Russian and other Slavic languages (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

Russian and other Slavic languages
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Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages

43 messages over 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

William Camden
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 6273 days ago
1936 posts - 2333 votes

Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, French

Message 17 of 43

22 May 2009 at 9:34pm | IP Logged

I have heard it said that Russians find Poles easier to understand than vice versa. I have the impression Czech and Slovenian are the Slavic languages most remote from the others.

The Russian written language is influenced by Church Slavonic, which is basically Old Bulgarian. This may account for resemblances between written Russian and Bulgarian. The spoken languages seem different. I have listened to Bulgarians talking on the phone and scarcely understood a word, based on a fairly good knowledge of Russian and lesser knowledge of Polish.
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Sennin
Senior Member
Bulgaria
Joined 6035 days ago
1457 posts - 1759 votes

5 sounds

Message 18 of 43

22 May 2009 at 10:02pm | IP Logged

William Camden wrote:

The Russian written language is influenced by Church Slavonic, which is basically Old Bulgarian. This may account for resemblances between written Russian and Bulgarian. The spoken languages seem different. I have listened to Bulgarians talking on the phone and scarcely understood a word, based on a fairly good knowledge of Russian and lesser knowledge of Polish.

Hmm... possibly. It's easier for me to understand Russian in the written form rather than speech. I suppose it is the same for Russians. Whether or not the reason is to be found in Church Slavonic, I don't know.

Edited by Sennin on 22 May 2009 at 10:08pm
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paparaciii
Diglot
Senior Member
Latvia
Joined 6337 days ago
204 posts - 223 votes

Speaks: Latvian*, Russian
Studies: English

Message 19 of 43

23 May 2009 at 5:55pm | IP Logged

Too much exaggeration going on here.

Slavic languages share some similarities but not to the extent that some are advocating.
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Chung
Diglot
Senior Member
Joined 7157 days ago
4228 posts - 8259 votes

20 sounds
Speaks: English*, French
Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish

Message 20 of 43

23 May 2009 at 7:16pm | IP Logged

How do you mean?
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Nadav3
Newbie
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6316 days ago
13 posts - 12 votes
Studies: Ukrainian*, English

Message 21 of 43

26 April 2010 at 11:19am | IP Logged

leonidus wrote:

Being Russian, I can understand 50-70% of Ukrainian, and probably about 30-40% of Polish. It depends on the context, topic, etc. I can't speak in them, just understand since many words have the same roots as their Russian equivalents. So I can get the gist and sometimes details too.

I am Ukrainian and was wondering if you know this word:

Взагалі, я зовсім не підтримую нового Президента України. До мене, не зрозуміло чому так багато Україців би проголосовали за Януковича.

Таке змагання за президентство не відаю!
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Cherepaha
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6590 days ago
126 posts - 175 votes

Speaks: Russian*, English
Studies: Spanish, Polish, Latin, French

Message 22 of 43

26 April 2010 at 12:55pm | IP Logged

Russianbear wrote:

For example, a Bulgarian Wiki article on 'Растения'("Plants") is relatively transparent to me. The Bulgarian word for "plants" itself is not just close to its Russian equivalent - it is actually written exactly the same way the corresponding Russian word is. When I switch to the SCB entry for the same article, not only don't I recognize the name of the article - "Biljka" - I cannot even think of any Russian cognate that would be relevant.

Perhaps the Russian equivalent is "былинка"?

БЫЛИ́НКА, былинки, ·жен.
1. Стебелек травы. Там не растет ни былинки. (A blade of grass. Not a blade of grass grows there.)
2. перен. Молодая, стройная женщина, девушка. (Figurative: a young slender girl, woman)

Edited by Cherepaha on 28 April 2010 at 12:12am
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leonidus
Triglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
Joined 6327 days ago
113 posts - 123 votes

Speaks: Russian*, English, French
Studies: German, Mandarin

Message 23 of 43

26 April 2010 at 1:02pm | IP Logged

Nadav3 wrote:

leonidus wrote:

Hello,

well, like I said I get the gist of what you said alright, some of the words have the same structure as in Russian so I get the idea, others can be guessed from the context.
Only a few words I can't figure out:

Взагалі,
Таке змагання

But I guess they don't change the meaning much :)
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Euphorion
Hexaglot
Senior Member
Czech Republic
Joined 5341 days ago
106 posts - 147 votes

Speaks: Slovak*, Czech, English^C2, German^C1, Spanish^C2, French

Message 24 of 43

07 May 2010 at 9:59am | IP Logged

You shouldnt forget about Slovak - it is said to be a gateway to other Slavic languages, the southest and the eastest of the western Slavic languages, it is very clear and has a relatively simple and modern grammar. Theoretically every Slav would understand Slovak.

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