A new word for today

[mendeleyev]

I hope that Mods will not mind if this subject is posted in this section, but if they decide to move it I will not be offended.

A great way to tiptoe into a new language is to build some basic vocabulary. With Russian, there are tenses, declensions and other points of grammar that will ultimately create changes in words, but frankly we must start with the basics first. The basics allow a person to start learning words and then using them. Trust me, even your most elementary efforts will be appreciated by your friends and loved ones in the FSU.

Many of us remember sitting in a room surrounded by Russian speakers who were talking a mile a minute, and we did not understand a single thing. After time and effort we began to catch a word or two, and gradually we could make a good guess of the topic in a conversation, based on words that we recognized. Before long, you find yourself engaged in, and perhaps even contributing to the conversation based on what you understand.

These posts are not about the complexities of grammar, but about the basics, although we may add some basic grammar points to help understand the term.

Most words that you will learn at first, whether from books, or an internet program, are from the "nominative" case. We call this the dictionary form, because it is the basic word without changes. For those interested, the nominative case is one of six cases used in Russia.

For new readers, do a search of this forum pages because there are several good topics on language from a variety of our members. New learners will advance more quickly if you will learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Learning the alphabet will be easier and quicker than you think.

Meanwhile, we start with a new word for today!

[mendeleyev]

Our very first word is: word

Word is слово, spelled s-l-o-v-o.

It is spoken as "SLO-va."


For better basic understanding:

- слово is a noun.

- слово is spoken as "SLO-va" and likely you're wondering why one of the O letters is spoken as an A instead of an O. Simply this: Basic grammar dictates that only one O in a word can be spoken as an O, most others are spoken as A instead. Without getting deeper into grammar rules, we'll simply point out that you speak O when that part of the word is stressed.

Write this word on a flashcard or desktop program, and make a point to speak it several times each day.

[mendeleyev]

The next new word for today compliments this thread.

Our new word is: new

New is новый, spelled as n-o-v-i-y.

новый sounds like "NO-viy."


For better basic understanding:

- новый is, as you guessed, an adjective.

- As you can see, the Cyrillic letter B is not a "b" at all; instead it is a V and spoken as "veh." The sooner you learn the Cyrillic alphabet, the faster you will catch on to words and phrases.


Add this word to your flashcards or desktop program, and make a point to speak these new words several times each day.

[mendeleyev]

Here is another basic, but very important new word for today.

This new word is I.

I is Я, and the last (#33) letter in the Cyrillic alphabet. It may be last, but often it is first (pun intended).


It is not some sort of backwards R, but instead, Я is spoken as "Yah" and it means I, as in I and here, I am angry, I am happy, etc.



For better basic understanding:

- Я is a pronoun.


Add this word to your flashcards or desktop program, and make a point to speak these new words several times each day.

[SANDRO43]

Basic grammar dictates that only one O in a word can be spoken as an O, most others are spoken as A instead.

Once it used to be that only pre-tonic Os would be  pronounced as As - my grandmother's comment was that this new habit originated from illiterate people in power .

According to that "basic grammar" rule, how would Мо́лотов be pronounced, then ? Mòlataf ?

 Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов

[Boethius]

Once it used to be that only pre-tonic Os would be  pronounced as As - my grandmother's comment was that this new habit originated from illiterate people in power .

     Neither of my husband's grandfathers, one from Moscow, one from St. Petersburg, ever pronounced "a's" as "o's".  So, that could be the case.  He also told me that in some regions of Russia, they don't use "a's" at all (parts of the Lower Volga, natives of Novgorod, are two examples he gave me).

According to that "basic grammar" rule, how would Мо́лотов be pronounced, then ? Mòlataf ?


 Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов

Skryabin.

[mendeleyev]

I don't think that Ukrainians follow that practice either, but I'm no fluent Ukrainian speaker. Nor have I observed discernible changes from Volgograd to Rostov to ....

