Lesson 2

Произно́шение Pronunciation

Russian letters do not always sound the same. The pronunciation depends on their position in the word and on the stress of the letter. Reduced О (when not stressed) sounds like А, as in the A in about. Reduced Е (when not stressed) sounds like И, as in the E in piglet. However, this reduction is not so strong as in the case of O. If you pronounce these letters without reducing them you will be understandable, but sound strange. Voiced consonants at the end of the word become unvoiced. Таз sounds like tas, взвод sounds like vzvot. The same thing happens if a voiced consonant is followed by an unvoiced one. For example, Под́скок sounds like patskók.

[edit]Диа́логи Dialogs

Comment: If you talk to one person and would like to make it respectful, use "Вы" and not "Tы". You need to use "вы" with a small first letter character only if you need to talk to more than one person. You can also listen (help·info) to the audio version of this dialog.

´Здравствуйте, я рад (´рада) Вас ´видеть!

Zdrastvuyti, ya rat (rada) Vas vidjet

Hello, I am glad to see you!

Note: ´рада(rada) is what a female speaker would say, while рад(rat) is what a male speaker would say. This means glad.

´Добрый день, и я ´тоже.

Dobry denj, i ya tozhi

Good afternoon, me too.

Меня' зовут' ´Джоан, а Вас?

Minya zavut Joanne, ah Vas?

My name is Joanne, and yours? (Literally, "[they] call me Joanne, and [how do they call] you").

´Очень прия́тно!

Ochin' priyatna

Pleased to meet you. (Literally, "[it is] very pleasant").

А меня' — ´Марья Сте́пановна, ´можно ´просто ´Маша.

A minya – Maryah Stipanavna, mozhna prosta Masha

And mine is Marya Stepanovna, one may call me just Masha. (Literally, "and [they call] me Marya Stepanovna, [one] may [call me] just Masha").

Спаси́бо, до ´встречи!

Spasiba, da fstrechi

Thank you, see you again! (Literally, "thank you, till another meeting").

До свида́ния.

Da svidanya

Good bye. (Literally, "till another seeing").