(no subject)

[earthstars.livejournal.com]

So. I don't know any Russian whatsoever and it looks very difficult, but I've decided to learn.

How long do you think will it take me to learn basic to moderate Russian via email? For instance, not being able to understand everything absolutely perfect, but able to grasp meanings of things I read etc., and to have my imperfect sentences understood. This is the level I have with Spanish and would love to reach it in Russian.

I am English. If anyone is interested in helping me learn (email would be best for me) that would be great. I can help with English too!

Comments

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Start with the alphabet. If you don't give up in four weeks, and can spell simple words in six, come back! :)

[anabor.livejournal.com]

I think, it's absolulely wrong way. My school teacher has started with the alphabet, but it hasn't helped me speak English. Moreover, have you ever know any child, who starts with alphabet?

PS. To whoom it may concern. Welcome to the Skype. :-)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know hundreds of children, who in their study of foreign and exotic languages (like English;-)) started with the alphabet. I, for instance.

Problem is, Russian employs a totally different alphabet than English language. A person who studies Russian is absolutely helpless and clueless without the knowledge of the alphabet. Russian spelling is nearly phonetic, and it's the spelling that dictates pronounciation, not otherwise. So, if you don't know the correct spelling, you won't get any close to the correct speaking.

Speaking about your personal experience, I would not overgeneralize it if I were you. Having a weak language teacher at school does not mean that languages can't be taught.

[drivebyluna.livejournal.com]

+1

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

If you can afford to learn the language by never touching any written text, then you don't need to know neither spelling, nor alphabet. Look at kids. They don't know any alphabet till 5, 6 or 7 and yet they speak. The problem is, we don't have enough money and time to get ourselves for a few years into an environment where we can interact with other people almost constantly in the language that we wish to learn. We're usually forced to learn the language in more efficient ways, with less direct communication with people in this language and more reading and writing in it. And knowing just the alphabet alone doesn't make anyone speak, only read or write without any understanding whatsoever. And it's pretty obvious why, ain't it? :)

[daskalidi.livejournal.com]

zoia_barzakh(vau)mail.ru
You can write me any time you like.
I will be glad to help you.

[earthstars.livejournal.com]

Thankyou!

[daskalidi.livejournal.com]

I'll wait for you letter!

[daskalidi.livejournal.com]

I've received your letter and alreafy answered.
I didn't understand, if you have problems with Russian alphabet.

[earthstars.livejournal.com]

Thanks x

[2007april.livejournal.com]

I can exchange my Russian. I need English.

[earthstars.livejournal.com]

Thankyou x

[http://users.livejournal.com/_deja_vue_/]

enigma19 @ yandex.ru
I'm going to be a teacher of Russian as a foreign language, so I can help if you want :)
And I do need help with English!

[earthstars.livejournal.com]

I will email.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Just via e-mail won't suffice. It's a very different language and you will need a lot (really a lot) of time and practice to get to some more or less decent level. You will absolutely have to get a good textbook on Russian and a good grammar reference (the thicker and more detailed, the better). You'll have to learn a great deal of grammar to be able to understand various constructs, cases, word order and so on. You'll need to read a lot and listen a lot. Both. The problem with Russian is that just like in English the word stress (which syllable gets accentuated) is never indicated in writing, it changes with word forms (due to the case system) and it's much less predictable in Russian than in English (the majority of English words have their first syllable stressed). You will have to concentrate on learning and memorizing the stress. The wrong stress to native speakers of Russian sounds extremely foreign, perhaps much more than other mistakes. There could be some misunderstanding, too.
Consider a situation on a crowded bus, where one person asks if the person between them and the door is going to get off the bus at the next/current stop. You'd normally ask it this way:
Вы выходите (Vy=you vykhodite=leave/exit/get off)?
The stress in the 2nd word should be on the o. But if you mistakenly put it on и/i, then the question transforms into a rude demand to get off.
If only Russian was as simple in terms of accentuation as Spanish... :)
You'll have to listen a lot and consult the vocabulary a lot to find and memorize the proper stress location. Also see what the grammar reference tells you about the stress in various situations. A dictionary may not tell you the stress location in a particular form of a word, only in it's base form.

[hellga.livejournal.com]

A language simply CANNOT be learned over e-mail. You need someone to speak with to learn pronounciation (and phonetics of Russian is very different from English, especially the vowels but many consonants as well), intonations (which are more rich and important in Russian than in English), natural use of the vocabulary... Even buying a book with good audio CDs would be a better option, and going to a class or learning from someone, such as a tutor, would be better still.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

I think only the ы vowel sound is missing from English and е/э are slightly different. As for consonants, there're some differences in: к, п, т (they aren't as noisy as k, p, t), р (sharper and more distinct from d and l than r), and ш and щ are both close to the English sh sound but these three are distinct. In any case, I'd say it's not all that bad and even if these sounds aren't perfect, it should be OK. One would need to master "softening" the consonants followed by the soft sign ь, though. Curable with a little bit of practice.
I think intonations are quite important in English too. After all, how will you know the actual meaning of "pretty good"? And there're sentences that are grammatically statements, not questions, but can be turned into questions by only changing the intonation. And just like in Russian, in English words can be emphasized by the intonation to convey additional meaning or particular aspect.
Not that I disagree with you, it's just some things are less important and less difficult than they may appear. I think if one grasps the cases (besides the rest of the basic grammar, of course), accentuation, the use of perfective and imperfective verb forms, and all those verbs with prefixes, that would be very very good.

[pomidorova-gnus.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's better to contact english persons near you who learn russian as well? :)

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Perhaps for the same reasons they begin learning other languages? :)

[earthstars.livejournal.com]

I just find it interesting.

I'm into languages and already know some Spanish and French. I hope to learn Russian and Swedish next.

[liludalas.livejournal.com]

skype: raenafel

feel free to drop me a line.

[kagury.livejournal.com]

Good evening! I am russian.
I am happy to help you in Russian, and I hope I can make my English better with your help.
kagury(at)ya.ru

[ekaterinak-rus.livejournal.com]

Hallo, Spider. I want to help you with Russian. Many people of here was writing that you need to start with alphabet. It is a good idea, but not enough. I consider that a good supplementary will able to be the interesting texts which are becoming more complex gradually. Exchange of letters is an excellent way for it. Also in this case you can get quickly answers on your doubts in Russian exercises (if you are doing its)

my mail: ekaterinak@hotbox.ru

PS. Excuse me for my English. I'm Russian and I am learning English. But Russian people say: The person which nothing to do never has the mistakes (Кто ничего не делает, тот никогда не ошибается) :+)