Russian

Ь - Мягкий знак (soft sign) and Ъ - твёрдый знак (hard sign) in Russian

natalianovikova76 — Tue, 05 May 2015 09:58:49 -0400

Ь The “soft sign” (мягкий знак - "myagkii znak") has no sound value, is used to modify the pronunciation of the preceding consonant by making it soft (palatalized). A consonant becomes soft when it is pronounced with the middle of the tongue raised towards the roof of the mouth - in the word “конь” (stallion, male horse), compared to “кон” (round, as in the next round of a game).

Ъ The “hard sign” (твёрдый знак - "tvyordyi znak") has no sound value. It occurs only between a consonant and a vowel as in the word “въезд” (entry). It is used to show that the consonant should not be palatalized and that the consequent vowel is preceded by the the “y” sound as in yes.

A long time ago, the “soft sign” (ь) and the “hard sign” (ъ) were both short vowels, pronounced something like the /i/ in “pit” and the /u/ in “put.

The trouble was that in time ь and ъ lost their vocalic quality, i.e., they stopped being pronounced as vowels and no longer formed syllables. The ь and ъ continued to be written in all Russian texts, but now they were used as “phonetic markers” - the ь indicated that the preceding consonant was “soft” (palatalized), while the ъ indicated that the preceding consonant was “hard” (non-palatalized).

More information can be found here.

Какой или Который?

Andy086 — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 15:19:52 -0500

Здравствуйте Господа,

Меня зовут Энди. Я учусь русский язык.

My question is about when to use the question word Какой and when to use Который? Both words translate to which in English.

Спасибо Наташа!

С Новым 2015 Годом! С Рождеством! Happy New 2015 Year! Merry Christmas!

natalianovikova76 — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 04:54:08 -0500

I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Everyone wants to know how to say holiday greetings in Russian, especially in the time of celebrating New Year and Christmas.

As some of you may know Russians celebrate New Year before they celebrate their Christmas: January 1st and January 7th respectively. But how do we say greetings like "Happy New Year!" or "Merry Christmas!"?

С Новым Годом! - Lit.: With New Year! - Happy New Year!

С Новым 2015 Годом! - Lit.: With New 2015 Year! - Happy New 2015 Year!

С Рождеством! - Lit.: With Christmas! - Merry Christmas!

С праздником! / С праздниками! - Lit.: With holiday/With holidays! - Happy Holiday(s)!

If you want to say "I wish you Happy New Year!" then you should say: Поздравляем (поздравляю) Вас (тебя) с Новым Годом! which means We congratulate (I congratulate) You (form/plural) (you - inform./singular) with New Year!

Поздравляем Вас с Рождеством! - (We're) Wishing You (form./pl.) Merry Christmas!

Same applies when you wish a happy birthday to someone:

Поздравляю тебя с днём рождения! - Wishing you (inf./sg.) Happy Birthday!

С днём рождения! - Happy Birthday!

С наступившим Вас Новым 2015 Годом! - With the New 2015 Year that has come! :)

Наташа

Moscow's Birthday: How old is Moscow? - Сколько лет Москве?

natalianovikova76 — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 16:37:08 -0400

What do you know about Moscow and its birthday?

Muscovites celebrate Moscow City Day (День Города), Moscow's birthday on the first Saturday in September. This year, it was celebrated on September 6.

Moscow (Москва), known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is famous for its old historical center that takes its roots in the heart of the city -- in Kremlin (Кремль) and Red square (Красная площадь) and spreads around to and beyond the Boulevard ring (Бульварное кольцо)...

Each year vast celebrations, concerts, dance and theater shows take place in the streets, parks and gardens throughout the city including Tverskaya street (Тверская улица), Teatral'nya square (Театральная площадь), Red square, and the famous Gorky Park (Парк Горького).

How old is Moscow? - Сколько лет Москве? (please write in words)

Who founded Moscow? - Кто основал Москву?

What else do you know about Moscow?

Спасибо!

