1 Matt Sundakov ENJOY YOUR RUSSIAN TWO IMPORTANT NOTES 1. The suggested book is not a conventional course of the Russian language, and it is not only about the language but also about many other things. The Reader of this book will study the language in a practical and entertaining way with emphasis not on grammar but on real life situations. The book will provide the Reader with a lot of fascinating information on the various sides of life in the former Soviet Union as it was seen and felt by myself prior to my emigration to the West in 1979. Many radical changes have happened in that country since then. Therefore, some descriptions and situations might seem to be obsolete. However, my book does not pretend to be an updated guide to the post-communist Russia. What this book will do is giving the student a rare opportunity to learn and enjoy at the same time; to combine learning of Russian with a valuable insight into the recent history of the people speaking this language, their culture, traditions, customs and habits. My book will put the student in different practical situations, as if he or she were living in that country. 2. Dear readers, from some point of this book, I will begin to give you longer Russian examples (sometimes much longer!) than in the beginning. In these circumstances, constant interruptions of the Russian text for translations of individual sentences, as well as providing some of these sentences with my comments, would become a major inconvenience for you. Therefore, wherever we deal with the longer Russian passages, I will first present you with the whole Russian text. Only after that you will find an English translation of the text in question followed by comments and explanations (if required). For convenience, either individual Russian sentences or whole paragraphs will have consecutive numbers, and these same numbers will be repeated for the corresponding English translations and then for the comments. Thus, it will be equally easy for you either to use or omit all or some of these translations, and also to determine to which sentence (or paragraph) any particular comment refers. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission received from the author. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Title Page Introduction. My Approach to Language Teaching 4 SUBJECT 1. 9 Russian Alphabet and Basic Grammar Principles SUBJECT 2. 17 What Is Your Name? or How Are You Called? SUBJECT 3. 30 Greetings, Polite Expressions, Introductions SUBJECT 4. 46 Time and Space SUBJECT 5. 63 Climate & Weather SUBJECT 6. 77 Home and Family SUBJECT 7. 96 Education SUBJECT 8. 113 Work SUBJECT 9. 139 Public Transport SUBJECT 10. 152 Taxi and Private Cars SUBJECT 11. 174 Post Service, Letters and Telephone Conversations SUBJECT 12 192 Outpatient Medical Service 3 Chapter Title Page SUBJECT 13. 212 Hospitals SUBJECT 14. 232 Shopping SUBJECT 15. 252 Insurance SUBJECT 16. 261 Barbershop, Bathhouse, Laundry SUBJECT 17 284 Public Signs and Notices SUBJECT 18 289 Manners, Traditions and Superstitions SUBJECT 19 302 Mnemonic Rules in Russian Life and Language SUBJECT 20 317 100 Most Popular Russian Proverbs, Idioms, Quotations, And Other Catch Phrases SUBJECT 21 331 Playful Linguistics 4 INTRODUCTION. MY APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING The lessons I offer are not conventional lessons of the Russian language. And not only because they will be conducted outside of a traditional classroom, with a teacher and a student separated perhaps by many thousands of kilometers. These lessons are not only about language, they are about many other things. My lessons are for anyone who is interested in the Russian language and life. First and foremost, the lessons are aimed at people who are going to Russia (either for business or pleasure). Then there could be a significant category of those “teach-yourself” people who do not have immediate travel plans, but nonetheless are curious about Russia, its culture and history. And even college and university teachers of Russian with their rigorous approach to language study may still recommend my lessons to their students as a very helpful (and at the same time absorbing) supplement. Most people, I presume, begin to study a foreign language not only because, for one reason or another, they want to be able to read, write, speak and understand this language. They are also interested in the culture, traditions, customs and habits of the people speaking the language. My lessons will try to satisfy such curious people. Introducing them to various sides of life in Russia, this course will put the student in different practical situations, as if he/she were living in that country. 5 I anticipate your questions: "How about the grammar? Will we study Russian Grammar? And if not, is it possible to learn a foreign language without knowing grammar?" May be it is indeed possible to avoid learning grammar. When you speak or write in your own language, you don't think about the grammar. You may not know that English verbs have 26 tenses and perhaps will be very surprised when you hear about this for the first time in your life. And how are all these tenses formed? I doubt if many of you have even thought about it. For you it is just natural: English language was with you from your birth. You just know how to speak. And to speak correctly, you do not need to know the structure and rules of your language. However, for a foreign student (unless he/she is a child), the process of learning is far from automatic and natural. You may learn by heart many words and some phrases of another language. But to use this language more or less properly, you need to know some grammar in order to build sentences which can be understood and appreciated by a native speaker. The grammar is certainly important. But one should not overestimate it. When I was a school boy, one of the subjects we studied at school was foreign language. It was a compulsory subject - as every other subject studied in Soviet Schools. In our school the foreign language was German. We studied this language for 8 years in a row (2 one-hour lessons a week). 6 Still, in the end, even our best students could not boast that they could speak German. We knew German grammar, we could read German texts and translate them into Russian, but none of us could speak even limited German or understand it by ear. And the same system existed in nearly all Soviet schools (certainly, there were some exceptions: in a big city, such as Leningrad, among several hundred ordinary schools for ordinary children you could find a dozen or two of so called Special Schools where at least some subjects were taught in a foreign language). You can rightfully ask, why so obviously an ineffective system of learning foreign languages existed in so many schools for so many years. The answer will sound for you as an anecdote, but it was true. Until 1956, when Khrushchev denounced Stalin's personality cult, any foreign language textbook in its introduction emphasized the greatness of Stalin's works in the sphere of linguistics. They cited the famous words of comrade Stalin about Grammar, where he said that Grammar is the essence and the most important part of any language, and therefore students learning a foreign language should first and foremost master the Grammar. And we did it, but still never managed to master the language itself. When in January 1980 I arrived in New Zealand, I decided not to follow the doubtful wisdom of comrade Stalin and try to learn English in a completely different, practical way. From my very first days in this country I tried to do everything by myself: reading all sorts of mysterious (and in most cases useless for me) information inserted in my 7 letter box, going to the post office or the bank, filling in a Tax Return form and so on, and so on. And of course I needed somehow to communicate at my work place with more fortunate people, who happened to be born in an English speaking country. As an assistant engineer I had to read and write, talk face to face, and over the phone. Talking over the phone was for a long time my most depressing experience. Actually I began to shake uncontrollably each time when the telephone rang, and the aftershocks still continued for a long time after I hung up. Sure, I would have felt myself much more secure and comfortable studying at some intensive course of English language. But, apart from the obvious necessity to work in order to support myself and my family, I wanted to adjust to my new life as quickly as possible. I wanted to feel myself independent in everything. And there was only one way to achieve this: to try to do everything by myself, while overcoming the difficulties of a new language and solving numerous problems of everyday practical situations. And I think my determination paid off: soon I was able to do a job which required good communication skills, especially in writing. I was also able to teach English as a second language in Community Evening Classes. And the fact that I am writing this course now, hopefully, speaks for itself. I hope you have been persuaded by my own experience, and will agree, that the best way of studying a foreign language is to make the emphasis on practical situations.