Dear anyone,
Your duolingo forum registration isn't automaticaly transferred to duome forum so in order to join duome forums you need to register with your existing or any other username and email; in any case it's advised that you choose a new password for the forum.
~ Duome Team

How did you start learning the language?.

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

It all started with a Sega game, namely a Flashback :), there were only a few scenes with english text, I passed some part of the passage without any problems, but towards the end of the game, I got stuck in the same place, for some reason I decided that I couldn't cope with it without translation. The game has a password system, after completing a level, a password is given to go to the next level. I decided that if I understood what these texts were about, I would get some new password, to some next level. In fact, I just didn't see the entrance to another place, on one of the scenes....

Image

At first I turned to a classmate, who seemed to know english, it turned out that he was just bragging about some everyday phrases, but could not translate anything on the go. I took a dictionary and translated everything scrupulously for a long time. The Flashback cartridge, with all the other cartridges and Sega are still on the shelf). In general, this was the first time I became interested in the language.

Quite often I met untranslated games, and slowly began to understand how and what. And I learned a very large part when I came across two large visual novels in a row (not anime (yes, you can find this, if you search)). Both were endowed with an amount of text exceeding two average books ... and there was no translation, I met only a machine-type translation, as if someone stuffed the text into a translator, say yandex, and threw it all into the game, of course it turned out garbage, giving a very crooked understanding of the text. Obviously, there was no question of any beauty of the letter.

Moreover, english in these games was with a huge amount of slang, there were many transitions to french, german and even irish expressions. But it was interesting to me, and in the end, I went through both games, fully delving into the plot. During this time, my vocabulary has doubled. Thus, quite a large part of my language learning was an attempt to understand what I was interested in, and not the language itself.

And where did you start?.

Last edited by Amlir on Mon Mar 21, 2022 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

About Russian..... I guess many will call me nuts, coz I do it for my cats. My 3 cats are all adopted and they are from Moscow. They were between 2-4 years old when they came to me, so they grew up in a Russian speaking environment.
At the veterinary clinic they are extremely stressed and incidentally the vet was from Moscow and started talking to them in 'their' mother tongue - and they relaxed immediately. So I considered learning a few phrases, but thinking about it for a few more days, I decided to learn the language. Not just a few phrases.

Another language I want to learn is Spanish, but not before I reached intermediate level. On the other hand my head only takes in a certain amount of Russian at a time, but learning is fun these days with apps & co.! So I was looking for a language which is easier for me to learn and I make progress a bit fast - and so I choose Dutch. The Netherlands are quite close, so I can go there for a few hours.

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

IceVajal wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 8:17 pm

About Russian..... I guess many will call me nuts, coz I do it for my cats. My 3 cats are all adopted and they are from Moscow. They were between 2-4 years old when they came to me, so they grew up in a Russian speaking environment.
At the veterinary clinic they are extremely stressed and incidentally the vet was from Moscow and started talking to them in 'their' mother tongue - and they relaxed immediately. So I considered learning a few phrases, but thinking about it for a few more days, I decided to learn the language. Not just a few phrases.

Another language I want to learn is Spanish, but not before I reached intermediate level. On the other hand my head only takes in a certain amount of Russian at a time, but learning is fun these days with apps & co.! So I was looking for a language which is easier for me to learn and I make progress a bit fast - and so I choose Dutch. The Netherlands are quite close, so I can go there for a few hours.

Apparently, one of your cats is depicted on the avatar?).
By the way, I still can't understand why Russian is considered difficult. Comparing other languages, it seems simple to me. What exactly is the most difficult part of it?.

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

Yes, that is one of them and it's the one who is stressed most at the vet.

I think it depends what's your mother's tongue. German seems easy to me, I'm a native, but I know it isn't.

In many cases it seems - to me - that words are missing, so I have to guess. It's a lot about context. And what's plural in one case, might be singular in another. Prefixes, suffixes, that even names change, all that's confusing. I guess at a certain point of the language learning journey it becomes easier, but at the beginning it's difficult!

Actually I never been good in grammar, always been the type of learning-by-doing person. When it comes to speaking it's an advantage, coz I don't think about grammar and just talk. If I make a mistake, so what? Either people understand me or they ask what I mean and I can try to do better. I learn by reading and listening, when it's about grammar.

I hope you understand what I try to explain. My English is a bit rusty now, two years of Corona pandemic is taking toll.

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

IceVajal wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:28 pm

Yes, that is one of them and it's the one who is stressed most at the vet.

I think it depends what's your mother's tongue. German seems easy to me, I'm a native, but I know it isn't.

In many cases it seems - to me - that words are missing, so I have to guess. It's a lot about context. And what's plural in one case, might be singular in another. Prefixes, suffixes, that even names change, all that's confusing. I guess at a certain point of the language learning journey it becomes easier, but at the beginning it's difficult!