Sandro, I am not sure when that practice began, but you'd be hard pressed to obtain a modern textbook that did not teach that rule. Given that texts are typically standardized across Russia, my experience is that students everywhere are so instructed.

Some examples from the Internet:

http://ask.masterrussian.com/229/when-is-the-russian-letter-o-pronounced-as-a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel_reduction_in_Russian

http://www.russianlessons.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5463

http://www.reddit.com/r/russian/comments/2hnya7/i_dont_understand_stress_on_the_letter_o/

http://www.russianlanguageschool.com/alphabet/letter-16/


One can think of lots of common words that follow this rule:

Россия is Russia, "Rah-si-yah."

Москва (Moscow) is not MOS-vah, it is maks-VAH.

молоко (Milk) has 3 of the letter O, but only the last is spoken. We say "ma-la-KO."

она is she, a pronoun. "ah-NA."

окно is window, "ak-NO."

волос is hair, "va-LOS."

профессор is professor, "pra-fess-OR."

спасибо is thank you, "spa-si-ba."

лето is summer, "LYE-ta."



Understanding O and A:





More from someone (Russian) who teaches at the University level:

[mendeleyev]

Another new word is: many/much/a lot.

Many/much/a lot is много, spelled m-n-o-g-o.

It is spoken as "MNO-gah."


For better basic understanding:

- много is an adverb when it modifies or qualifies an adjective, or an adjective when describing a noun.

Frankly, most of us will use this in the negative form when someone asks if we speak Russian. We add the word "not" не ("ne") to this word много. That allows us to respond with "not much." не много is sounded by attached the не to the м and it sounds like "nem-NO-gah."

[mendeleyev]

These important pronouns form a group for a new word(s): He, She, They

He is он, spelled O-n. Spoken like "Ohn."

She is она, spelled O-n-a. Voiced as "ah-NA."

They is Oни, spelled O-n-i. Sounds as "ah-NE."


For better basic understanding:

- These are pronouns, and vital for your vocabulary.


By now you have noticed that some letters are near identical to English. Yet, some others look identical, but are different. H is an N in Russian, for example. As you can see, learning the Cyrillic alphabet will advance your efforts greatly.

[mendeleyev]

Moscow weather brings our new word: snow

Yesterday friends who were visiting the Holy Trinity Monastery in Sergiev Posad, along Moscow's Golden Ring, reported the arrival of snow. Apparently some parts of Moscow had snow yesterday, but today it arrived for everyone to see.




Snow is снег, and spelled as s-n-e-g. However for grammar reasons (we won't explain now) it is spoken as "snyehk."


For better basic understanding:

- снег is a noun.

[mendeleyev]

The next series of new words will be the days of the week:

The word for week is: неделя and it sounds like "ne-dYEl-ya."
 

For better understanding:

- неделяis a noun.

- Russian nouns have genders; either Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Most nouns that end with a or я are feminine. Thus, неделя is feminine.
   

[mendeleyev]

Unlike in the West, the Russian calendar starts on Monday as the first day of the week.

The new word is понеде́льник (Monday).

Spoken as "pa-nye-DYEL-nik."


For better understanding:

- понеде́льник (Monday) is a noun.

- Its gender is male. Why? Because it ends with a consonant (k).

[mendeleyev]

The new word is вто́рник (Tuesday).

Spoken as "fTOHR-nek." The B (veh) at the front is voiced as an "f" instead of a "v" in this case. But do not dwell on the "f" sound because the "torh" is much more prominent.


For better understanding:

- вто́рник (Tuesday) is a noun.

- Its gender is male. Why? Because it ends with a consonant (k).


Here is some help from a native Russian speaker:

[mendeleyev]

The new word for today is среда.

среда is Wednesday, and spoken as "sree-DAH."



For better basic understanding:

- A noun. It is a feminine noun because the spelling ends with a.

