Friends and family members greet each other with a simple "Привет".



for those who want to 'Copy'+'Paste' :

- Привет, Эмили.
- Привет, мам.


Use "Здравствуйте" with people you barely know, with much older folks (unless they are your relatives) or with government officials.



- Здравствуйте, мисс Наталия.
- Здравствуй, Эмили.


Remember, "Practice makes perfect".

Your e-mails with questions and comments are welcome.

If you are brave enough, you can e-mail me an audio file with your greeting in Russian. I'll play it on the next show.

Lesson 1 - Greeting

Just to change the pace a little, my daughter Emily and I are trying our hand at covering one of the most popular contemporary Russian songs originally performed by Alla Pugacheva and her daughter Kristina. Those two don't need introduction.

Mother-Daughter Duet (Опять Метель)

Today I fill a request of one of my Podcast listeners/ YouTube subscribers by reciting a short poem written by one of Russia's greatest talents - Anna Akhmatova. Лотова Жена - Анна Ахматова (Lot's Wife - Anna Akhmatova). To view the text: http://youtu.be/2fEWD9bqAWk

a Spoonful of Russian 032

The video that goes with this episode can be found on my YouTube channel: Episode 031


Toasting is a huge thing in Russia. Has been for ages. A full glass must be drunk to the bottom after every toast, because “a toast without wine is like a wedding without a bride!” A traditional Russian drinking party usually includes a sequence of several standard toasts.


You can refresh them by watching my Most Common Russian Drinking Toasts/Phrases video.








The most common first toast is...

To our meeting!
За встречу!
[za FSTRYE-tchoo] … sort of an ice-breaker toast:) 



Another good opener toast is…


To our health!
Будем здоровы!
[BOO-dem zda-RO-vy]



The toasts that follow largely depend on the occasion that brought the people together. At a birthday party, the first toast (with wishes of health, success and a long life) is usually to the birthday guy or lady. The second toast is to their parents as a sign of honor.

At a wedding, the first toast is “To the health of the newlyweds.” After that, the guests shout "Горько!"(Gorko!) often and loudly, all through the banquet. “Gorko” literally means "bitter” in Russian, implying the bitterness the wine being drunk. By yelling that the wine is bitter, the guests are inviting the newlyweds to make it sweeter by giving each other a sweet long kiss. As the bride and groom kiss, the guests count the seconds: “Один! Два! Три! Четыре! Пять! ... One, two, three, four, five..." until the kiss is over, whereupon they raise their glasses in a toast.

At a funeral banquet, the first part of the toast is usually an uplifting or touching story about the dearly departed; it is concluded with the words Пусть земля ему/ей будет пухом! Вечная память! (Let the ground in which he/she rests be like goose down. Eternal memory to (him/her). When people in Russia drink to the dead it is customary not to clink glasses. 

Without a doubt towards the middle of the party someone usually proposes a toast “За женщин”! “To beautiful ladies!” or “To the ladies present here!" At this point someone else usually says that real men stand up when they drink a toast to beautiful ladies, and they drink to the bottom. All the gentlemen present promptly comply.

The last toast, “На посошок!” / “Na pososhok", is usually pronounced when the guests are about to leave. In olden days, travelers used a walking stick, called posokh or, diminutively, pososhok in Russian, during long journeys. A toast to the walking stick, therefore, is meant to make sure that the return journey is safe.


Learn some Russian today!

a Spoonful of Russian 031

Russian accented vowels sound much richer and fuller than their English equivalents. That is because Russian is spoken much more vigorously than is English - there is greater muscular tension throughout the organs used in speech production.

