When you start studying Russian language, you realize how difficult it is and sometimes you may even question if it is really worth it. Even students who came to learn Russian in Saint Petersburg at EDUCA Russian Language School and experienced language immersion still face difficulties in understanding Russian grammar. However, you should bear in mind that any language must be studied constantly and seriously if you want to achieve good results. If you are thinking about studying Russian and enrolling in courses of Russian, this article will give you a better understanding of what you can expect!
There are some simple things
You might not believe this, but some things are definitely easier in Russian than in other languages. For example, the verb “to be” is not used when you are talking in the present tense. What is more, articles are absent in the Russian language.
Not all alphabet letters are pronounced
The contemporary Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters. There are two letters that do not have a sound to them at all, these are “ь” and “ъ”. These letters are used to amplify softness and hardness of some consonants. Also, if we’re talking about pronunciation, letter “ы” is the trickiest to pronounce. There are just a few words starting from this letter in the whole Russian Language.
Word stress in Russian
In the Russian language, vowels can be pronounced differently depending on whether they are stressed or not. Interestingly enough, the stress can vary in some words as well as the meaning. That means you will have to learn these words by heart. Student of EDUCA, Alice Ramber claims that she could only improve her speaking skills, and therefore, understand the usage of stress in some words, by immersing into Russian language while she was studying Russian in Saint Petersburg. However, listening to native speakers can also help a lot.
Case System is hard
The Russian case system is often one of the biggest difficulties for students. There are six cases, each of them indicating the role of a noun in the phrase. The genders are declined differently in each case, and differently again when we use the plural. Same for the adjectives. Many students who study Russian at EDUCA agree that at first they were frightened with cases, but the more they immersed in the language the clearer it became for them. That means that you shouldn’t get scared, it is only a matter of practice and a professional teacher.
Double negation
Unlike in English, in Russian double negation is grammatically correct. The negative particle “не” is never omitted and always precedes the word it negates even if you are using words such as nothing, nobody or never in the same sentence. Also, you can even come across two negative particles in one sentence that are related to different words and can be translated with a positive meaning.
Summing up, although learning a foreign language can be hard and stressful at times, it is always worth it. So, if you’re thinking whether you should start learning Russian or not, after reading this article you will probably see that it’s not easy. But if you put enough effort, you will thank yourself in the future.
