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Well I guess Im learning Russian... | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
 Brian_N Pro Member Canada Joined 5769 days ago 200 posts - 202 votes  Studies: English*, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 233 of 248 31 August 2009 at 5:40am | IP Logged | |||||
------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- :) (In Russia we have a saying,) "Moscow isn't Russia". Even in (the) Moscow region people don't (live) (like) (they) (do) in Moscow, especially (those) in (the) countryside. I didnāt see any problem with āinā, it looks fine to me. I changed āAs we speakā to āIn Russia we have a sayingā. Its how we express that particular thought (As we speak) in our language. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Brian_N Pro Member Canada Joined 5769 days ago 200 posts - 202 votes Studies: English*, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 234 of 248 31 August 2009 at 7:09am | IP Logged | |||||
I had the unfortunate pleasure of living among ānot the best of Canadaā for awhileā¦and yeahā¦seeing ānot the bestā once is good enough for me. I think ānot the bestā is best left alone in any country. What Iām looking for is the middle ground, not the best and not the worst. In my eyes, in terms of population, wealth, development, foreign companies, Moscow (and to an extent St. Petersburg) stand apart from say Novosibirsk, Samara, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Volgograd, Irkutsk etc, etc, etc. Unique and impressive yes, but not representative of the country as a whole. Its a given that as I spend time in Russia, Russian thoughts, opinions and values will begin to become a part of who I am. Itās culture, its what it does. And if Iām going to slowly and subtly be imprinted with another culture its going to be the culture of the majority. And my mind tells me that the majority is āthe rest of Russiaā. Transsib? Definitely on my list. First time in Iāll take a plane, on my way out thoughā¦definitely. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Brian_N Pro Member Canada Joined 5769 days ago 200 posts - 202 votes Studies: English*, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 235 of 248 08 September 2009 at 6:25am | IP Logged | |||||
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Entry Type: Learning Methodology
Well my old system of flashcards has finally been retired. Moving on to āLearn Russian Now 10ā from Transparent Languages. I can pick out individual words here and there in Russian speech, now its time to move more towards drilling and memorizing whole sentences. Yes, I know the word order is flexible in Russian but Iām of the opinion that the human mind is lazy. Just because Russians can rearrange their words 20 different ways and still say the exact same thing doesnāt mean they will. Method for what Iām doing is quite simple 1. Hear the sentence spoken and try to interpret 2. If understood try to write it out 3. If not understood or spelling incorrect memorize and move on to next one. Itāll help improve my verbal understanding further and I can finally put that vocabulary Iāve built up to work. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| SII Senior Member Russian FederationRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5796 days ago 184 posts - 194 votes Speaks: Russian* Studies: English | Message 236 of 248 08 September 2009 at 1:15pm | IP Logged | |||||
This is wrong opinion. The word rearranging is used very often, especially in speech. Of course, not all of the formally possible word orders are really used. Although I think, if a Russian man knows what you are a foreigner, this Russian will use simple sentences without the "mad" word order. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Brian_N Pro Member Canada Joined 5769 days ago 200 posts - 202 votes Studies: English*, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 237 of 248 09 September 2009 at 4:06am | IP Logged | |||||
This is the wrong opinion? Probably : ) But for now it shall remain my opinion until my experiences prove otherwise. In the grand scheme of things though I canāt see a mad word order being that big of an issue, I just have to think of the consequences of not learning my way around itā¦being talked to like Iām a simpleton. Umā¦yeah, unacceptable. ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------- This is (the) wrong opinion. The word rearranging is used very often, especially in speech. Of course, not all of the (*1) possible word orders are really used. Although I think, if a Russian man knows that you are a foreigner, this Russian will use simple sentences without the "mad" word order. ----------------------------------------- *1 - formally is not necessary here. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Brian_N Pro Member Canada Joined 5769 days ago 200 posts - 202 votes Studies: English*, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 238 of 248 15 September 2009 at 8:32am | IP Logged | |||||
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Victory, the coin was tossed and the outcomeā¦staggering. My situation has changed dramatically and now this project must also change to reflect my new reality. Talk of a few months in Russia studying Russia is rescindedā¦its time to talk about years. Charisma, ambition, leadership, cunningā¦these are my gifts and today they have rewarded me with a 6 figure wage. After all is said and done, 10k a month in my pocketā¦and yet the raw number really doesnāt matter anymoreā¦itās more than enough to take me to Russia. Ironic that this new company just so happens to also do international workā¦in Russia. How is this all not fate?
