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Episode #3 – Simplified Russian
Welcome to this third Russian Made Easy podcast. Let's start by reviewing what we learned in the previous podcast.
Imagine you are in a coffee shop with your Russian friend. She comes back from the bathroom and sees that the food they both ordered has been served. Say each of the following phrases in Russian... out loud.
is that my pizza
is that my pizza
[USE: As I have mentioned in every transcript of this series, I have made my choicenopronounce the Russian words here with English letters. Listen to the podcast while reading this transcript. And if you want to be able to read Russian, and I promise you can learn it in a day or two, I'll include a link to my Russian Reading Course at the bottom of this transcript. Start now and in a few days you will be able to read all the Russian in this document.]
Yes, this is your pizza.
yes it is your pizza
is that my soup
is that my soup
Yes, this is your soup.
Yes, this is your soup.
Is that your borscht?
Is that your borscht?
This is my vodka.
This is my vodka.
how did you do it Have you considered using the feminine version of my and your, i.e. моя and твоя, to rhyme with feminine words like pizza and vodka? Then you have already understood a basic aspect of Russian grammar.
So what's up for today? Well, I know that many of my listeners here are also taking my Russian Accelerator course, so I'd like to address a question I've been asked. In Unit 1 of this course we will learn to say: I am American. Listen…
I'm american.
Listen again and repeat after the speaker:
I'm american.
The question I get is from all of oursno- American members. Australians, British and Canadians, right? Not to mention all of our European members. Everyone's like, "Hey, what about us? How do you say I'm Australian? I'm British? am I Danish and so on.” So in this episode we're going to talk about nationalities. We'll learn how to introduce our friends, and we'll also dispel a common myth about Russian pronunciation.
How do you say…
I'm american.
I'm american.
Now here's the thing. Remember that in the first podcast we learned two different words for students. Right? How would a boy say:
I am a student.
I am a student.
How would a girl say that?
I am a student.
Well, Russian is a bit bland with the idea of having male and female versions for professions. What I mean is that some professionsagainThey have male and female forms, as students, teachers, dancers and singers. But many others have only one form, such as B. Doctor, engineer and author.
But when it comes to nationalities, Russian is much more consistent and basically has male and female versions for each. So this sentence:
I'm american.
... it's just like thatmenWhat would an American say:
I'm american.
Listen again and repeat:
I'm american.
So imagine you are British and in Kyiv with your two American friends Tony and Jane. Try introducing them to your new Russian-speaking acquaintance. Tell…
This is Toni. He's American.
This is Toni. He's American.
this is jane She is North American.
this is jane She is American.
Let's try two more. Imagine you're at the Moscow Film Festival and the MC is introducing the stars as they enter. When Russell Crowe walks in, the MC says...
This is Russell Crowe. He is from Australia
Then Nicole Kidman walks in and the MC announces...
This is Nicole Kidman. She is Australian.
So we hear:
Australian
...that's an Australian. Y...
Australian
...that's an Australian.
Try to say:
He is Australian.
He is from Australia
What's up: She's Australian.
She is Australian.
Good work!
Okay, a quick review before we move on. Tell..
this is steve He's American.
this is steve He's American.
This is Lawton. He is Australian.
This is Layton. He is from Australia
This is Sally. She is North American.
This is Sally. She is American.
This is Clara. She is Australian.
This is Clara. She is Australian.
A quick side note: remember that just like in English, there are other ways of saying these things in Russian. For example, in English, I can say, "I am American." but I can also say: "I am American". In the first case, "American" is an adjective. In the second it is a noun. I can also convey the same idea by saying, "I'm from the United States."
Good. Let's add two more nationalities. Repeat this first pair after the speaker:
English English
One more time…
English English
So what is his nationality? Well, in film, James Bond is perhaps the most well-known actor.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth is undoubtedly the best-known Anglican.
So an Englishman is an Englishman.
And an Englishwoman is an Englishwoman.
And now our second pair. Repeat again after the speaker:
Canadian - Canadian
One more time:
Canadian - Canadian
We'll get straight to the point.
For example, a man who was born and raised in Toronto is Canadian. A woman born and raised there is a Canada.
So the word for a Canadian is ….канадец.