Actually I never been good in grammar, always been the type of learning-by-doing person. When it comes to speaking it's an advantage, coz I don't think about grammar and just talk. If I make a mistake, so what? Either people understand me or they ask what I mean and I can try to do better. I learn by reading and listening, when it's about grammar.

I hope you understand what I try to explain. My English is a bit rusty now, two years of Corona pandemic is taking toll.

A native German speaker, asks a native Russian speaker, if he understands his English). I don't want to say anything, but it sounds like the beginning of an anecdote).
Your English is completely understandable to me. I myself am at a stage when I fully understand what I'm reading and hearing. Can't even say, when I had problems with it. But I make mistakes sometimes, when I write and speak.

The Russian language seems simple to me from the speaker's side, but there may be problems from the listener's side. You can twist a sentence, rearrange words, there are many ways to say the same thing in different ways. And in theory, this means that you are unlikely to make a mistake, because there are many ways to speak competently. But at the same time, if you are listening to someone, then you probably need to know all these very ways).

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

It's more the feeling that my English is rusty, as I haven't actively used it for awhile.

In English it's kitchen (singular) / kitchens (plural), kinda same in German - Küche (singular) / Küchen (plural) - and that's it in all cases and tenses. At least I can't come up with any exceptions. But usually I don't think about it, just speak, just like you do in your mother's tongue.

Names stay the same, no changes. Changes apply mainly to verbs, articles, adverbs... But articles / adverbs stay the same for every female / male / neuter word - hopefully I didn't mixed up grammar terms. Did I mention I'm bad at grammar?

At the other hand, Russian has just 3 tenses, as far as I know, which are quite easy to remember. I start getting used to past / future tense. But I just learning for... 4-5 months.

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

I understand what you mean). It often happens to me that when I don't think, I speak correctly, but as soon as I start thinking, I immediately make mistake after mistake).

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

So, stop thinking! :lol:

Humans make mistakes, so try your best and don't be afraid of making mistakes. At least that's what I try to do. But I don't succeed every time.

A reason why I try to read news articles and books almost from the start is, it teaches you the use of words, help understanding. At the moment I listen to a podcast (Как это по-русски?) every day, and repeat the episodes again and again, at the beginning I heard a familiar word, but it took too long to come up with the meaning. Little by little I recognize more words and sometimes get the topic. At least it helps me to adapt to Russian pronunciation. In Dutch it's much easier for me.

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

IceVajal wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 11:28 pm

At the moment I listen to a podcast (Как это по-русски?)

Подкаст). Так и пишется). Слово не Русское. Можно Заменить словом - передача или трансляция.

Podcast). That's how it is written). This word is not Russian. You can replace it with the word - transmission or broadcast.

User avatar
Sidor
Thailand

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Sidor »

For English, I've learned it along with Thai since kindergarten but only for super easy words like apple, bee, cat, dog, etc. Not until grade 3 that the lessons started focusing on grammar. Still, similar to Amlir, playing games forced me to learn a lot outside of school, although I may also contribute to the fact that I watched dozens of Disney's cartoon on VHS in my childhood (but was never able to understand what the characters talk until well into my late teen years😂).

Russian? Just started learning (properly) last August, despite my hobby of learning history, culture, sports and a few other things related to Russia goes back to 2013. Because of those interests, I've run into many walls trying to research some specific topic, only to discover the available resources on the internet are in Russian. x_x

From a perspective of native Thai speaker, I'd say the most difficult issue I have with Russian is the cases. Thai language has zero case, and while I'm doing okay with three in English, shoving six/seven on me is a real struggle. The lack of verb to be doesn't bother me since Thai language often omits v. to be, too. The change in adjective form according to genders also causes me no trouble even when there is no such thing in Thai, thanks to my French study in high school. And the ty vs vy? Hello, Thai language has AT LEAST six pronouns in each of first, second and third person pronouns, ranging from very informal and extremely respectful attitude attached to them. Ty and vy aren't going to be any problem.)))))

Lastly, I believe I can nail the ы sound because there is a vowel which sounds quite similar to that in Thai language.

🇹🇭 Native :us: B2-C1 :ru: A2

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

Sidor wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:48 am

although I may also contribute to the fact that I watched dozens of Disney's cartoon on VHS in my childhood (but was never able to understand what the characters talk until well into my late teen years😂).

I've also seen enough of Disney by the way). Oddly enough, I also had english at school, but didn't learn much there. I think I'm just such a person, can't study if I'm bored :).

User avatar
EranBarLev
Israel

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by EranBarLev »

Amlir wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:09 pm

By the way, I still can't understand why Russian is considered difficult. Comparing other languages, it seems simple to me. What exactly is the most difficult part of it?.

