Russian Vocabulary: the Peculiarities of Learning
Vocabulary is one of the most important things when it comes to studying a language. Very often your fluency at a foreign language is measured by the variety of words and phrases that you understand. The grammar is finite and it is attainable to study all the principles of the Russian grammar, whereas the vocabulary is infinite and it is hardly attainable to study all of the phrases present within the Russian language. You'll want to construct your vocabulary constantly all the way through your Russian learning process.
How is Russian Vocabulary Different From English?
Russian belongs to the Slavic group of languages and would not share a lot of vocabulary with the English language. Though most Russian words and phrases shall be new to you as an English speaker, it's at all times a good suggestion to study just a few cognates – words which are nearly an identical match in Russian and English. Nonetheless, watch out fеor the words referred to as false friends which are related in pronunciation but may have totally different meanings. For instance, the Russian word "фамилия [fa-MEE-li-ya]" is translated as "a surname, last name" however sounds nearly just like the English word "family" that has a different meaning.
Frequency Lists
Whether or not you're a beginner at Russian, the lists called frequency lists will enable you to study and remember the most common Russian words and phrases. Frequency lists present most generally used words and phrases from trendy fiction, newspapers, science and political texts and supply you with a possibility to concentrate on Russian vocabulary that is important in most cases. And every time you end up in a selected scenario, such as buying things at a store, banking, eating out, booking a room at a hotel, or going to a doctor, a Russian phrasebook and vocabulary lists will provide you with all of the phrases and words you might want to know.
Dictionaries
You might want to get a good dictionary when studying Russian. Dictionaries come on every shape, size and specialization, and you might have already gotten a couple. The dictionaries are compiled by professors, so they certainly have correct translations. Nonetheless, please notice that digital online translators present solely machine translations which are likely to be incorrect. Machine translations are nice if you wish to get a common concept of what the textual content is about. They often give very correct translations. However, I do not suggest you depend on them for memorizing new vocabulary without double-checking the accuracy of the translation together with your instructor, consulting with a Russian native, or trying up the phrases in query in a traditional dictionary. Here I would recommend an online wiki-type Russian dictionary MULTITRAN. It is compiled by Russian translators and has a wide range of words and phrases from various contexts. Though there also can be mistakes, on the whole it is quite accurate, and in case of a doubt you can always read the comments of other translators on Multitran Forum.
How to Learn New Vocabulary?
There are a lot of methods to memorize new vocabulary. Conventional strategies recommend that you simply create lists of phrases, sticky notes or cards for regular assessment of your command. You could possibly additionally print out Russian phrases and tape them on the objects they symbolize round your home. For instance, put the word "колонки [ka-LON-ki]" on your speakers. This will allow you to see the Russian words for these objects day by day, which can enhance your vocabulary. However, conventional strategies might be boring and ineffective. To make your learning more enjoyable check out more engaging Strategies for Memorizing Russian Vocabulary.
Now you know about Russian Vocabulary.
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