Наташа

Stress & Vowel Reduction in Russian - 4 Major Pronunciation Rules

natalianovikova76 — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 15:58:23 -0400

Stress
Stress plays an important role in Russian language. In order to speak Russian correctly it is necessary to know the place of the stress in the words. In some cases incorrect stress leads to the change of meaning or grammatical value of the word. Stress in Russian is not fixed, it may fall on any part of the word (beginning, center, end) and it is not shown in texts. Moreover, stress may change its place in different forms of the same word and it is a real difficulty for those who are learning Russian.

Russian words are normally written without stress marks. Therefore, it is important to devote special attention to the place of stress in words when learning Russian. In order to help students to memorize the place of stress in Russian words, in manuals and text books stresses are usually marked, most frequently with [ ´ ] above the stressed vowel.

Reduction of Vowels
In Russian, unstressed vowels are not pronounced as distinctly as stressed vowels. The alteration of a vowel in an unstressed position is called reduction. As a result of reduction, some letters denoting vowel sounds are read in a different manner than they are read in the alphabet.

In unstressed position there are no alterations in reading of letters и, ы, у, ю. Letter ё is always in stressed position, that is why it is read either as [yo] (at the beginning of the word, after vowels, ь and ъ) or as [o] (after consonants).

The letter а denotes a short neutral sound [ə] which is similar to the final sound in the English word water.

Vowel Reduction Rules
Here is a quick reference to the vowel reduction rules in Russian. The phonetic transcriptions, shown in square brackets, are intended to remind you about vowel reduction and other aspects of Russian pronunciation which are not obvious from the spelling.

Vowel Reduction Rule 1 - The letter o
In the first syllable before the stress the letter о sounds like а [a]: o -> a
we spell: окно́, Москвá
we say: [акно], [масквa]
translation: window, Moscow

Vowel Reduction Rule 2 - The letters о, а
Anywhere after the stress and more than one syllable before the stress the letter о sounds like [ə]: o, a -> ə
we spell: ко́смос, лáмпа, карандáш, профе́ссор, хорошо́
we say: [космəс], [лампə], [кəрандаш], [прафессəр], [хəрашо]
translation: cosmos, lamp, pencil, professor, well/good

Vowel Reduction Rule 3 - The letters е, я
In the first syllable before the stress the letters е, я are pronounced like и [ih]: е, я -> и
we spell: сестрá, мечтá, рекá, далеко́
we say: [с'истра], [м'ичта], [р'ика], [дəл'ико]
translation: sister, dream, river, far away

Vowel Reduction Rule 4 - The letters е, я
Anywhere after the stress and more than one syllable before the stress е, я are pronounced like 'ə [yuh]: е, я -> 'ə
we spell: но́мер, учи́тель, де́сять, дя́дя
we say: [ном'əр], [учит'əл'], [д'ес'əт'], [д'ад'ə]
translation: number, teacher, ten, uncle

Please leave your comment and/or ask more questions on the Russian Forum at www.LivingLanguage.com!

Спасибо!
Наташа

Write and Say Numbers in Russian: 0-10

natalianovikova76 — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 13:19:19 -0400

Привет!

Learn how to write and say numbers in Russian. Let’s start with the numbers 0-10:

0 – ноль (nol’)
1 – один (o/a-deen)
2 – два (dva)
3 – три (tree)
4 – четыре (chye-ty-rye)
5 – пять (pyat’)
6 – шесть (shest’)
7 – семь (syem’)
8 – восемь (vo-syem’)
9 – девять (dye-vyat’)
10 – десять (dye-syat’)

It is useful to know how to say: Мой номер телефона / My phone number is…, or you can also simplify it by saying: Мой телефон / My telephone.

Practice saying Russian numbers and your phone number with the audio: http://bit.ly/7VX2QL

Russian numbers 0-100: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI0lNtbyYsg

Leave a comment here if you have any questions.

Спасибо,
Наташа

Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world. Find out more...

natalianovikova76 — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 05:18:30 -0400

Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers and the 5th by total number of speakers. The language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

In 2013, Russian ranked as the second-most used language on the Internet after English.

Please answer the following questions when you have time:

What interesting facts do you know about Russian?
What other countries do you know besides Russia where Russian is also spoken?
Name your favorite Russian authors.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/East_Slavic_Languages_Tree_en.png

We'd love to hear your thoughts and interesting answers! :-)

Также, пожалуйста, задавайте мне вопросы! Я всегда рада на них ответить.