And for a Canadian? Canada
Let's do a celebrity quiz for fun. I will name a famous person and you name their nationality. Clever?
Pablo McCartney.
English
Beyonce.
American woman
alanis morrisette
You have
Crocodile Dundee
Australian
Rein Elisabeth
Englishwoman
Nicole Kidman
Australian
Bruce Willis
American
Mayor of Montreal.
Canadian
VO And now, here's your tip of the day from Russian Made Easy...
I want to take a moment now to dispel a major myth that people seem to believe about pronunciation. I keep getting emails and audio files from our members: "I'm worried my pronunciation isn't perfect." Or: “My native speaker teacher says my Russian accent is not yet perfect. He makes me practice the same few words over and over again. Help!"
The fact is: your pronunciation must be good enough for native speakers to understand you. That's all. End of the story. You will never speak Russian without an accent. Never. And you will never fool a Russian speaker into thinking you are a native speaker. Neither do I. And the?! The important thing is that you speak well enough to be understood. I mean what does it mean to speak without an accent?
Think English. What is the correct pronunciation? American? British? Australian? If American, what American accent? New York? Boston? The southern accent? That dry Chicago accent? If British is the correct accent, which British version? North London? Cockney? Scottish? Irish? As long as we understand each other, that counts.
And it kills me when native Russian speakers make life difficult for Russian students and criticize their pronunciation. I've never met a single Russian speaker in the US who doesn't speak without a brutally thick accent. I've met Russians in the US who have lived there for 30 years and speak good English, but let me pause...the moment they open their mouths with just one word, it's immediately obvious that they are Russians. Hello Mark. Хау ар ю? But I say again: so what? We understand them. You can function in our society. can communicate. End of the story.
So please… don't lose yourself trying to perfect your pronunciation. But talk to a native speaker from time to time to make sure you understand what they're saying. For this reason, with Russian Accelerator, we offer access to our native-speaking success coaches. You just need to know that your speech is understandable.
Anyway, this tirade is over, let's learn two more words and then put it all together.
Repeat after speaker...
boyfriend girlfriend
One more time.
boyfriend girlfriend
Can you find out what they mean? Imagine you are in Moscow with your two friends Randy and Christina. They are in a club and they meet a new Russian acquaintance. You gesture to Randy and say:
This is my friend Randy.
Then gesture to Christina.
This is my friend Cristina.
So Randy is your drug
And Cristina is your girlfriend.
Both words are translated asFreund, but друг is for boys and подруга is for girls. Think about it like this. When I tell you that my friend Pat is coming, you have no idea whether Pat is a man or a woman. But if I tell you in Russian, it's clear. Listen…
This is my friend Pat.
We know Pat is your drug... your friend.
This is my friend Pat.
In this case, we know that Pat is a friend.
By the way, do not think that Podruga means your "girlfriend". There are no romantic associations with the word. It's just a friend who is a woman. And if you're a guy with a Russian girlfriend, never call her your Podruga because it makes her "just a friend" instantly. We'll learn the word for "girlfriend," the kind with romantic undertones, in a future podcast.
(Anyway,) let's put this all together.
How would you ask in Russian:
Is that your friend?
Is your friend?
Answer: Yes, this is my friend Juan.
Yes, this is my friend Juan.
He's American.
He's American.
Is that your friend?
Is your girlfriend?
Yes, this is my friend Monica.
Yes, this is my friend Monica.
She is North American.
She is American.
This is my friend Leyton. He is Australian.
This is my friend Layton. He is from Australia
This is my friend Nicole. She is Australian.
This is my friend Nicole. She is Australian.
My mother is Canadian.
My mother is Canadian.
My father is English.
My father is English.
This is my friend Charlie. He is Canadian.
This is my friend Charlie. He is Canadian.
This is my friend Louisa. she is english
This is my friend Luisa. She is English.
If you have all of this, you will make really amazing progress in Russian.
In the next podcast, we'll learn more about greetings and introductions, and I'll share a great tip for maximizing your study time.
As always, I've posted a "practice only" version of this on my site,RussianMadeEasy.com, so be sure to go there and download it. You can also find the transcript there. And in the meantime keep practicing. See you in the next episode.
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