So, I'd really like to learn Russian. I live in an area with a decent population of native Russian speakers(Alaska), however due to time and distance (I live roughly about two hours into the countryside) actually taking lessons would be problematic. I know it'll become unavoidable when I want to get pronunciation down, but until then, for self-study, what methods would you recommend? Software, books, etc?
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Anonymous2007-11-15 15:42
You can't learn Russian by yourself, unless you already know another slavic language. Other than that, get a teacher from day 1.
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Anonymous2007-11-15 17:54
Thank you! It's probably the fact it uses Cyrillic, am I correct? Well then, I guess I'm off to get a teacher... This'll be hard, but if it's necessary to learn the language, I'm on it.
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Anonymous2007-11-15 18:07
>>3
Cyrillic is not that hard, its roots are in Greek and Hebrew alphabets, so you can relate a lot of the characters to those Greek letters used for prefixes you learned in Physics class.
The main problems with Russian is the complex grammar and the vocabulary (there aren't many cognates for an English speaker).
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Anonymous2007-11-16 3:20
You can try... It's hard learning on your own. I wouldn't suggest it. The internet got me so far, you know, in getting a basic vocabulary and grammar, but many expressions and in particular the word stresses can only be done with a teacher or a trip to Russia.
I can reccomend Rosetta Stone, Russian films/music and as many tapes as you can get. And lots of practice.
Overall Russian is a good choice for second language, it's easier than many other European languages and Chinese/Japanese, which are the only other serious contenders
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Anonymous2007-11-17 17:33
Anon five, thank you so much... I've had terrible luck finding a teacher so far, and I'm guessing I may just end up sailing to Kamchatka at this rate... So, I'll try Rosetta stone out, and watch lots of Russian films, and practice, practice, practice. Thank you!
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Anonymous2007-11-17 19:06
the Princeton Russian course. they took it off of their site around September (it is a few years old, anyway), but some guy torrented it.
so far, it seems to be a complete course. the alphabet is taught in lessons 2 & 3. the entire thing is supplemented with audio files, and there is a story to go along with the later part of the course.
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Anonymous2007-11-18 5:24
My god... Thank you.
I've lived for here so long, with no way to talk to my family, and now... Now I can at least try. I will put all my efforts into this, and I will get a teacher now matter the course. Thank you all so much.
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Anonymous2007-11-23 10:59
i'm from Russia...so i think i can help you a bit))) just say what i can do and we can try)))
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Anonymous2007-11-24 8:44
Russian is kinda hard to learn on your own but it is NOT impossible. It just requires more push than Chinese or Japanese.
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Anonymous2007-11-24 10:56
Don't give up.
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Anonymous2007-11-24 13:12
You will give up.
Find a teacher.
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Anonymous2007-11-25 20:42
I'm learning Russian too and like everyone is saying, you need someone to guide you along. If you don't have someone to speak with or mimic in conversation, you won't get stresses right and you'll develop bad speaking habits that you'll have to unlearn later.
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Anonymous2007-11-29 4:41
privet ^_^
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Anonymous2007-11-29 7:48
IMHO russian is not so hard as it looks like. I know a few english-speaking guys who can talk as good as I can (I'm a native). And it's took only a two years! And unlike Japanese, where is tons of good forums, books, nice native-speaking girls in ICQ or MSN and so on.. So it's really not a problem now.
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Anonymous2007-11-29 16:48
>Overall Russian is a good choice for second language, it's easier than many other European languages and Chinese/Japanese, which are the only other serious contenders
Russian is among the hardest languages for an English speaker to learn. Few, if any, "European" languages are more difficult. Chinese and Japanese are in the same category purely because they are so DIFFERENT for an English speaker, and not per se 'difficult' on their own.
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Anonymous2007-11-30 12:26
Greek and Russian are on the same level of difficulty.