Спасибо!

Пока,
Натaша

Discover Creative Russia: Cartoon "Ёжик в тумане" (Hedgehog in the Fog) and more :)

natalianovikova76 — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:54:04 -0400

A long-time favorite Russian мультфильм (cartoon) that will never stop amazing older and younger generations of Russians and others around the world, "Ёжик в тумане" [yozhik v tumane], Hedgehog in the Fog, was directed by acclaimed cartoonist, Юрий Норштейн, Yuriy Norstein, in 1975. Hedgehog in the Fog has remained both a Russian and international masterpiece of the animation to this date.

If you like to discover more of creative Russia, then you'll definitely like to read the Calvert Journal, an online-based Guide to creative Russia at http://calvertjournal.com/.

Whether it is a professionally done photo-essay or a well-written article, you'll learn something new every day about modern creative Russia! To quote the publication itself:
"The Journal delivers a daily briefing on art, design, film, architecture and related cultural areas, through a mix of reportage, interviews, photography and design."

Enjoy Russian arts and share your discoveries of creative Russia here on LL Russian Forum.

Спасибо,
Наташа

Russian is INSANELY HARD!!

Dalton — Wed, 28 May 2014 09:59:38 -0400

I am really good with languages but Russian is kicking my butt....:/

С Новым Годом! С Рождеством! Happy New Year! Merry Christmas!

natalianovikova76 — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 13:23:34 -0500

Everyone wants to know how to say certain greetings in Russian, especially in the time of the holidays.

As some of you may know Russians celebrate New Year before they celebrate their Christmas: January 1st and January 7th respectively. But how do we say greetings like "Happy New Year!" or "Merry Christmas!"?

С Новым Годом! - Lit.: With New Year! - Happy New Year!

С Рождеством! - Lit.: With Christmas! - Merry Christmas!

С праздником! / С праздниками! - Lit.: With holiday/With holidays! - Happy Holiday(s)!

If you want to say "I wish you Happy New Year!" then you should say: Поздравляем (поздравляю) Вас (тебя) с Новым Годом! which means We congratulate (I congratulate) You (form/plural) (you - inform./singular) with New Year!

Поздравляем Вас с Рождеством! - (We're) Wishing You (form./pl.) Merry Christmas!

Same applies when you wish a happy birthday to someone:

Поздравляю тебя с днём рождения! - Wishing you (inf./sg.) Happy Birthday!

С днём рождения! - Happy Birthday!

I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

С наступающим Вас Новым Годом! - With the upcoming New Year to You! :)

Наташа

Russian Voiced and Voiceless Consonants - Pronunciation Rules

natalianovikova76 — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 03:53:00 -0400

Here is a quick overview of the 6 pairs of voiced and their counterparts, voiceless (devoiced) consonants.

Vocal chords vibrate (VOICED): Б, В, Г, Д, Ж, З (b, v, g, d, zh, z)
Vocal chords do not vibrate (VOICELESS): П, Ф, К, Т, Ш, С (p, f, k, t, sh, s)

1. Word final devoicing
Voiced consonants at the end of words are pronounced as voiceless (including soft sign as ending):

We write -> We pronounce:
гараж -> гара[ш] (garage)
маркетинг -> маркетин[к] (marketing)
лебедь -> лебе[т]ь (swan)

2. Voiced-voiceless assimilation
When voiced and voiceless consonants are adjacent to each other, the nature of the second consonant dictates the nature of the first:

voiced + voiceless -> voiceless + voiceless
субтитры -> су[пт]итры (subtitles)

voiceless + voiced -> voiced + voiced
баскетбол -> баске[дб]ол (basketball)

Check out this video: http://bit.ly/1525p8J for more information.

Please let me know if you have any questions - I am here to assist!

Спасибо!
Наташа

New Russian Contributor to the Forum - Introduction

natalianovikova76 — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 21:07:54 -0400

As a native Russian speaker, I am proud to be a member of the Living Language team. I am here to help you learn to speak, read and write in Russian.