It looks like Iāll be going in May for definitely a year, probably more though. This project just refuses to die. The more I hear Russian the more I feel a growing disappointment in myselfā¦this is something that I was supposed to know already. Highly irrational, but yet instinct says otherwise. Russia just keeps tugging away at the back of my mind. I wouldnāt be surprised if Russians are my people. Before the mine shutdown there were Russian families back home. My family still has a nice collection of the Tsarist era Russian Rubles they brought over with them when they came. I wouldnāt doubt if one, or even both of my parents are actually their āillegitimate childrenā Russian to almost a native like fluencyā¦this is what I desire to achieve. It must be learned or the feeling that āit is something that Iām supposed to knowā will be nagging at me for the rest of my life. If educational achievements say anything about an individuals intelligence and if intelligence is heritable then I should be fine in my pursuit. By the time I get back mommy will probably have finished her 7th university degreeā¦sheās on five now. Her little corporate empire will be online by that time too, so after this detour to Russia itāll be time to put mine together. I have no desire to match her educational achievements but I will play āwho can make their millions fasterā with her. And who knows, Russian might even help me in this. In the meantime though I need to become acquainted with my new realityā¦from the bottom 10% to the top 5% of Canadian wage earnersā¦not to shabby for 216 days. America is the place where dreams come true? Haha, almostā¦you need to look abit further north and abit to the eastā¦Alberta is the place you seek. Iāll see you soon Russia. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Russianbear Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6779 days ago 358 posts - 422 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, Ukrainian Studies: Spanish | Message 239 of 248 15 September 2009 at 5:03pm | IP Logged | |||||
Congrats on the job, Brian_N!
This reminds me of a Frasier episode where they find out they own something that used to belong to the Russian royal family and end up thinking they might be royalty themselves. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Brian_N Pro Member Canada Joined 5769 days ago 200 posts - 202 votes Studies: English*, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 240 of 248 16 September 2009 at 7:57am | IP Logged | |||||
Why thank you Russianbear. It was more luck than anything. I heard through the grape vine that the company Iām with now was doing an intake of key āexperienced workersāā¦but the doosh doing the calling never bothered telling the H.R. department who he was calling in. So I went on a 14 hr drive and tagged along with someone who was calledā¦did a whole lotta bullshittingā¦and within an hour I was suited up and good to go lol. I shouldāve never got this job, but I guess thatās what happens when the companyās right hand doesnāt know what its left hand is doingā¦things called Brian just have a way of just slippin through the cracks. For the moment I have the jobā¦I just need to keep my head down for about a week and a half while I learn everything at a pace that would fry most peoples brains. And come that time they wonāt be able to tell me apart from people who have been here for over half a year. Just a little bit longer and then my infiltration will be complete. And thenā¦well then I can start playing the āsocial gamesā necessary for me to start moving in my people. A 6 figure wage is quite impressive for the laypersonā¦my family and my friends could use it.
Frasier, canāt say I ever watched an episode. But welcome to my dysfuction lol. Whenever you read this, know that all of this is simply one of the many shades of who I really am. My life has required me to function among many different people from different social strata with often opposing values and beliefs. As a result a distinct identity has yet to take root in my mind. I am whatever collection of behaviors and beliefs that best suitās the situation I find myself in. Fascination with your language and by default things associated with it comes from its ability to function as a constant in my life. Itās one of the few things that has survived the 11 relocations Iāve had to make in the past year and a half. As I age I begin to grow weary of continuous and never ending change in my life, and so I naturally begin to grab onto anything that I see as being a constant in my life. Of course its your language thatās the constant hereā¦as for your peopleā¦wellā¦a firm opinion has yet to be developed. Time will tell. In the meantime though I guess I just keep plugging away. It wonāt be long before Iām experiencing the definition of ālearning in contextā. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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