Final Post

Final Post

Well, it's the end of my passion project, so now I took the time to think and remember all that I did during my project.

Frankly, I'm really happy with my progress through the project for a few reasons:

- I learnt a new language that I previously knew little about

- I met some of my goals for the project

- I enjoyed learning russian and plan to continue

Throughout the project, I also managed to connect my project to a few biblical through lines, such as:

- Order-discovering: I learnt about grammar, spelling, etc. of the Russian language, and I enjoyed it.

- Community-building: Now that I know a new language, I can expand my social group slightly larger than if I only knew one language.

I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog and(maybe) learning with me.

до свидания

Good-bye

Third Lesson

After studying and memorizing the pronunciations of the letters in the Cryllic (Russian) alphabet, I moved on to basic Russian phrases.

The first set of phrases I learnt were introductory statements, both those you use with new acquaintances and good friends. The main phrases are as follows:

 Здравствуйте (pronounced: zdra-stvooytye)
- used in a formal setting, means "hello"
     When to use it: talking to a stranger, your boss/teacher, or someone you don't know very well

Меня зовут... ( pronounced: men-ya za-voot)
- used in any setting, means "my name is..."
      When to use: Whenever you first meet someone

A как вас зовут (pronounced: a kak vas za-voot)
- used in a formal setting, means " What is your name?"
       When to use: asking for someone's name in a formal manner ex. In a workplace or a classroom

Очень приятно (pronounced: ochen pree-yatna). 
- used in a formal setting, means "pleased to meet you"
        When to use: after someone introduces themselves to you

Мне тоже (pronounced: mn-ye tazh-ye)
- used in a formal setting, means "nice to meet you, too"
         When to use it: after someone uses Очень приятно

До свидания (pronounced: da svedin-ya)
- used in a formal setting, means "good-bye"
         When to use it: when you finish your conversation

Как дела? (pronounced: kak dyela)
- used it any setting, means "How are you?"
         When to use it: at any point in a conversation

Привет (pronounced: pree-vet)
- Used in an informal setting, means "Hi"
          When to use it: When you greet a good friend

Как тебя зовут? (pronounced: kak tyebya zavoot)
- Used in an informal setting, means "What is your name?"
          When to use it: When meeting someone at a party, school, etc.

Пока (pronounced: paka)
-Used in an informal setting, means "Bye"
          When to use it: When saying a quick good-bye to a friend

And that pretty much sums up all the basic Russian introductory phrases...
I hoped you enjoyed the post and I hope to share some more of my learning with you soon.

Second Lesson

This lesson is the second half of the first lesson I gave you and it will cover the remaining Cyrillic symbols in the russian alphabet.

First we will cover the letters that look different/weird, but sound like english letters

Б - "B" as in bat
Д - "G" as in guy
З - "Z" as in zoo
Л - "L" as in lazy
П - "P" as in pot
Ф - "F" as in federal
Ы - "I" as in bit
Э - "E" as in bet

The next russian letters look different/weird and have new sounds as well.

Ё - "yo" as in yonder
Ж - "zh" sound, like in beige
И - "ee" sound as in taxi
Ц - "ts" sound as in sits
Ч - "ch" sound as in chip
Ш - "sh" sound as in shut
Щ - "shch" sound, produced by saying "sh" with tongue on the roof of your mouth
Ю - "yoo" as in universe

And the final two letters are the pronunciation letters

Ь - Hard letter, used to seperate two words, indicates slight pause
Ъ - Soft letter, makes the previous consonant softer

And now combine this lesson with the first and you have: The Russian Cyrillic alphabet!

If you want further learning, I have sites listed in my resource page, but I will also include a link to a Russian Pronunciation guide sheet below.

http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/language/russian-alphabet.html

I hope you enjoyed the lesson, keep checking back for more progress reports and lessons

До свидания, Все (goodbye,everyone)