New Russian Contributor to the Forum - Introduction

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.

Okay, I'll give it a try!

здравствуйте!меня зовут ана. я американа. я студента. оченъ приятно!

How do you say "I'm from..." like from a city or state?

Здравствуйте, Ана! Очень приятно. Спасибо (Thank you) for your introduction.

[The underlined-Italic script here is to show the correct stresses in Russian words.]

Make sure you spell with the soft sign "ь" at the end of очень (very) and not with the hard sign "ъ".

Also, use gender specific nouns, such as студентка for a female student as oppose to студент - a male student.
Same rule applies to describing your nationality: американка - female American, американец - male American.

Я из Америки. - I'm from America.

Я из Калифорнии. - I'm from California.

Я из Нью-Йорка. - I'm from New York.

In Russian, you need to decline nouns according to the case declensions any time a noun acts as an object. In this phrase "из (from) Калифорнии" the ending "-я" of the proper name Калифорния is changed to "-и" because of the Genitive case that is required here. See the following: Я из Америки: Америка (Nom.) -> (из) Америки (Gen.) where the ending "-а" changes to "-и"; Нью-Йорк -> Нью-Йорка, etc.

Here is more information about the Genitive case and prepositions: http://bit.ly/18SGagt

To ask a question Where are your from? in Russian: Откуда вы?

Ana,

I'll be waiting for your answer :-)

Спасибо!

Наташа

I have some questions about the pronunciation of unstressed vowels. I'll start by asking about е and я.

I understand, in words the are pronounced like и when unstressed. Does this include endings for declensions and conjugations?

Thanks,

Mitch

Спасибо, Mitch for the question!
Yes, same pronunciation rules apply to the endings in declensions and conjugations.

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

In the first syllable before the stress the letter о sounds like а [a]: o -> a

we spell: окно, Москва

we say: [акно] [масквa]

translation: window, Moscow

Vowel Reduction Rule 2

Anywhere after the stress and more than one syllable before the stress the letter о sounds like [ə]: o, a -> ə

we spell: космос, лампа, карандаш, профессор, хорошо

we say: [космəс] [лампə] [кəрандаш][прафессəр] [хəрашо]

translation: cosmos, lamp, pencil,
professor, well/good

Vowel Reduction Rule 3

In the first syllable before the stress the letters е, я are pronounced like и [ih]: е, я -> и
we spell: сестра, мечта, река, далеко

we say: [с'истра] [м'ичта] [р'ика] [дəл'ико]

translation: sister, dream, river, far away

Vowel Reduction Rule 4

Anywhere after the stress and more than one syllable before the stress е, я are pronounced like 'ə [yuh]: е, я -> 'ə

we spell: номер, учитель, десять, дядя

we say: [ном'əр] [учит'əл'] [д'ес'əт'] [д'ад'ə]

translation: number, teacher, ten, uncle

Please ask more questions on the Russian Forum at www.LivingLanguage.com!

Спасибо!

Наташа

Спасибо, Наташа!

My next question is about consonants becoming (de)voiced.

I understand that the final consonant in a group generally determines whether the entire group is voiced or not.

It appears, though, that sometimes this is not the case and seems to depend on where syllables occur. For example, when a word begins with a vowel, one or more consonants that follow sometimes do not follow this rule. They keep their voiced/unvoiced nature.

Is this how it works?

Mitch

What a great question, Mitch!

Thank you for bringing up the topic of voiced and voiceless (devoiced/unvoiced) consonants. As you can see, I've posted the answer as a separate discussion with 2 pronunciation rules as your guidance.

As for the other part of your question when it comes to vowels, it becomes much easier as they typically bring the nature of voiced back.

Voiced consonants pronounced as voiceless at the end of words keep their voiced nature if they are followed by vowels: voiceless (pronounced) + vowel -> voiced

We pronounce -> We write=pronounce

гара[ш] -> гаражи (garages, pl.)
маркетин[к] -> о маркетинге (about marketing)

Best,
Natasha

Здравствуйте Наташа и друзья! Меня зовут Крикет. Я Американка и студентка Русский язык. Я изучаю "четвёртый урок: Местоположения".

