Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Reading Russian Press: Russians’ Fear of Uncomfortable Literature – Part I Posted by Maria on Nov 5, 2015
I thought it might be interesting to look at recently published articles in the Russian press. Rather than having me summarize them, we are going to include quotes from the article and go over the language and message in these quotes. This week, I propose looking at the New Times article titled “Призы́в к смягче́нию…
Four Quirks Russian Non-Speakers Get Confused About Posted by Maria on Oct 1, 2015
Most of our posts are meant for people who already know or are learning some Russian, however little. Still, there are people out there who are interested in the language and the many cultures using it, but have not ventured past the first few phrases yet. For this reason, I will not be the…
The Billion Dollar Spy, Part One Posted by Jenya on Sep 22, 2015
Mystery? Intrigue? Danger? All trademarks of the “spy world.” During the Cold War, Russia, as well as most of the rest of Europe, had extensive manpower devoted to intelligence gathering, counterintelligence, and so on. Todays blog will center on a Russian spy of sorts, actually he was an engineer with access to many of the…
Changing Your Ways – Variations of Менять Posted by Maria on Sep 17, 2015
We have looked at expanding your vocabulary by adding prefixes to verb roots. Now I would like to suggest looking at variations of a very popular verb – меня́ть. This verb means to change (perfective – поменять). Из-за плохо́го поведе́ния ему́ за во́семь лет пришло́сь меня́ть шко́лу 11 раз. (Because of his poor behavior…
Sewing in Russian Posted by Maria on Sep 10, 2015
Perhaps some of our readers like to make their own clothes. If that’s the case, let’s review some of the basic sewing vocabulary to help you talk about your craft in Russian. Although sewing (шитьё, to sew – шить) is in the title of the post, other methods of making clothes include вяза́ть (на спи́цах) and вязать крючко́м…
Expand Your Vocabulary: Verbs With Prefixes – Играть Posted by Maria on Aug 27, 2015
A couple of weeks ago, we looked at combining prefixes and verb roots to expand your Russian vocabulary. One of the verbs that I was asked to cover was игра́ть. This is an excellent suggestion for a versatile and useful verb to have in your arsenal. The primary meaning of играть is, as you…
Writing a Formal Letter in Russian Posted by Maria on Jul 13, 2015
Perhaps some of our readers are learning Russian for more than personal enrichment. Some may want to study, work, or do business in Russia. If that’s the case, you need more that a few conversational phrases, and being familiar with and being able to write a business letter (делово́е письмо́) may come in handy…