Mother-Daughter Duet (Опять Метель)

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.

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

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 25 - Russian Accented Vowels

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 24 - Russian Sound System. Introduction

Ученье свет, а неученье тьма

(Knowledge is light, ignorance is darkness)

Век живи - век учись

(Live and learn)

And the last one is quoted around our house quite often:)

Повторенье - мать ученья

(Repetition is the Mother of learning)

I thought I would start talking about the Russian sound system. Since I want to be true to the podcast's format and keep it short'n'sweet and to the point ... It will take us several lessons. 

Some of the items used for pronunciation practice will be isolated syllables or words whose meaning is of no immediate relevance, while others will be complete sentences that you will be able to add to your Russian phrase book and practice it as often as you'd like. You should not concern yourself with the grammatical forms of the sentences used at this point. You should simply learn them in the form given to you, striving to imitate your teacher as closely as possible. You must always keep in mind the importance of the spoken models presented.  While descriptions, transcriptions, and diagrams maybe of some help, you should rely mainly on the spoken model in your attempts to approximate the sound patterns in Russian. Remember always that at the early stage of instruction it is the sounds of the language that are our primary concern, not the written forms, which are a secondary and imperfect system of representing speech. While Russian spelling is more regular than that of English, there are places where it does not represent the sound system accurately. Strive always for good pronunciation, and don't let the written forms mislead you!

Next time we are going to talk about the Russian Accented Vowels, but for now I will leave you with a few phrases you should just listen to without trying to repeat. Listen to them as many times as you'd  like to. 

(YouTube link to this list)

Это дом. 

Это он. 

Он там. 

Это мама. 

Это она. 

Это папа. 

Это он. 

Это Анна. 

Она тут. 

Это Антон. 

Он там. 

Мама дома. 

Она дома. 

А папа там. 

Анна тут. 

А Антон там. 

Song in Russian - (Дорогой Длинною, performed by Nani Bregvadze).

Ехали на тройке с бубенцами, 

А вдали мелькали огоньки... 

Эх, когда бы мне теперь за вами, 

Душу бы развеять от тоски! 

Дорогой длинною, погодой лунною, 

Да с песней той, что в даль летит звеня, 

Да со старинною, да с семиструнною, 

Что по ночам так мучила меня. 

Да, выходит, пели мы задаром, 

Понапрасну ночь за ночью жгли. 

если мы покончили со старым, 

Так и ночи эти отошли! 

В даль родную новыми путями 

Нам отныне ехать суждено! 

...ехали на тройке с бубенцами, 

Да теперь проехали давно!

---------------------------------

You rode on a troika with sleigh bells, 

And in the distance lights flickered.. 

If only I could follow you now 

I would dispel the grief in my soul! 

By the long road, in the moon light, 

And with this song that flies off, ringing, 

And with this ancient, this ancient seven-string, 

That has so tormented me by night. 

But it turns out our song was futile, 

In vain we burned night in and night out. 

If we have finished with the old, 

Then those nights have also left us! 

Out into our native land, and by new paths, 

We have been fated to go now! 

...You rode on a troika with sleigh bells, 

[But] you've long since passed by!

-----------------------------------

ekhali na troyke s bubentsami, 

A vdali mel'kali ogon'ki... 

Ekh, kogda by mne teper' za vami, 

Dushu by razveyat' ot toski! 

Dorogoy dlinnoyu, pogodoy lunnoyu, 

Da s pesney toy, chto v dal' letit zvenya, 

Da so starinnoyu, da s semistrunnoyu, 

Chto po nocham tak muchila menya. 

Da, vykhodit, peli my zadarom, 

Ponaprasnu noch' za noch'yu zhgli. 

esli my pokonchili so starym, 

Tak i nochi eti otoshli! 

V dal' rodnuyu novymi putyami 

Nam otnyne ekhat' suzhdeno! 

...ekhali na troyke s bubentsami, 

Da teper' proekhali davno!

Closing word, reminders, etc.

I love hearing my subscribers speak Russian. I encourage all who are listening right now to record yourself saying Привет, Наталия or Здравствуйте, Наталия. I would love to open up my next podcast with your greeting! 

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.

#1 Fan, here is the answer to your question: 

"I love my wife" in Russian is "Я люблю свою жену"

Spoonful of Russian is now LIVE on Twitter and YouTube!

Follow me on Twitter @russianspoonful now and get your Russian language related questions answered. Ever wonder how to pronounce words in Russian? Just ask me and I'll upload an audio file just for you.

I wondered how to satisfy people's inquiries and fit it into my schedule. Looks like Twitter is the perfect medium for that. So, go head and click  @russianspoonful

I just created my YouTube channel, but I have many ideas how to make it awesome!

The Russian Cursive files are now compatible with iPhone!

Please,

Refresh your browsers

also, you may need to 'unsubscribe' and 're-subscribe' to the podcast for the changes to take effect. Feedburner might need a few hours to refresh their data as well.....

Announcement: by popular demand

...by popular demand of many of the subscribers I am now offering one-on-one video/audio chat for the purpose of going in depth of my podcast's lessons.

This would be a perfect way to solidify all you've learned, practice your pronunciation, and ask questions.

All you need is a computer, broadband internet connection, and an iChat, AIM, or Skype screen name. Google video chat is also an option.

Along with this I am still offering translation services (letters, docs, etc).

Please, email me for more info.