Hello

[acesifda.livejournal.com]

I was going to use Babelfish to translate an introductory paragraph, but as I understand it, this might just produce unwanted schmutz.

I do want to say 'Hello!' to everyone here, and invite anyone at any stage of learning to befriend me, if they are willing to act ,however loosely, in the capacity of coach or tutor.

I'm not making a formal study of the Russian language, yet, so there's still zero pressure from me. Okay, maybe ~0.001% :) Not a lot!

I just don't want anyone who might benefit from some joint association to chicken out, if they think I'm trying to hire them as a private teacher and not give them any kopeks or cheeseburgers.

Let's just say I would like to learn anything I can, and hope to make a few friends in the process.

Lately, a number of Russian speakers have added me as friends on LJ, but without a proper translation, or mutual understanding, meaning is lost and communication is difficult at best.

So, I will begin here with these points:

I need a 'Key to Pronunciation.'

How shall I sound out the Cyrillic characters?

Convert vision to sound, and make it audible;
Produce thoughts and replicate them on paper?

Typing is a problem- My keyboard can be converted to standard Cyrillic font, but it's not phonetic, so I become aggravated since I don't know the sounds of the letters! ;) You see my problem.

The BASICS: ABC, 123, Hello/Goodbye, Please/Thank you... RGB, that sort of thing. Might be very useful to a complete beginner... Any hints, tips, suggestions, or recommendations? Spacebo.

What other languages use the Cyrillic alphabet, and what are the differences in spoken or written Russian?

Are there numerous forms of Russian, as in dialects? (High and Low, perhaps?) I have a bit of a morbid curiousity about things that are verboten, so when I was told there are 5 words which one can be arrested for using in public, but which can be used to comprise an entire manner of speech, I was greatly intrigued. I'm sure not everyone is a prude or afraid of the consequences and unwilling to share such information with me, da? nyet?

My journal is geared towards groan-ups anyway, but I try to keep the obscenity to a bare minimum, if I use it at all. I do reserve that right, of course, but I am conscientious of the results. I should not want the underrage or unwitting and virginal to dwell on such subjects and become sullied or tainted by wanton filth. I just want to know if I can learn a new way of expressing myself, emoting, or perhaps relating to others.

This is beginning to sound more formal than I had originally intended, so let us dispense with the formalities and commence the ceremony!

MAESTRO!?

Here's the Mic- I have to get ready for work now.

Comments

[llill.livejournal.com]

What other languages use the Cyrillic alphabet, and what are the differences in spoken or written Russian?
They are Belorussain and Ukrainian as closest languages to Russian. Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian as cusins of Russian and the languages of motherland of the Cyrillic alphabet. Some languages of former Soviet republics such as Kazakh and almost all languages of nations living in russia such as Tatar, Kalmyk, Yakut. And least but not last Mongolian.

[arashi-opera.livejournal.com]

About Russian obscene language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_mat

[miconazole.livejournal.com]

What did your last slave die of? ;)

ahem

[acesifda.livejournal.com]

Old age.

Re: spasibo

[miconazole.livejournal.com]

Heh, well, check the community memories, it has useful crap in it. There's a penpal thread I'm not sure anyone actually checks. You can find out more than you ever wanted to know about the alphabet on Wikipedia. As for the keyboard, there's no trick to it, just print out a picture of the layout and practise.

Re: spasibo

[acesifda.livejournal.com]

that's good advice, I appreciate it :)

[cherity.livejournal.com]

"Thank you" in transliteration will be "spasibo":)

I can make a little audiotape for you with basic russian words - like "hello", "thank you", "good bye" and so on if you'd like and send it to you by e-mail.

spasibo

[acesifda.livejournal.com]

and audio recordings would be awesome.

Re: spasibo

[cherity.livejournal.com]

so give me your e-mail adress and I'll be able to send you it tomorrow:)

Re: spasibo

[acesifda.livejournal.com]

ECSizemore@gmail.com

I will be looking forward to this :)

Re: spasibo

[liveword.livejournal.com]

There are some Russian video lessons.
http://ru.youtube.com/user/liveworda

I think the beginners can find it useful. You'll hear how the words sound and you'll see written words and pictures.

[david-us.livejournal.com]

The first thing you must do in your journey to learn Russian is to become proficient with the Cyrillic alphabet and learn the sound each letter makes. Without that most basic foundation it will be impossible to progress.

That, at a minimum, is a starting point.

And you will discover this is not very difficult at all. You will readily see how the "extra" Russian letters are really nothing more than familiar English letter combinations.

For instance:

ш = "sh"
щ = "shch" (sure, unusual to the English tongue, but certainly understandable)
ж = "zsh"
ц = "ts"

Even the "extra" vowels are completely understandable:

a = "ah"
я = "ya"

э = "eh"
е = "ye"

and so on ...

This type of knowledge is easily obtainable from any basic text or from countless locations on the internet.

Learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Start there (http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/language/russian-alphabet.html).

[escritora.livejournal.com]

"a 'Key to Pronunciation.'"... I think, it's good to listen our radio, to find drum-periods, phonetic waves with their own length in our Russian Language, like boxes with sounds... it's like a rhythm of russian breathing, comfortable to all sounds. For me so it was with Ukrainian.

[nympholept.livejournal.com]

(I found this through google)
Those random russians users adding may be bots.
If they are, LJ Abuse will suspend them if you report them.

More information here: http://nympholept.livejournal.com/tag/russian+bots
Including ways to tell if they really are bots, just in case.