Archive for September, 2011
How to Talk Like a Russian (Pet) Posted by yelena on Sep 28, 2011
Ever wondered what do Russian animals say and how they say it? Well, consider this video your pronunciation guide and this post – the not-so-boring and definitely non-mandatory reading. I have a bi-lingual cat (here’s his picture). Seriously, my cat is a genius. Not only does he understand everything we tell him whether in Russian…
Советские Анекдоты [Soviet Jokes] Posted by Natalie on Sep 26, 2011
«Дорогие друзья» [Dear friends], it is with great pleasure that I inform you that I am in an advanced Russian class this year. We have been reading «советские анекдоты» [Soviet jokes] in class and I want to share a few of them with you, as they are often quite funny. «–Цензурируется ли переписка советских…
What Would Yoda Say? Posted by yelena on Sep 23, 2011
Have you ever wondered how to start or finish a sentence to make it sound right? Have you ever asked yourself “Should I start with a subject, an object, or a verb? What if I mess up your word order? Would that make me sound silly? Would it turn my hard-thought sentence into something…
The New Facebook: What Do You Think? Posted by Natalie on Sep 22, 2011
You may be wondering right now «Где же Наташа?» [Where is Natasha?]. I know I have had a long absence from «наш русский блог» [our Russian blog], but I am pleased to say: «я вернулась» [I have returned]. And in a later post, I will answer the questions: «Где я была? Что я делала?» [Where…
Ten Little Words – Part 2 Posted by yelena on Sep 16, 2011
As promised, here’s the second part of David’s excellent post about the only ten neuter Russian nouns that end in -мя. Meanings and connections of the words After this digression you couldn’t be blamed if you’ve forgotten the list of «–мя» nouns, but now we’ll go through their meanings and their connections, this time in…
Ten Little Words – Part 1 Posted by yelena on Sep 15, 2011
Do you remember David Roberts of the “Million Scarlet Roses” post? He’s back with more and I mean lots more insight into Russian language. And don’t be fooled by the title of the post. You will learn way more than 10 little words. And that’s just in Part 1. So here it goes… Grammatical gender…
Confused About Russian Pronouns? Posted by yelena on Sep 13, 2011
Is Russian grammar confusing? You bet! Just check out this photo I snapped at a Russian store in New Jersey. Do you ever get frustrated with Russian grammar rules? Are you tired of declension tables, unpredictable word stress and having to memorize endless exceptions from the rules? Well, I am not about to offer a…