I have the Living Language complete edition... I'm in the first book.

Здравствуйте! Здравствуйте! Здравствуйте!

Меня зовут Анибал Энрикэ. Я из PUERTO RICO!!!! Я тоже изучаю русский язык. Я очень рад что я изучаю его.

I have been waiting for the stickers of the Russian alphabet что моя любовь купила for me to be able to communicate with the Russian Language.

Она русская. Она из России and this is one of the reasons why I am learning this lovely language. Actually, the main reason. Additionally, I am planning to fly to Russia next year's summer to finally meet the rest of her семья. I am currently on the Essentials book. I like the Living Language technique for learning. I actually inspired моя любовь to buy the Spanish Complete Edition from Living Langauge. I am very excited to continue learning. If I have any problems, I am sure that I will ask for help.

Пока пока!!!!

Здравствуйте, Крикет и Анибал Энрикэ!

Очень приятно с вами познакомиться. Добро пожаловать в Living Language! Я очень рада, что вы изучаете русский язык.

Крикет, вы студентка русского языка. Анибал Энрикэ, вы тоже студент русского языка. Крикет, вы американка, вы из Америки. Анибал Энрикэ - пуэрториканец, он из Пуэрто Рико.

Друзья, пожалуйста, задавайте вопросы. Friends, please ask questions.

Cricket and Anibal Enrique, also I hope to see you both take eTutoring sessions to practice your Russian with me.

До свидания!

Наташа

Привет, Наташа.

I have the Complete Edition version of Russian. I think that I cannot take eTutoring sessions, right?

Well, either way, I will ask any question about anything I find dubious.

Пока!

Анибал

Анибал, привет!

Have you checked with the Living Language support team at [email protected]?

They can provide you with full information on what each edition has to offer.

I really hope you could take an eTutoring session at some point.

Задавайте вопросы в любом случае.

Пока,

Наташа

Наташа,

I just wrote them, asking if I can. I will let you know their answer to this matter. I hope they let me.

Спасибо за всё!

Анибал

я не думаю that we can do the etutoring. I would LOVE to be able to do that though!

Thank you for the welcome! I actually understood most of it! I'm on chapter 8 now in the "essentials" book. :)

Hi Cricket!

You probably heard from me or my colleague about eTutoring. Keep checking back on the LL site. In the future, we may be offering shorter-term (and cheaper) options for online course subscriptions with eTutoring. At the moment, the only option is a 1 year subscription (on sale now for $99) which comes with our eTutoring service.

I hope that you'll keep posting questions and comments here. Good luck!

Erin

У меня вопрос. Do Russians always write with cursive? (I read that they/you all do). It seems more confusing (though perhaps faster to write) as some letters seem very similar, e.g. "m" and "t" and "ш". And are most signs (stores, businesses) in cursive as well? I have noticed that these Living Language lessons sometimes show the cursive "version" at the beginning before using the print version for the lessons. I am mostly curious. Thanks.

Тим, добрый день!

Да, все русские пишут with cursive. Even though it might be confusing at first, you still should recognize the differences in writing certain letters, especially since one person's hand writing differs from another.
As for the signs, businesses mostly use the print version but they still may mix in some letters written with cursive. Sometimes signs can contain both print and cursive versions mixed in together in one sign. Russians tend to get creative with signs.

I suggest you practice your Russian cursive writing for fun ;) It is a beautiful way of writing indeed!

I hope it answers your questions.

Задавайте ещё вопросы! Спасибо!

До свидания,
Наташа

Здравствуйте, меня зовут келли-ли. я живу в штате мэрилиед в балтиморе. я студиентка на четвертом курсе.

I have been studing russian for one year. I am very interested in learning more!

Спасибо!

Здравствуйте, Келли-Ли!

Добро пожаловать на курсы русского языка в Living Language!

Очень приятно с Вами познакомиться. Меня зовут Наташа. Я репетитор русского языка. Я буду рада ответить на Ваши вопросы.

Всего доброго,

Наташа

Howdy, Stranger!

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