A Good Russian Accent?
May. 8th, 2004 03:34 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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learn_russianOne well known way to memorize things is to make a picture in your mind that associates the new material with something familiar using action and illogic. The more preposterous, colorful and racy the picture is, the easier it will be to remember.
For learning a language some words lend themselves to this approach better than others. For example the Russian word for cow is karova. The Unforgettable Languages web site points out that if you make a vivid picture of a car running over a cow, that suddenly it's very easy to remember the right word.
My question for readers here is this. Does this guy have an good educated Russian accent? Also does anyone know of any other Russian programs that use this approach? I got the CD in the mail today and while I think it will be worth what I paid for it, many of the suggested pictures aren't as good as they should be.
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-08 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-08 08:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-08 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 12:23 am (UTC)I never actively learned the word korova, but my girlfriend said it to me once, and I remembered it ever since. It's not like korova is a difficult word compared to, say, vstrechitsya or zdravstvuitye.
If you want a good course, stick with Pimsleur Russian to start off with, then use Vocabulearn Russian (there are 1,500 words and phrases for each level)... so that's 4,500 words, which is much better than the Unforgettable Languages. Apparently, the Vocabulearn tapes should take you about a month each to absorb most of the words and phrases... so 3 months of daily listening will get you perfect pronunciation AND spelling!
Unforgettable Languages? Forget it!
~ squodge ~
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 03:01 am (UTC)Hey, the only way to really learn the language is to speak it. Can you imagine yourself recalling hundreds of weird word scenarios in real speech? Like, Смотри, какая красивая корова! (look, what a beautiful cow) - smart-tree cock-eye-aw crust-see-wail-aw car-over! Reminds me of that famous American Paratroopers' Russian Phraze-Book from the 1950s, with its brilliant transctiptions like "ass-ta-roj-naa" and "bee-ree-gees" (for осторожно - careful - and берегись, beware.)
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 10:00 am (UTC)That was painful to read!!! *lol*
And everyone says that my Russian has a Valley Girl accent, which makes NO sense, since I'm a Texan! (not that I sound that, either). I think it's because when I do speak, I do it quite quickly (hee hee, working on imitating the native "slurring it all together" bit).
As of late, I've been listening to webcast radio stations out of Russia for my language maintenance. I don't know if that would be of much help to the beginner (since they talk quite quickly), but I find it useful :)
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 10:40 am (UTC)I knew a Texan guy at Stanford University who got his Russian in Georgia (the one in Eastern hemispheer, I mean) where his father served as U.S. diplomat... imagine a Texan boy with a heavy Texan accent in English and equally heavy Georgian accent in Russian! (for Russians the Gergian accent sounds as heavy as, say, Mexican accent for, say, Bostoners...)
Listening to the radio is definitely useful since you are getting more an more used to the "music of speech" - the intonation - which is definitely different in out two languages. I normally listen to American radio stations online, and I have to admit that, after seven years of study, I'm getting more and more of what they say - now close to one half (not counting the songs!)
okay
Date: 2004-05-09 11:51 am (UTC)What to avoid.
Date: 2004-05-09 11:59 am (UTC)Slow Progress
Date: 2004-05-09 12:16 pm (UTC)Right now I am on lesson 27 of Pimsleur Russian One, and I wish I could find a way to speed up my learning. I really wish there was a version of Pimsleur Russian for a PDA computer. If done right you could review the vocabulary quickly and hopefully not have to listen to each tape four times.
Re: Slow Progress
Date: 2004-05-09 01:21 pm (UTC)The Simon & Schuster recordings are inferior in comparison, but sadly Sybervision never made more than 1 level for any language. I have their programmes for Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Greek. I've only done the Russian, which took me 3 months - I was busy learning Korean at uni and also completing my finals at the same time lol. And I have an exam on Tuesday - HELP!
I found also that the Sybervision courses were far more interesting in their dialogues. I played the Simon & Schuster version to my girlfriend and she was astonished because the Russian speakers are either very rude in their intonation, or sound like they've had more than a double vodka! But she did say that if I sounded like them, I could pass for a Soviet... so long as I cover my face (I'm Chinese!)
