Friday, May 29, 2009

ОСЬМИНОГ и СПРУТ


How would we say OCTOPUS in Russian? There are two ways of doing so: ОСЬМИНОГ and СПРУТ. Listen to the small manual on how to pronounce both of these words by clicking on the title. Enjoy learning Russian!

How to say -Mrs- in Russian

Adult Russians who are on formal terms usually call each other by their first name and patronymic (middle name). This is a mark of respect, and young people address older people in this way as well. For example, a schoolchild will address his/her teacher as Тамара Павловна (Tamara Pavlovna).

In Soviet times another official form of address was товарищ (tavarisch) comrade used either with the last name or on its own. Nowadays, товарищ has lost popularity and the pre-Revolutionary господин (gaspadeen) sir and госпожа (gaspazha) madam have reappeared.

Learn how to pronounce the Russian word ГОСПОЖА by clicking on the title of the post and listening to the recording. I start by pronouncing the full word, then practice it syllable by syllable.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

How to say БЕГЕМОТ in Russian


Russian word for HIPPO/HIPPOPOTAMUS is БЕГЕМОТ. Learn how to pronounce it by clicking on the title of the post and listening to the recording teaching the word БЕГЕМОТ. I start by pronouncing the full word, then practice it syllable by syllable.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

'Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' = Союз Советских Социалистических Республик = sah-YOOZ sa-VYET-skeeh suts-ee-al-ist-EECH-is-keegh res-POOB-lick

Make sure you click on the title of the post and listen to the recording teaching the phrase. I start by pronouncing the full phrase, then practice word by word dividing each word into syllables.