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How dated is Russian Without Toil? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Bobb328 Groupie Canada Joined 4584 days ago 52 posts - 78 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian | Message 1 of 5 22 April 2013 at 2:21am | IP Logged |
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Since I've got all the basics down in German and really just need to improve my vocabulary, I'm thinking of starting
Russian in a few months. I downloaded the 1951 Russian Without Toil in English and was wondering if anyone fluent in Russian has had a look at the course (or someone that has completed it) can tell me how dated the language actually is in the course. I've heard it's not that bad but I've also heard it's unusable. Can anyone confirm this? Also I'm planning on using it with the Penguin Russian Course for a more modern approach. Thanks!! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| hobbitofny Senior Member United States Joined 6232 days ago 280 posts - 408 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian | Message 2 of 5 22 April 2013 at 10:03am | IP Logged |
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I asked my wife, a native Russian speaker, about that a few years ago.
You learn in the course the Russian language of 60+ years ago. The course uses some classic Russian writers works. Those parts reflect the Russian language and culture of the Russian people. The songs are a mixed set some good to know now and some not heard today. Yes there are a few phrases unusable today, but think of it this way: If you learn the English using in the 1930s movie Gone with the Wind, you are learning English and people will understand you. But the English word selection is not always that used in 2013 USA. The same is true of the Russia Without Toil, you are learning Russian, the Russian wording is not always the same used in Moscow today, and people will understand you. If you want to go to Russia and understand current slang expressions, you do not want this course. If you want to learn Russian and over time expand your vocabulary, you can do very well starting with this course. Edited by hobbitofny on 22 April 2013 at 10:04am 9 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5165 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 3 of 5 22 April 2013 at 6:11pm | IP Logged |
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The course is the most comprehensive of all three ediitions published so far. It does sound quite dated, there are some expressions in English I hadn't heard said like this before. As for the Russian, there are some words that sound old as well, but you should bear in mind that you will learn much more words overall than in the more recent editions.
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| fabriciocarraro Hexaglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Brazil russoparabrasileirosRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4714 days ago 989 posts - 1454 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishB2, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French Studies: Dutch, German, Japanese | Message 4 of 5 22 April 2013 at 11:51pm | IP Logged |
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You can always get the brand new "Assimil New Russian With Ease"
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| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4706 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 5 of 5 23 April 2013 at 12:09am | IP Logged |
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Or, shocker, talk to Russians. :)
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