  • The cases :(
  • Plurals - 4 possible suffixes, and the stress may move or not. :(
  • Pronunciation - Щ, Ы, Ь, Ъ

Maybe the East Asian languages are more difficult, don't know, haven't tried. But compared to other European languages it's more difficult.

🇮🇱N 🇬🇧C1 🇪🇸B2 🇵🇹B1 🇫🇷B1 🇸🇦A1 🇷🇺A1

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

EranBarLev wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 7:30 am
  • The cases :(
  • Plurals - 4 possible suffixes, and the stress may move or not. :(
  • Pronunciation - Щ, Ы, Ь, Ъ

Maybe the East Asian languages are more difficult, don't know, haven't tried. But compared to other European languages it's more difficult.

As a native speaker of Russian, I always face problems, when try to speak foreign languages the way I like. Duolingo always shows that this is wrong. So it began to seem to me that the Russian language is simpler, not strict or something like that). I often do not understand, why specific places cannot be shortened or why it is necessary to observe a specific sentence construction, while the sentence can still be understood in this way). French grammar is a living hell for me).

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

French I had for one year in school and as we moved I used the chance to leave French behind. But somewhere in time I want to learn enough to get by in France. So, A2 would be fine for me.

Duolingo sometimes rejects a translation, even when it's correct. It was annoying that at some sentences it accepts subway and metro, at other sentences it just allows subway. So I always write subway to be safe. ;)

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

Upbeat 88
Mexico

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Upbeat 88 »

I started learning Spanish because a lot of the people i know speak it also

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

[mention]BrianEngst1[/mention] , that's a good reason!

Spanish is among the languages I want to learn, somewhere in time.

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
Stasia
Poland

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Stasia »

EranBarLev wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 7:30 am
  • The cases :(
  • Plurals - 4 possible suffixes, and the stress may move or not. :(
  • Pronunciation - Щ, Ы, Ь, Ъ

I think you nailed it - I think this is precisely what makes Slavic languages in general so difficult for speakers of non-Slavic languages. Except for the moving stress and hard/soft signs, everything else on your list applies to Polish as well. In Polish, we have a similar repertoire of tongue-twisting consonants, except that they are spelled using Latin rather than Cyrillic.

The Latin alphabet isn't really suited to all of our crackling sounds, leading to weird letter combinations to represent them. For example, we write Щ as "szcz" which I'm sure makes learners want to scream and pull all their hair out. :lol:

Native: :poland:; Fluent: :es:, :us:; Getting there: Image; Intermediate: :fr:; Beginner: :ukraine:

User avatar
EranBarLev
Israel

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by EranBarLev »

Stasia wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:52 pm

In Polish, we have a similar repertoire of tongue-twisting consonants, except that they are spelled using Latin rather than Cyrillic.

The Latin alphabet isn't really suited to all of our crackling sounds, leading to weird letter combinations to represent them. For example, we write Щ as "szcz" which I'm sure makes learners want to scream and pull all their hair out. :lol:

The Russian Щ doesn't sound at all like the Polish "szcz", which sounds to me as a combination of the 2 familiar sounds SH+CH. It is indeed a tongue twister, but at least I can figure out how to pronounce it correctly. The Russian Щ is not a combination of any sound I know from any other language.

🇮🇱N 🇬🇧C1 🇪🇸B2 🇵🇹B1 🇫🇷B1 🇸🇦A1 🇷🇺A1

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

Stasia wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:52 pm

we write Щ as "szcz" which I'm sure makes learners want to scream and pull all their hair out. :lol:

It freezes me more when a word that sounds like simple "boku" is spelled as - beaucoup O_O.

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

Amlir wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:42 pm
Stasia wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:52 pm

we write Щ as "szcz" which I'm sure makes learners want to scream and pull all their hair out. :lol:

It freezes me more when a word that sounds like simple "boku" is spelled as - beaucoup O_O.

Because words like beaucoup I couldn't get memorized when I was in school, I get out of French class. These days I consider giving French another try... When I feel comfortable with Russian. And perhaps Spanish first.... 🤔

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

IceVajal wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:51 pm
Amlir wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:42 pm
Stasia wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:52 pm

we write Щ as "szcz" which I'm sure makes learners want to scream and pull all their hair out. :lol:

It freezes me more when a word that sounds like simple "boku" is spelled as - beaucoup O_O.

Because words like beaucoup I couldn't get memorized when I was in school, I get out of French class. These days I consider giving French another try... When I feel comfortable with Russian. And perhaps Spanish first.... 🤔

Before I took up French, I thought pronunciation there was the most difficult). How wrong I was).

User avatar
IceVajal
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by IceVajal »

So far I survived somehow in France, but to know a bit more would be nice.