~ squodge ~
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 01:50 pm (UTC)Anyhow thanks!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 01:59 pm (UTC)However, the Vocabulearn tapes come with a booklet which list all the words and phrases in: (1) English; (2) target language (true script); (3) target language (accepted Romanised Script).
Sadly, I don't have Vocabulearn Russian; otherwise I'd offer you a copy for the price of 2 blank tapes. I would only recommend you buy them if you really are going to listen to them everyday. I wasn't quite to disciplined because I've been using a Pimsleur course anyway.
However, I've heard testimonials from people who have used it everyday, and they said that they were surprised by how much they could recall after listening to them everyday for 2-3 weeks.
If you're interested in Vocabulearn for other languages, I could help you with some mp3 files and scans of the booklets? Drop me a line at my email address (find it on my info page!)
GOOD LUCK ^__^
~ squodge ~
Re: Slow Progress
Date: 2004-05-09 02:10 pm (UTC)Hey, you could pass for an Asian Russian - many Tatars, Buryats, Uighurs, Altaiers, Tuvans etc. speak perfect Russian with a small accent (or even none.)
Re: What to avoid.
Date: 2004-05-09 02:14 pm (UTC)After all, I have worked on the radio for five or six years, so my Russian prononciation is definitely not very bad (though of course not perfect: to find the perfect Russian you have to go to Maly Theatre in Moscow :-)))
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 02:24 pm (UTC)I shall have to post on the community as my success (or otherwise) with em!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 02:27 pm (UTC)The romanization was inconsistent, and the grammar section was bogus.
"Ringo wa su"?
I guess you get what you pay for.
Simon & Schuster - Pimsleur
Date: 2004-05-09 02:45 pm (UTC)I had no idea that there were two different versions of Pimsleur Russian. Apparently both companies licensed the Pimsleur name and methods. I take it you have listened to current versions from both companies and you like the Sybervision one a lot better? Of course it is also possible that both companies have several different editions out there.
Can you elaborate on how the accents are different on Simon & Schuster Pimsleur vs. Sybervision Pimsleur? I've had several native speakers of Russian listen to my Simon & Schuster lessons and say that the accents are very good. I have also had several people say that my accent was good (although I don't yet have much of a vocabulary).
Sybervision (http://www.sybervision.com/page2.htm) apparently now has a Russian II and a Russian III course.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-09 03:11 pm (UTC)Wow, s gruznom aksentom? that's interesting :D my teachers were a mish-mash of russians (mainly st. pete and moskva), and a random ukranian. Also, i knew french before i took russian, so mix the parisienne accent with the random russian accents.. and you're bound to get something. i think one of my teachers said my accents were starting to come together into something like german? i can't remember - it's been much too long.
and the radio station bit is nice - i can get a basic idea, even if i don't know all the words. i was lucky, and our course involved lots of listening exercises (in addition to being forced to use the russian language from day one!), so my ear is pretty well attuned to it, for a yank :D
xoxo
Re: Simon & Schuster - Pimsleur
Date: 2004-05-09 03:13 pm (UTC)The original version I had was the Sybervision one. It was published in 1989, which was two years before the "opening-up" (collapse?) of the Soviet Union. I didn't think they'd be any problems with using a course from Soviet Times. My girlfriend said that the nice thing about the 1989 Edition is that I got to learn some Soviet terms, which she (and many ex-Soviets, apparently) likes. Words like 'tovarish' for 'comrade'.
She commented that the old course (Sybervision), the accents were very traditional, the kind that would not make Russians 'suspicious' of why I'd wanna learn their language. She commented that the new course (Simon & Schuster), the accents are very abrupt and make one sound like a genuine speaker, but not a genuine person hahaha!
From what I gather, Simon & Schuster have only one edition of Russian, which is the one you have. And Sybervision obviously must have more than 1 edition since the old one (the one I have) has words that aren't used by youths. Except me.
In your booklet, does it give a glossary of which words are used in which Unit?
~ squodge ~
Re: Simon & Schuster - Pimsleur
Date: 2004-05-09 03:38 pm (UTC)Recording Your Own Program.
Date: 2004-05-09 03:54 pm (UTC)Before you start in on a new business project, the right question to ask is this. How do I sell it when it's done? You need to have a sales method that you like, that works for you.
Re: Recording Your Own Program.
Date: 2004-05-10 02:24 am (UTC)