Russian For Dummies

Andrew D. Kaufman, Serafima Gettys

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781119868606
• eBook ISBN: 9781119984634
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Privyet! Explore the Russian language with this fantastic beginner's guide

With over 260 million speakers around the world, Russian remains one of the most popular and marketable languages you can learn. And for those who have no idea where to begin, Russian For Dummies is the perfect first step!

In this easy-to-understand resource for Russian language beginners, you'll discover basic grammar and common expressions you might use while shopping, dining out, traveling, or conducting business. You'll also find simplified and generalized conjugation rules and a streamlined approach to grammar based on how you actually understand the language, rather than technical rules and details.

This book offers:

• Supplemental online resources so you can hear how native Russian speakers use the words you're trying to learn
• Guidance on identifying Cyrillic letters from the alphabet used by Russian speakers and writers
• Tons of useful exercise and practice opportunities you can take advantage of to sharpen your skills

Perfect for any newcomer to the Russian language trying to pick up their first few phrases, Russian For Dummies is a fantastic first foray into conversational Russian that will have you ordering meals, going shopping, and navigating other day-to-day situations with ease. ?????! (That means good luck!)

Part 1

Getting Started

IN THIS PART …

Learn the basics of Russian.

Explore the Russian alphabet.

Understand basic Russian grammar.

Say some simple Russian expressions.

Get your numbers, times, and measurements straight.

Identify items at home using Russian.

Chapter 1

Russian in a Nutshell

IN THIS CHAPTER

Approaching the Russian alphabet

Looking at grammar in a new light

Getting started with some useful words and expressions

Putting Russian to use in common social situations

Taking Russian on the road

Russian has a reputation for being a difficult language. Is it? We would say that different is a better word to describe the experience of studying Russian. Russian actually is a distant cousin of English. Both languages belong to a huge Indo-European family of languages — unlike, say, Arabic, Chinese, or Japanese, which belong to completely different language-family clans.

This chapter provides you a taste of Russian. Get ready to study this fascinating language!

Discovering How Easy the Russian Alphabet Really Is

If you were to ask people on the street what they think the most difficult thing about learning Russian is, most of them (slightly taken aback by your question) would likely say, “The alphabet!”

But we’re here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth: The Russian alphabet is perhaps the easiest part of learning Russian. In fact, you may be surprised to hear that most people are able to start reading Russian in several hours. That’s how easy the Russian alphabet is!

Don’t believe us? Consider this: The Russian alphabet, often called the Cyrillic alphabet, was named after a ninth-century Byzantine monk named Cyril, who developed it with the help of his brother, Methodius. (Please don’t ask us why Methodius’s name wasn’t added to the name of the alphabet. Life isn’t fair.) Cyril and Methodius wanted to translate the Bible into one of the Slavic languages spoken by the Eastern European pagan tribes, because the brothers were planning to convert those tribes to Christianity. These languages had never been written down before. When the brothers were creating their alphabet, they borrowed quite a few letters from the Latin alphabet to indicate the sounds produced by the tribes. Luckily for those tribes (and for anyone studying Russian), a lot of the borrowed letters sound the same in Russian as they do in any Latin-based alphabet (like English)...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1: Getting Started
• Part 2: Russian in Action
• Part 3: Russian on the Go
• Part 4: The Part of Tens
• Appendix A: Russian-English Mini-Dictionary
• Appendix B: Verb Tables
• Appendix C: Answer Keys
• Index
• About the Authors
• Advertisement Page
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement