Movie Night and RSO Status

Привет! Как дела, русский клуб?

At the last meeting we discussed how we can go about having a movie night on campus! I'm going to check on what we can do about snacks - because we've totally got to have Russian cuisine - and I don't think sodexo does that, so I'll know if we can bring delicious treats like pirogi to campus by our Thursday meeting. I'll also have a list of all the movies Abby and I have access to show by tomorrow up here on the blog. You guys can leave a comment on which movie you'd like to see most, and the winner will be picked so we can get posters around. Lets plan on doing this in the next couple weeks before Spring Break or at least right after Spring Break.

Another topic was attaining RSO status. Its been decided that we should go for it! I'll bring all the necessary forms to the meeting Thursday at 8pm.

And last but not least - the Sunflower yearbook wants to get a photo of us - can we all make it this Thursday? PLEASE let me know if you'll be there this week so I can pass it on to the photographer (unless you guys don't wanna be in the yearbook?)

Ok~ I look forward to seeing you all at the Inner Bean Thursday at 8pm! Last week we chatted about lullabies, fairytales, music, and literature. What do you all want to talk about this week?

До связи,
Клара

Vasilisa the Beautiful / Василиса Прекрасная

 Click the link below!

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/babayaga/index.html

Post 2 on Vowel Pronunciation

The basic rule to make a "soft-indicating" Russian vowel is to combine a sound of English y with corresponding "hard-indicating" vowel. For example, to get Russian я you should say y + a as if they are one whole (ya). Here I will introduce you into five "soft" vowels of the Russian language я, е, ё, и, ю. You will also learn a rule of the Russian pronunciation called ikanie.

Я as in yahoo

This vowel is pronounced like English ya in yahoo. Practice these words:

яма	ряд	яхта	мясо
ya-ma	ryat	yakh-ta	mya-sa
hole	row	yacht	meat

E as in yes

The Russian sound of e is easy, because it is close to ye in English yes. Do not confuse it with English letter e, which sounds like Russian э. Practice these words:

место	лето	песня	весело
myes-ta	lye-ta	pyes-nya	vye-see-la
place	summer	song	marrily

In the word весело, an unstressed e sounds like an abbreviated Russian и. This rules is called ikanie and it also applies to unstressed я and э.

Rule #2 In unstressed positions, Russian letters Я, Е, Э are pronounced like an abbreviated Russian И.

Ё as in yolk

This letter is pronounced like yo in yolk. As you can see, ё is formed from y sound and vowel o: y + o = ё. Now practice these words:

ёж	ёлка	плёнка
yozh	yol-ka	plyon-ka
hedgehog	fir-tree	film, tape

Rule #3 The letter Ё is always stressed in Russian words.

И as in meet

This letter is pronounced like ee in meet. Practice these exercises:

игла	Индия	пикник	лист
eeg-lah	een-dee-ya	peek-neek	leest
needle	India	picnic	leaf

Ю as in you

The letter ю denotes the same sound as the English word you. Practice these words:

юг	Юпитер	плюс
yook	yoo-pee-tyer	plyoos
south	Jupiter	plus sign

Quick reference on "soft-indicating" vowels

Russian letter	Symbol	Pronunciation
Я (stressed)	ya	as ya in yahoo
Я (unstressed)	ee	as ee in meet, but very short
Е (stressed)	ye	as ye in yes
Е (unstressed)	ee	as ee in meet, but very short
Ё (always stressed)	yo	as yo in yolk
Ю	yoo	as the word you
И (stressed)	ee	as ee in meet

Post 1 on Vowel Pronunciation

 - this pronunciation lesson brought to you from: http://masterrussian.com
Russian pronunciation rules are rather simple as compared to English. For example, there are no words in Russian that sound the same but have different spelling like English "might" and "mite". By and large, Russian words will sound correctly if you simply read them letter-by-letter.

In this lesson you will learn how to pronounce ten Russian vowels. You will also become familiar with several basic pronunciation rules. You will find that almost all Russian vowels have pretty close English sounds. In general, Russian vowels are divided into two basic types: "soft-indicating" and "hard-indicating" vowels. The "hard-indicating" vowels are а, э, ы, у, о. Russian "soft-indicating" vowels are formed from their "hard-indicating" counterparts by adding an English sound of "y" at the beginning. Thus you will get such "soft-indicating" vowels as я, е, ё, ю, и.

Notice, that vowel groups are marked as "soft-indicating" and "hard-indicating" because they indicate whether the following consonant is "hard" or "soft". In this sense, the Russian pronunciation system should be looked at as a unity of vowels and consonants. For now, do not worry if you do not understand what "hard" and "soft" mean. Just try to learn the pronunciation of vowels and memorize what group ("soft-indicating" or "hard-indicating" ) each of them belongs.
If you really want to learn Russian vowels, you should practice. Here we give guidelines on pronunciation of five "hard-indicating" Russian vowels. They are accompanied with exercises so that you could practice them with real Russian words.

How to pronounce "A"

A as in Ah

This vowel is pronounced in two different ways depending on stress. When stressed, it is close to the sound of the English word Ah, but shorter. When unstressed, it is pronounced like u in the word nut. Practice these words:

мама	папа	вата	вода	масло
mah-ma	pah-pa	vah-ta	va-dah	mahs-la
mother	father	cotton	water	butter

You've probably noticed that the letter o is pronounced like unstressed a in the words вода and масло. This is an important rule of the Russian pronunciation.

Pronunciation Rule #1 In unstressed positions, Russian letter O is pronounced like unstressed Russian A. In other words, it souns like English u in nut. See: When is the Russian letter O pronounced as A?

How to pronounce "O"

O as in law

You already know that unstressed letter o is pronounced like unstressed a. But when it is stressed, is sounds like English aw in law. Practice these words:

кот	точка	молоко	стон	окна
kot	toch-ka	ma-la-ko	ston	ok-na
cat	dot	milk	groan	windows

How to pronounce "Ы"

This vowel does not have an equivalent in English. Try to invest some time in learning it and differentiating from other sounds. To get Russian sound ы, you should  place your tongue in the position right between the positions of English sounds i in kit and u in sugar. Then make a new sound of ы. Note that this sound is different form the English i in bit. Now practice these words:

дым	быт	был	мыло	мы
dim	bit	bil	mi-lo	mi
fog	everyday life	was	soap	we

How to pronounce "У"

У as in wood

The letter у sounds like oo in wood. In unstressed positions, it is pronounced a little bit quicker than in stressed positions. Practice these exercises:

стул	губа	музыка	звук
stool	goo-bah	moo-zi-ka	zvook
chair	lip	music	sound

How to pronounce "Э"

Э as in net

This sound is close to e in pet. Practice these words:

этот	Интернет	темп	шест
e-tat	een-ter-net	temp	shest
this	Internet	tempo	pole

Quick reference on "hard-indicating" vowels

Russian letter	Symbol	Pronunciation
A (stressed)	ah	as Ah, but shorter
A (unstressed)	a	as u in but
O (stressed)	o	as aw in law
O (unstressed)	a	as u in but
Ы	i	no English equivalent
У	oo	as oo in wood
Э	e	as e in pet

Useful Book List (Полезные книги)

Language

Russian Stories: A Dual-Language Book

Essential Russian Grammar (Dover Language Guides Essential Grammar

Russian Grammar (Quickstudy Academic Outline) (a laminated pamphlet that can be put on the wall for reference)

Dermo!: The Real Russian Tolstoy Never Used

Russian-English/ English-Russian Dictionary by Langenscheidt

Programs you can buy:

Primsleur Russian

Rosetta Stone Russian (not for beginners)

Free Online courses

www.livemocha.com

Culture/Folklore/History

Lonely Planet Russia

Russian Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library) -Aleksandr Afanasev

Russia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture -Anna King

I hope to see you all tonight at 8pm! Let us know what times/ days work best - so far it looks like Friday at 6 will be changing to Thursday at 8. Email, facebook, or message your opinion! :)

Пока, Клара

Meeting Cancellation

Tonight's meeting has been canceled due to unexpected illness and injury. We apologize for the short notice and are looking forward to resuming regular meetings next Friday.