Lesson 25 - Russian Accented Vowels

Lesson on bilabial stop consonants [p] [b] and dental consonants [n] [t] [d]



1. Greeting by a subscriber (Thank you, Jeanette, and Happy Birthday!) - Спасибо! С днём рождения!

2. Recommendation of recording apps

- Voice Record Pro (for iOS)
- Hi-Q mp3 Voice Recorder (for Android)

Another way - Google voice 209-980-RUSS (209-980-7877)

BIG thanks to all who show their support by:

- purchasing authentic Russian food at Russiantable.com also via a banner

3. Lesson - bilabial stop consonants [p] [b] and dental consonants [n] [t] [d]


Twitter @russianspoonful
Email:  spoonfulofrussian@gmail.com
Website: speakrussian.blogspot.com

You can also leave a voicemail by dialing 209-980-RUSS (209-980-7877) and I will play your recording on the air and will try my best to answer

p.s. my apologies again for the sub-par sound. IPad's mic produces uneven sound even with a slight deviation from it. Can't wait till I get a Mac!

p.p.s. I also appreciate your rating of the podcast in iTunes:)

To all my Russian friends: "С Днём Победы!"

Lesson 26 - Consonants [p][b] and [n][t][d]

Subscribers spoke. Some of you mentioned you would enjoy listening to Russian spoken without thinking of grammar. I've been thinking of doing it for a while now. Auditory training is an integral part of any foreign language learning.



Thus, I created a dedicated playlist within my YouTube channel. I hope to fill it with masterful creations of Russian poets. 



Question: would any of the parents of young kids out there be interested in Russian fairy tale/poetry/short stories recorded by 'yours truly'? 








Finally, I am not ashamed of the audio quality. Just received my RODE Podcaster mic back from repair!

Гой Ты, Русь - Сергей Есенин / Hey there, Russia

Inspired by last night's thunderstorm, our next poem is by Ф.И. Тютчев "Весенняя Гроза".









English translation by Dmitri Obolensky

A Spring Storm (Весенняя Гроза) - Ф.И. Тютчев

Learn some sport-related vocabulary words in Russian.

Спорт - Sports (Russian Vocabulary)

Russian Stress Patterns ( Accented Vs Unaccented Vowels)


1. Greeting by a subscriber (Thank you, Emily) - Спасибо!

2. BIG thanks to all who show their support by:

- purchasing authentic Russian food at Russiantable.com also via a banner

3. Lesson - Russian Stress Patterns ( Accented Vs Unaccented Vowels)


4. Contact


Twitter @russianspoonful
Email:  spoonfulofrussian@gmail.com
Website: speakrussian.blogspot.com

You can also leave a voicemail by dialing 209-980-RUSS (209-980-7877) and I will play your recording on the air and will try my best to answer.



p.s. I also appreciate your rating of the podcast in iTunes:)

Lesson 27 - Russian Stress Patterns ( Accented Vs Unaccented Vowels)

Learn some Russian words related to weather, seasons, and pets.

Twitter @russianspoonful
Email:  spoonfulofrussian@gmail.com

Russian Vocabulary - Weather, Seasons, Pets

Russian Poems series. "Stars" by Sergei Esenin.

Звёзды - Сергей Есенин (Stars - Sergei Esenin)

Крокодил - Корней Чуковский - Часть 1 / "The Crocodile" by Korney Chukovsky - part 1

Part 2 of Крокодил (The Crocodile) by Korney Chukovsky. Крокодил (часть 2) Корнея Чуковского. 

Крокодил - Корней Чуковский - Часть 2 / "The Crocodile" by Korney Chukovsky - part 2

Final Part 3 of Крокодил (The Crocodile) by Korney Chukovsky.

Крокодил - Корней Чуковский - Часть 3 / "The Crocodile" by Korney Chukovsky - part 3

Песенка Крокодила Гены. Урок и Караоке (Gena Birthday Song. Tutorial and...

Borrowing:

The best way to think about the borrowed words in Russian is from a historical perspective. The influx of foreign words came in waves depending on what country or culture had influence in Russia:

• Byzantine influence and conversion to Christianity: influx of Greek words

• The reign of Peter the Great: influx of German and Dutch words (e.g. шлагбаум,  гастарбайтер, бутерброд and so on)

• End of 20th century, perestroyka (перестройка) and post-soviet Russia, globalization: influx of English words

• There are many words of French origin (because Russians have been fascinated with French culture, especially in 18-19 centuries), for example шансон, авангард and many others

• There are a few of Japanese words in Russian, such as самурай, банзай, хокку, каратэ, цунами, etc.

