Learning Foreign Languages: Russian 101

Having just returned from my second trip to Russia, I am finding that my ability to read the language has improved vastly since I first posted this. It's a good thing, too, as getting around the country without some knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet is challenging. And so, for wannabe polyglots, here again is a primer.

To get around Moscow by Metro, it is
essential to know how to read Russian.
In St. Petersburg, however, there is English signage.

  

Now that we have covered the basic Cyrillic alphabet, let's proceed to a reading lesson. I chose to spend my one free day in Moscow last May wandering the Arbat and silently phonetically mouthing out the names of familiar fast food franchises. I highly recommend this strategy for those trying to learn the seemingly impenetrable Iron Curtain that is Cyrillic.

First, we visit McDonalds. This one is easy, right? MAK=MAC. The fourth character looks like the Greek delta Δ--which is D. O becomes an A sound in Russian when the syllable is unstressed, so we've got DO. In our previous lesson, we learned that H =N, so HA is NA. The third to last character is the Cyrillic version of L. Then we are back to delta, and C=S. What does it spell? McDonalds.

Very good. Now, let's get a cup of KOФE. Note the third letter, which looks the same as the Greek version of F (phi). Sound it out. You have coffee. Excellent. But where to get our coffee? Perhaps CTAPБAKC.

Now we need a doughnut to accompany our coffee. We do not get coffee at the pink and orange establishment above, because we cannot read the sign that says "Coffee & More". After all, we are reading in Russian. But ДAHKИH ДOHATC sounds Дelicious. To translate, we need to close the one hole in our doughnut sign literacy.  И =ee. Hence, Dahnkeen Donahtc. Close enough.

Let's moo-ve/MYB (merely a transliteration) on. 

MY MY, or Moo Moo, is a popular fast food chain in Moscow. If you can't read the Cyrillic, just look for the black and white корова.

Finally, let's wash this all done with a bottle of BOДA. B=V. The O sounds like A, due to the stress. Voila, Vahdah. Let's take a sip and call it a day/ДEHb. 

Speaking in Tongues

Is learning a new language among your resolutions for 2014? If you live in the nation's capital, there are several spots to learn foreign tongues from native speakers. 

For example, Casa Italiana is like a little piece of the old country set smack dab in the center of the city.  Adjacent to the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, established in 1913 to serve the spiritual needs of Italian immigrants, Casa Italiana serves as a cultural mecca for Italians and wannabes alike. Aside from the full slate of language courses, you can also study various aspects of Italian culture, from literature to cooking to history.

Like the country it represents, the Russian Cultural Centre (RCC) looks imposing from the outside. But once inside this official home of Russian culture in the USA, things seem to thaw. Language courses are available throughout the year, mostly at the beginner and intermediate levels. Classes generally meet twice a week for four weeks and are taught by Russians residing in DC. As a special feature, you might be recruited as a spy.

Alliance Francaise has two locations, one near Dupont Circle and the other in Penn Quarter. Both host specialized classes, with sessions concentrating on writing or phonetics or corrective grammar. Also in Penn Quarter is the Goethe-Institut. The German cultural center has nine-week German courses and three-week intensive sessions.

Need more options? How about taking Urdu or Farsi at the U.S. Graduate School? That's right, the USDA Grad School, located near the National Mall, is a well-regarded foreign language instruction farm. Its fields of language study include  Arabic, French, Hindi, German, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Farsi, Turkish and Urdu. Introductory courses cover listening, speaking, reading and writing with equal emphasis, while conversational tracks focus on speaking and listening skills.  

Of course, if you don't feel like leaving your house, there are always on-line options and Rosetta Stone. But when possible, let those options be complementary to your language study. After all, taking real life classes provides the human touch to the art of speaking in tongues.