Down the Primrose Path: 30 Years of Learning Russian
The Russian language and I do not fight; we exist side by side in harmony. I like the Russian language and enjoy watching films, but after 23 years of living in Russia, I speak it very poorly. I've tried teachers several times, and they led me through the garden gate and down the primrose path of school books for early learners in Russia. It worked for them, right? However, these books, after a few pages of 'ball' or 'hat,' start getting into tongue-twister poems that only a child who ALREADY speaks Russian can understand. 'Timid Tanya went to the Banya,' and so forth.Russians simply don't understand how illogical it is for a foreigner to figure out the case endings well. Of course, some do, but it's not uncommon to hear, "I've lived for 7 years in Russia, and I can't speak it!" said a rich American businesswoman who made a fortune in Moscow with her headhunter business.Today, we'll look through the eyes of a still fresh, unspoiled foreigner as he tackles one sentence of the Russian language. Let's see, let's lift this sentence off the internet without the translator.
The Russian language and I do not fight; we exist side by side in harmony. I like the Russian language and enjoy watching films, but after 23 years of living in Russia, I speak it very poorly. I've tried teachers several times, and they led me through the garden gate and down the primrose path of school books for early learners in Russia. It worked for them, right? However, these books, after a few pages of 'ball' or 'hat,' start getting into tongue-twister poems that only a child who ALREADY speaks Russian can understand. 'Timid Tanya went to the Banya,' and so forth.Russians simply don't understand how illogical it is for a foreigner to figure out the case endings well. Of course, some do, but it's not uncommon to hear, "I've lived for 7 years in Russia, and I can't speak it!" said a rich American businesswoman who made a fortune in Moscow with her headhunter business.Today, we'll look through the eyes of a still fresh, unspoiled foreigner as he tackles one sentence of the Russian language. Let's see, let's lift this sentence off the internet without the translator.