• Some Chinese words - женьшень, тайфун, чай, шарпей, фэншуй etc

• Some Turkic words - башка, сундук, казна, утюг, чугун, шашлык, алыча, амбар, сарай, халат etc.


In this video I mention just a few borrowed words. Knowing them will give you confidence to go on learning.

Russian Vocabulary - Borrowed Words in Modern Russian

Little Fir Tree (В Лесу Родилась Ёлочка).  

This is the most popular Russian New Year's song. Every Russian knows it. It's something that no winter holiday can do without. The song was born in 1903 and since then it brings joy and excitement to Russian kids just like that little fir tree from the song.

Автор текста (слов): Кудашева Раиса Адамовна
Композитор (музыка): Бекман Леонид Карлович


"В лесу родилась елочка"

В лесу родилась елочка,
В лесу она росла,
Зимой и летом стройная,
Зеленая была.
Зимой и летом стройная,
Зеленая была.

Метель ей пела песенку:
"Спи, елочка, бай-бай!"
Мороз снежком укутывал:
"Смотри, не замерзай!"
Мороз снежком укутывал:
"Смотри, не замерзай!"

Трусишка - зайка серенький
Под елочкой скакал.
Порою волк, сердитый волк,
Рысцою пробегал.
Порою волк, сердитый волк,
Рысцою пробегал.

Чу! Снег по лесу частому
Под полозом скрипит;
Лошадка мохноногая
Торопится, бежит.
Лошадка мохноногая
Торопится, бежит.

Везет лошадка дровеньки,
А в дровнях старичок,
Срубил он нашу елочку
Под самый корешок.
Срубил он нашу елочку
Под самый корешок.

Теперь ты здесь нарядная,
На праздник к нам пришла,
И много, много радости
Детишкам принесла.
И много, много радости
Детишкам принесла
------------------------------------------------------

(the English Translation)

In the woods a spruce was born,
It was growing in the wood
In summer and winter
it was straight and green.

The blizzard sang it a lullaby:
Sleep dear spruce, sleep tight!
The frost put snow around it saying:
Don't freeze!

The timid grey rabbit
hopped under the tree,
From time to time
The angry wolf just trotted by.

Hush, listen! Deep in the woods
Snow scratches under a sleigh.
A heavy horse
Runs smoothly.

The sleigh carries firewood,
and in it was an old man
He chopped it down
at the very roots.

And here it is,
all dressed up,
it's come to us for the holiday
And lots and lots of happiness
it brought to the children.

Little Fir Tree (В Лесу Родилась Ёлочка) Happy New 2014!

Most Common Russian Drinking Toasts. There are more, but these will get you started:)

Most Common Russian Drinking Toasts

Many of you probably know that Russians have always been big on celebrating the New Year rather than Christmas.

After the 1917 Revolution, Christmas was banned throughout Russia, along with other religious celebrations. It wasn't until 75 years later, in 1992, that the holiday was openly observed.

Today, it's once again celebrated in grand fashion, with the faithful participating in an all-night Mass in incense-filled Cathedrals amidst the company of fellow believers and the painted icons of the Saints of old.

The Russian Orthodox Church still uses the old Julian calendar; therefore, its Christmas celebration falls on January 7th. It's a day of both solemn ritual and joyous celebration. Before this date, Orthodox Russians fast for 40 days. The Lent period ends with the first star in the night sky on January 6 -- a symbol of Jesus Christ's birth. Many Orthodox Christians go to the church to attend a Christmas liturgy that evening.

So today It would be more than appropriate to teach you how to say Merry Christmas in Russian.

'Merry Christmas' will be 'С Рождеством Христовым' 

(S Rozh-deh-stvom Khris-to-vym)

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