learning some Russian words
 

Hi. Last year before I went to Japan I took a few private lessons to learn Japanese. Since I am going to Russia in November ( on a mostly escourted tour) any suggestions for the best way to learn travellers Russian? Seems the pronounciation and alphabet may warrant some lessons--not tapes?

Learn how to read the alphebet firsts, words will be much easier. First word is Pectapah.

You might check out travlang.com I have used it for various trips. Not sure if Russian is included but you can turn on the sound and get pronunciation. As a tip, I copied various words/pharases in a Word document and pasted them onto an index card which I kept handy in my purse. Then I could whip it out to use a phrase.

The Pimsleur CDs are ok for basic pronunciation, and the Eyewitness Russian Phrase Book is useful to carry (although its pronunciation notation is not standard it is easy to use). Lessons would be a good way to pick up phrases, and as Gary recommended learn the Cyrillic alphabet (probably more useful than anything else for a short trip).

The alphabet is very different so learn it first. It will help to identify the various signs. I found a lot of people in the tourist places spoke english, so if you can get there you should be okay.

Absolutely learn the cyrillic alphabet first! It will make it so much easier to learn to sound out words even if you don't understand them.

I also should mention that alot of Russian words sound a little English-y if you know how to pronounce it. Gary gave a good example (i.e. restaurant)

As Marc David suggested, try Pimsleur CDs. My husband learned in his car in four weeks enough Spanish for our trip and he is on Pimsleur part 3 with his French now and loves the way they teach you.<BR>I am Russian and took Pimsleur – Russian lessons for my kids once – it’s very basic, but you shouldn’t need more then that. <BR>Where are you planning to go? it can be extremely cold there in November with snow …<BR>Good luck with your study.<BR>

After the alphabet, learn how to say numbers (prices, number of nights you want the hotel room, telephone numbers...lots of uses).

I never trusted myself to get numbers correct (especially for pricing matters); I carry a small notebook and a pen for such purposes, even in markets and shops.

Absolutely agree with Marc - the numbers are some of the worst. Especially "three" for some reason - you may think you are saying "tree" (tri) you will be heard saying "chree" and won't be understood. When we lived in Moscow in the 60s my mother gave up on buying anything other than a kilo or a half-kilo of foodstuffs - asking for two-hundred-fifty grams of anything was just too complicated! Definitely take pencil and paper. <BR><BR>But it's a great language, and a few words (thank you, good day, excuse me) will be much appreciated.

I would advise you if at all possible to find a native speaker or a person who has had several years of Russian language training. It will make all the difference in the world if you have someone who can provide the proper explanation of the alphabet, the pronunciation (which is relatively easy), and the declensions and conjugations (not that you need them, just that you will begin to understand various forms of the same word). I have had four years of Russian language schooling and am still quite an amateur.<BR><BR>Most larger U.S. cities have some kind of language school, especially if the city is any kind of tourist destination or has a lot of immigrants. Even a couple of weeks in such a school will make a huge difference in your understanding.<BR><BR>But whatever you do, you need to get started. Time is running out.<BR><BR>Have a good trip.

Another vote for Pimsleur. I've used it for three different languages. The pronunciation is very good and I had no problem being understood. With your short timeframe, you will need to listen to the tapes/CD's in every spare moment though.