[jone]

I've always thought of Wednesday as rather feminine as well.  It's not your 'pound a beer with your buds' or watch the Packers on TV.  Instead it is a get your nails done and hair styled type day.  Sometimes, on Wednesday, guys eat quiche or drive around in light blue cars.  (What is Russian word for light blue?)

So, Mendy, thank you for confirming that Wednesday is indeed feminine.  At least in the Russian world.
 

[mendeleyev]

 

[mendeleyev]

Midweek practice:

неделя is the word for week, and it sounds like "ne-dYEl-ya."

понеде́льник is Monday, spoken as "pa-nye-DYEL-nik."

вто́рник is Tuesday, and spoken as fTOHR-nek."

среда is Wednesday, and spoken as "sree-DAH."


Have you ever tried voice mapping to see how your speaking compares to a native speaker? You can do that, for free, with the days of the week at this link: http://www.rocketlanguages.com/russian/learn/days-of-the-week/

[mendeleyev]

The new word for today is Четверг.

Четверг is Thursday, and spoken as "cheet-VYEHRK."


For better basic understanding:

- A noun. It is a masculine noun because the spelling ends with a consonant.

- A point of grammar, and we'll try to keep it as simple as possible, but the general rule is to speak the letter G whenever it is grouped in a consonant cluster, as a K instead of G. To challenge you a little, there are other letters besides G and K that follow this rule. Here is a good explanation:

"When voiced consonants appear at the end of a word, a strange thing happens to them: They actually lose their voice. This process is called devoicing. They're still spelled the same, but in their pronunciation, they transform into their devoiced counterparts:"

• b (б) is pronounced like p (п).

• V (в) is pronounced like f (ф).

• G (г) is pronounced like k (к).

• D (д) is pronounced like t (т).

• Zh (ж) is pronounced like sh (ш).

• Z (з) is pronounced like s (c).

(Thanks for the handy chart to this source.)

An excellent example is a word you know: водка (vodka). Instead of speaking "vaud-ka," the proper pronunciation is VOhT-ka. The D is voiced as a T, its natural counterpart.

There are exceptions and you can learn them along the way.

[mendeleyev]

The new word for today is пятница.


пятница is Friday and sounds like "pYAht-nee-tsah."



For better basic understanding:

- It is a noun, feminine.

[mendeleyev]

The new word for today is суббота.

суббота is Saturday and sounds like "soo-BOh-tah."


For better basic understanding:

- It is a noun, feminine.

[mendeleyev]

The new word for today is Воскресенье.


Воскресенье is Sunday, and spoken as vuhs-kree-SYEHN'-yeh.


For better understanding:

- Воскресенье is a noun, neuter because it ends with the letter e.



Here is a bonus word: Восход

Восход means "sunrise" and is spoken as vas-KHOT.

Sergei Baklykov of "Real Russia" this summer visited the Russian collective farm outside of Ufa and the name of the farm is Восход. We posted about it in the Cultural thread "What Makes the FSU so Interesting?"

Восход is one of those words that ends in a consonant that must be changed when speaking. The D is spoken as a T.

[mendeleyev]

I failed to mention that the term for Sunday, Воскресенье, is closely related to the Russian word for "resurrection."


Воскресенье  (Sunday)
Воскрешение  (Resurrection)That being said, it is no surprise to sometimes hear Russians label Sunday as "little Paskha" since Пасха (Paskha) is the term for Easter.

[mendeleyev]

So, we've learned the days of the week. Now it is time to review:

[mendeleyev]

A new word for today is месяц.

месяц is "month" and sounds like "MhYEH-sits."


For better understanding:

- месяц is a noun.

- A common abbreviation is: m.

[mendeleyev]

A new word for today is: год

год = year. It is sounded as "gOht."


For better understanding:

- it is a noun.

- Here again is a word where we apply those voicing/devoicing rules: the last letter is the consonant D, which becomes T in speaking.