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The Joys of Russian

The Joys of Russian. Why study the Russian Language? Why study Russia?. Slavic Department, University of Michigan. А - Я. Russian….

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The Joys of Russian

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  1. The Joys of Russian Why study the Russian Language? Why study Russia? Slavic Department, University of Michigan

  2. А-Я Russian… • …is the primary language of the 150 million citizens of the Russian Federation, as the Russian state calls itself, and is the native language of approximately 30 million people living in the other states which were formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Я-А

  3. Russian… • offers a key to the parts of Europe which will be most changed by economic development in the coming century • and provides access to one of the world’s great cultures

  4. Russia… • is by far the largest country in the world • and has the largest new sources of natural gasand petroleum(pundits speak of Russia replacing Saudi Arabia among the world’s oil-producing nations)

  5. Russia stretches from the middle of Europe to the Pacific Coast, from the Arctic Ocean to Central Asia

  6. Russia is unique and beautiful Monastery of St Trifon, Vyatka (Kirov)

  7. But Russia is also a very important player in globalization… With one of the world’s most educated populations And with some of the most advanced skills in computing, and new media By the way, have you noticed how many Hollywood animations are done by people with Russian names…?

  8. But Russian is a hard language – right? Wrong! The alphabet, which worries so many people, is actually very similar to ours А Б В Г Д Е… A B V G DE…

  9. And many words will be familiar… • Кот Especially if you know other languages Hint – think domestic Дом

  10. Moreover, words actually sound how they’re spelt • Try explaining ‘enough’, and ‘through’ to someone who isn’t a native-speaker of English • But in Russian машинаis mashina(car) and маршis marsh(march – and it’s like the French marche, by the way)– so it’s really easy!

  11. And once you’ve mastered that… • Think of the possibilities…Достоевский, Толстой, Чехов, БулгаковDostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, BulgakovЧайковский, Муссоргский, Шостакович,СтравинскийTchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich,StravinskyФетисов, Фёдоров, Кафельников, КурниковаFetisov, Fedorov, Kafelnikov, Kournikova

  12. The achievements of a great nation are yours to investigate!

  13. And nowadays, so is Russia! Vytegra to St Petersburg 430 kilometres Vyatka to Moscow9731/4 Versts

  14. So much to see… Village of Koshtugi, Vologda region Lake Onega, one of the largest bodies of fresh water in Europe

  15. All over the country… Tomsk, Siberia High school folk ensemble, Vytegra, Vologda Region

  16. You want contrasts? You’ve got them – three modes of transport, all from the same small town north of Vologda…

  17. And let’s not forget the pleasures of the table…

  18. And, of course, the warmth of the welcome … Wherever you are… …and whoever you are

  19. So the joys of Russian are many…… and so are the rewards • Learn Russian Говорите по-русски • Study Russian Любите Россию

  20. Of course, every new culture and new language you study brings tremendous benefits • “multinational companies need leaders who are internationally adept” (Sally Adamson Taylor, Culture Shock! France, revised edition, Portland, Oregon, 1999) • I recently landed a consulting job because of my Russian degree …and they loved the fact that I understood and valued other cultures(Michigan Russian graduate, with an MBA)

  21. But the future of Russia is especially bright and intriguing • And the future for Russianists is more exciting than it has been for a long time • For more information, write to mlmakin@umich.edu • Or check out the Slavic Dept web site athttp://www.lsa.umich.edu/slavic/ • Or contact the Center for Russian and East European Studies at crees@umich.eduor check out the Center’s web site athttp://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/crees/.

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