Here is how you say “Hello!” and introduce yourself in Russian.
Здрáвствуйте! – Hello! [Phonetics: ZDRAH-stvәi-ti]
Меня́ зовýт Натáлия. – My name is Natalia. Literal translation: Me [they] call Natalia. [mi-NIAH zah-VOOT nә-TAH-li-ia]
Мо́жно про́сто Натáша. – You can just call me Natasha. [MOZH-nә PRO-stә na-TAH-sha] Russians typically prefer to go by their nick names just as the English-speaking people: Bill is short for William, Kate for Katherine, etc. The nick names are usually shorter than their full counterparts.

Please introduce yourself with your full and nickname.

If you have any questions and would like to know more about Russian. Please ask!

Natasha N. – Натáша Н.

Seasonal Proverbs & Sayings in Russian | Весна-красна (Beautiful spring)

natalianovikova76 — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 16:06:24 -0400

Russian culture is full of traditional sayings and proverbs, especially when they describe Russia's agricultural and seasonal activities. Russia is known for its rich harvesting and it is still mainly an agrarian country.

Весна красная, а лето страдное. Красна весна, да голодна.
Spring is beautiful, but summer is busy. The spring is beautiful and [is] hungry.

Весна цветами красна, осень снопами.
Spring is beautiful with flowers, autumn - with sheaves.

Цыплят по осени считают.
The chickens are counted by autumn. [Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.]

What other Russian proverbs and sayings about four seasons do you know? Please share them here on the forum.

Пожалуйста, задавайте вопросы! Я рада вам помочь. - Please ask questions. I am glad to help you!

Пока,
Наташа

Typing in Russian

Qosmio — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 07:55:52 -0400

I use a program called TypeIt to add foreign language characters. You can choose from a number of languages. I use TypeIt for French, Esperanto, and now Russian.

It is a freeware product. License costs something like $15.

It's easier than using the Windows keyboard. I recommend it for typing Russian Cyrillic characters.

Mitch

e-Tutoring Available?

Qosmio — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 08:03:53 -0400

Is e-Tutoring available for Russian? Or, is it planned for the future?

Right now, it looks like it is just Наташа and me here in the Russian forum. Is anyone else interested?

Mitch

What do you know about the Russian language?

natalianovikova76 — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:52:41 -0400

Приве́т! - Hi! or Hey there! (inform.)

Now, that you can greet and introduce yourself in Russian, I would like to share some facts about the Russian language – ру́сский язы́к. [RUSS-kee-i yi-ZYK]

The Russian alphabet (ру́сский алфави́т) has 33 letters (21 consonants, 10 vowels, and 2 signs) and is written in Cyrillic, which is derived from the Greek alphabet: А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е, Ё, Ж, З, И, Й, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т, У, Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ъ, Ы, Ь, Э, Ю, Я http://bit.ly/cfwUmw

Russian as one of the Slavic languages also belongs to the wider Indo-European group of languages, hence Russian and English share a lot of cognates, such as брат – brother, мать – mother, сестрá – sister, just to name a few.

Although Russian grammar is complex and the language has the reputation of being a very difficult one to learn, yet it is known as one of the most poetic, rich, and powerful languages in the world.

World famous Russian authors, Leo Tolstoy – Лев Толсто́й, Fyodor Dostoyevsky – Фёдор Достое́вский, Anton Chekhov – Анто́н Че́хов, Mikhail Bulgakov – Михаи́л Булгáков, Nikolai Gogol – Николáй Го́голь, and Vladimir Nabokov – Влади́мир Набо́ков are exceptional writers who shaped the world’s literature.

Russian is the official language of the Russian Federation (Росси́йская Федерáция). The number of native and non-native Russian speakers combined in Russia and abroad is between 255 and 285 million people.

Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers and the 5th by total number of speakers. The language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

In 2013, Russian ranked as the second-most used language on the Internet after English.

What other interesting facts do you know about Russian?
Can you name other true cognates that Russian and English share?
What other countries do you know besides Russia where Russian is also spoken?
What are your favorite Russian authors?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and interesting answers! :-)

Спасибо! - Thank you!

Натaша - Natasha