N :de: - B2 :us: - Beginner :ru: (Busuu: B1) - :netherlands:

User avatar
EranBarLev
Israel

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by EranBarLev »

Amlir wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:42 pm

It freezes me more when a word that sounds like simple "boku" is spelled as - beaucoup O_O.

The French notoriously don't pronounce final letters. That's why I often forget what the final letter is when I have to write it. That is indeed one of the difficult parts in French. Beside that problem, "beaucoup" is just like a combination of 2 shorter French words "beau" & "coup", which makes it a bit easier. :)

But then you have a simple word that sounds like "yevo" is spelled with (the parallel of) a G - "его". :?

🇮🇱N 🇬🇧C1 🇪🇸B2 🇵🇹B1 🇫🇷B1 🇸🇦A1 🇷🇺A1

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

EranBarLev wrote: Wed Mar 23, 2022 4:32 am

But then you have a simple word that sounds like "yevo" is spelled with (the parallel of) a G - "его". :?

The word "Пожалуйста" is the same nonsense. Pronounced - Pajalusta. But with the French unpronounceable, it's still no comparison in terms of quantity and quality).

User avatar
eaglefin31
United States of America

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by eaglefin31 »

Funny story! What actually started me down the path of learning Russian was a very strange thing. It all started when I was watching an anime called "Girls Und Panzer". In it, there are different schools, themed after different nations. There was a scene where the people in the Russian schools were talking, and then later on their theme was the song "Katyusha". As soon as I heard that song, I got interested, and decided to learn the song, if not the language. As I learned more about Russian culture (finding several very good songs), I realized that I just had to learn Russian! Now, I've got a whole bunch of Russian stuff in my house, I chat with Russians and Ukrainians everyday, and I've got penpals to exchange letters with! It has been an amazing journey so far, that is far from over, and I'm so glad to have met my foreign friends! Message me if you want some of my sources or learning materials!

​Lead the sword with your body, and you will become one with it.
-Miyamoto Musashi

User avatar
Amlir
Russia

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Amlir »

eaglefin31 wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 2:13 pm

Funny story! What actually started me down the path of learning Russian was a very strange thing. It all started when I was watching an anime called "Girls Und Panzer". In it, there are different schools, themed after different nations. There was a scene where the people in the Russian schools were talking, and then later on their theme was the song "Katyusha". As soon as I heard that song, I got interested, and decided to learn the song, if not the language. As I learned more about Russian culture (finding several very good songs), I realized that I just had to learn Russian! Now, I've got a whole bunch of Russian stuff in my house, I chat with Russians and Ukrainians everyday, and I've got penpals to exchange letters with! It has been an amazing journey so far, that is far from over, and I'm so glad to have met my foreign friends! Message me if you want some of my sources or learning materials!

So you started learning the language because of anime?)). Japan has encouraged you to learn Russian language)). Probably, this is not what they expected, when they made this cartoon 8-) .

User avatar
eaglefin31
United States of America

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by eaglefin31 »

Amlir wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:18 pm
eaglefin31 wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 2:13 pm

Funny story! What actually started me down the path of learning Russian was a very strange thing. It all started when I was watching an anime called "Girls Und Panzer". In it, there are different schools, themed after different nations. There was a scene where the people in the Russian schools were talking, and then later on their theme was the song "Katyusha". As soon as I heard that song, I got interested, and decided to learn the song, if not the language. As I learned more about Russian culture (finding several very good songs), I realized that I just had to learn Russian! Now, I've got a whole bunch of Russian stuff in my house, I chat with Russians and Ukrainians everyday, and I've got penpals to exchange letters with! It has been an amazing journey so far, that is far from over, and I'm so glad to have met my foreign friends! Message me if you want some of my sources or learning materials!

So you started learning the language because of anime?)). Japan has encouraged you to learn Russian language)). Probably, this is not what they expected, when they made this cartoon 8-) .

Yeah, me neither!

​Lead the sword with your body, and you will become one with it.
-Miyamoto Musashi

David680268
Germany

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by David680268 »

I twice taught a course at a university in Almaty and thought it would be nice to learn some Russian.

alanpierregf
Brazil

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by alanpierregf »

I started learning Russian on Duolingo. The first word I remember thats ive learned is дом.
I was very atracted to the language since childhood. But I started at 46yo.

Steve579062

Re: How did you start learning the language?.

Post by Steve579062 »

If your asking how, it was on the Drops app. If you ask why the is because of a woman. Or a man pretending to be a woman. I answered a spam email from someone supposed to be in Russia. I admit to making up a lot of false information. It was an educational few months. The lengths that some people will go to. I was never asked for money or assistance. Maybe it was a woman in Russia. I know her photo has been used in various scams.
After a spell with Russian I changed to Ukrainian. I even visited Kyiv in 2021. My main motivation is to keep my old brain working.

Enjoy your learning.

I'm using language to keep my old brain working.

Post Reply

Return to “Russian”