Chapter 1 » Lesson 1

Lesson 1

Alphabet – Part 1

Letters And Sounds That Coincide In Latin And Cyrillic Alphabets

Аа Кк Мм Оо Сс Тт
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a k m o s t

 

Listen I

Listen to and read the following Russian words several times until you find it easy to pronounce them.

мáма
mama		 мост
bridge		 как
how		 кот
cat		 кто
who		 там
there
сок
juice		 сто
hundred		 так
so		 катóк
skating-rink		 комóк
lump

 

Pronunciation Tips

  1. Please notice that an accent (stress)* makes vowels slightly longer. The unstressed vowels are naturally less distinct, or so-to-say ‘reduced’. This reduction makes two different vowels – ‘A’ and ‘O’ – sound very similarly in an unstressed position. Compare them in two words “като́к” and “комо́к”. Always pay attention to the stress. Reduction is typical of all unstressed vowels.
  2. Most of the Russian consonants that are similar to their English counterparts are somewhat more relaxed, less intense. There is no “puff of air” typical of English consonants. For Russian “T” the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth, not the ridge behind them (the same is true for its voiced counterpart “Д” corresponding to the English “D”, but you will deal with this sound later).

Additional tip: Relax. Following note 2 is not crucial for making yourself understood. It is important only for those who want to fully get rid of their foreign accent.

* You’ll find stress-marks only in textbooks published for students of Russian.

Alphabet Part 2

Letters That Are The Same or Similar, But Sound Differently

Вв Ее Нн Рр Уу Хх
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v yeh n r oo h

 

Grammar I

Free Word Order

Notes on the Use of Intonation

Read and Listen to following short sentences. Notice how the intonation changes the sentence from that of a statement to a question.

Taм ма́ма.
Mother is there.		 Там сок.
Juice is there.		 Там кот.
The cat is there.
Ма́ма тaм?
Is mother there?		 Сок тaм?
Is the juice there?		 Кот тaм?
Is the cat there?

Russian has free word order. So you can correctly say any of the short sentences from the table above. However, since the last word in a Russian sentence tends to be the most meaningful, the sentence “ма́ма там” will sound like an answer to the question “Where is mother?” whereas the sentence with the reverse word order “там ма́ма” may be an answer to the question “Who is there?”
Questions are usually formed in Russian by intonation. The word order does not have to be changed and there are no auxiliary (helping) verbs.

 

Listen II

After reading Pronunciation Tips below, listen to and read aloud the following table of new words.

Вв – v
/very/		 вот
here(is/are)		 востóк
east
Ее – yeh
/yet/		 отмéтка
mark/grade		 мéсто
place/seat		 свет
light
Нн – n
/noise/		 нос
nose		 нет
no		 он
he		 онá
she
онó
it		 окнó
window		 стакáн
a glass		 стенá
wall
вáнна
bathtub		 веснá
Spring		 кóмната
room
Рр – r
/room/		 рот
mouth		 рекá
river		 морé
sea		 нóмер
number
торт
cake		 теáтр
theater		 сестрá
sister		 сéвер
north
кáрта
map		 март
March		 ресторáн
restaurant		 странá
country
стрáнно
strange (adv.)		 метрó
metro
Уу – oo
/boom/		 ýтро
morning		 тут
here		 вкýсно
tasty (adv.)		 урóк
lesson
сýмка
bag/purse		 сóус
sauce		 рукá
arm/hand		 кýртка
jacket
Хх – h
/hat/		 ýхо
ear		 сáхар
sugar

 

Pronunciation Tips

  1. Russian “Pp”(Rr) is a most difficult letter for some students. Not even all native Russian speakers can master it. For example, Lenin couldn’t. So, you may happen to be in famous (or infamous?) company. Relax: an imperfectly sounding “p” won’t interfere with being correctly understood. Still, give it a try. The tip of the tongue should vibrate against the teeth-ridge. It’s a trilling sound, like the Spanish or Scottish “r”.
  2. Add a little more friction to the Russian “X” as compared with the English “h,” but don’t make it too harsh or scraping, otherwise “K” may result instead of “h”.
  3. Like many Russian consonants, “B” becomes voiceless before other voiceless consonants and at the end of a word: in “вку́сно” (tasty, delicious) and in “ров” (ditch) it is pronounced as ‘f’.
  4. In an unstressed position, the vowel “e” sounds almost like “и” which corresponds to English “ee”. Compare “ме́сто” (place, seat) and “метро́” (subway) in the lines above.

 

Reading Practice – p.16

  1. Вот ка́рта. Тут восто́к. Тут се́вер. Вот страна́. Тут мо́ре. Тут река́.
    Here is a map. East is here. North is here. Here is a country. The sea is here. Here is a river.
  2. Он тут, она́ там. Как стра́нно!
    He is here, she is there. How strange!
  3. Вот торт. – Как вку́сно!
    Here is the cake – how tasty!
  4. Вот са́хар. Вон там со́ус.
    Here is the sugar. Over there is the sauce.
  5. Вот ко́мната. Вот стена́. Вот окно́.
    Here is the room. Here is a wall. Here is a window.
  6. “Ку́ртка тут?” “Нет, она́ там.”
    Is the jacket here? No, it is there.
  7. Вот рука́. Вот нос. Вот рот. Вот у́хо.
    Here is a hand. Here is a nose. Here is a mouth. Here is an ear.
  8. “Теа́тр тут?” “Нет, он вон там.”
    Is the theater here? No, it is over there.
  9. Тут теа́тр. Там рестора́н.
    Here is the theater. Over there is the restaurant.
  10. Су́мка тут, а ку́ртка там.
    The handbag is here, and the jacket is there.

 

Survival Kit

Saying “Hello” and “Goodbye”

Words of Greeting Words of Farewell
Здравствуйте! (formal) Hello! До свидания – Good bye
Здравствуй! (informal) Hello! Пока – So long
Привет! (very informal) Hi!