sign,
ъ,
.like 
объект


 
объект
 (noun, nominative case, masuline
  singular)
 
2 syllables: объ-ект'
.pronounced ab-eeikt'
 meaning subject


 Note
 
the б at the end of the *1st* syllable
 is *not* voiceless because it 
 does *not* glide
 into the next

 syllable: this allows the 1st syllable
 to be shorter, said faster - with more
 energy


arrow

 another word

 
подъезд
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)
 2 syllables: подъ-езд'
.pronounced pahd-eeizt'
 
meaning entrance, approach


 
Note
 
the *1st* д at the end of the 1st syllable
 is *not* voiceless unlike the 2nd
д
 at the end of the 2nd syllable which is and
 
becomes - as a result - a t-sound because
 it is voiceless




 
the glottal stop
 
in order for *both* vowels beside
 each other to be pronounced, there
 has to be a glottal stop, a pause
 in the air flow like in the word
 reli'able




 glottal stop
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUIRa0T
 http://www.macmillandictionary.com/diction
 


 the soft sign Ъ
 http://graphemica.com/%D0%AA
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPdgM
 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hard
 http://russianfluently.blogspot.ca/2011/12/pr

.
Русский

 (adjective, nominative case,
  masculine, singular)
 3 syllables: Русс'-ки-й
.pronounced rooss'-kee-ye
(the oo in pool)
.meaning
Russian

Алфавит

 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 3 syllabes: ал-фа-вит'
.pronounced uhl-fuh-veet'

 meaning alphabet


  Note
 
there's no "the"(definite article)
 and no "a" (indefinite article) in
 Russian

 


arrow
 Notice in Русский
 - the Р (upper case), р (lower case)
  (the Greek r)
 pronounced as r
 
- the y pronounced oo as in pool
 
- the c pronounced s
 
- the k pronounced k
 - the и pronounced as a long-e
 - the й pronounced ye


 Notice in Алфавит
 
- the Russian letter A (upper case),
  а
(lower case) is pronounced uh
   (a short a-sound) in an 
unstressed
   syllable,
but
ah
(a long a-sound)

   
in a *stressed* syllable
 
- the л pronounced l
 
- the ф pronounced f
 
- the в pronounced v
 
- the t pronounced t


 to be able to read and write Russian,
 you need to know the Russian
alphabet


 the Russian alphabet correctly known as
.the Cyrillic alphabet has
33 letters

 going from а (ah) to Я (yah)


 
the Greek monk, Saint Cyril, invented the
.Cyrillic alphabet
that carries his name



 
languages using it
 http://www.britannica.com/Cyrillic-alphabet


 the Cyrillic alphabet
 http://learnrussian.rt.com/alphabet/the-histo


 as of 2007 the Cyrillic alphabet
.has become the
3rd 
official
.alphabet
of the European

.Union
(EU)



 interestingly, the letters the Cyrillic
 alphabet follow the same sequence
.as that of the English alphabet and
.are pronounced like
the letters of
.the French
alphabet


 saying the Cyrillic alphabet
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzChuuv


 
the Cyrillic alphabet
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2X5ydw92Ds
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOX7Es
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLpmP
 http://www.russianforeveryone.com/Alphabe
arrow

 
Cyrillic alphabet quiz
 http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz27102


 
Cyrillic alphabet game
 http://www.purposegames.com/game/a24ccf


 
related sites
 http://www.ukindia.com/zip/zru1.htm
 http://masterrussian.com/blalphabet.
 http://learningrussian.net/russian_alp
 https://quizlet.com/355386/russian-alp
 http://www.practicerussian.com/Tests

 
the French connection

 



 the Russian royal family spent their
 summer holidays in Southern France
 http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian


 this helps explain the many French
 words in the Russian language,
.
русский язык


 русский
 (adjective, nominative case,
  masculine, singular)
 3 syllables: Русс'-ки-й
.pronounced rooss'-kee-ye
 (the oo in
pool)
.meaning
Russian


 язык
 (noun, nominative case, masculine,
  singular)

 2 syllabes: я-зык'
.pronounced yah-z(e-ee)k'

 meaning language, tongue

 Examples
 - the French word for poster: affiche
   
In Russian, it's афиша.
    3 syllables: аh-фи'-ша
   pronounced
 ah-fee'-shah

    Notice
    - the ш pronounced sh


 - the French word for wardrobe: garde-robe
    In Russian, it's гардероб.
    3 syllables: гар-де-роб'
    pronounced
 gar-de-rohb' (short-e in her)
arrow
    Notice
    - the г pronounced g
    - the д pronounced d
    - the </