Posted on 11/02/2019 3:40:22 PM PDT by VRW Conspirator
Want to command respect as if you were a badass Russian villain in a Hollywood film? Reckon you can do a better job than Harrison Ford’s questionable attempt at a Russian accent? Russia Beyond has you covered.
A Russian accent is often imitated by English-speakers but rarely perfected. You’ll probably be familiar with the mean-sounding tone usually heard in Hollywood Russian accents, but do you know which sounds Russian speakers most commonly carry through to their spoken English? Follow these tricks, and you’ll be sounding like a native in no time! 1. Replace the 'i' with 'ee'
There is no “i” sound in Russian, and many native Russians substitute it with an “ee” sound when learning English. For example, only an accomplished English-language student in Russia can pronounce the word “big” just like they do in England or America. In reality, a true Russian says “beeg!” For maximum effect, accompany this sound with a nostril flare, and watch your adversaries’ self-confidence slowly erode.
Test yourself: “This fish is a little bigger than this insect” (Like a Russian: Zees feesh eez a leetle beeger zan zees eensekt)
2. Randomly skip articles
There are no Russian-language equivalents for “a” or “the,” so of course this can be a tricky concept for Russians to get their heads around. Even Russians who speak fine English will mess this up from time to time. So, let them inspire you and be a little more liberal with your grammar!
Many associate tongue rolling exclusively with Spanish. The Russian roll is perhaps even a little slicker because it’s a shorter sound that doesn’t really affect the flow or stress of the word, making it generally much less noticeable than in Latin languages. Try lightly flicking the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. It’s harder than it seems! Take inspiration from that tongue-rolling meme king, Vitas: Now try this tongue twister: “The rich man ran in a round-robin race in Rotterdam.”
4. Use a harsh 'h'
Russians have a tough time with the letter “h,” which is often replaced with a “g” when used in borrowed words from other languages. For example, the Russian word for “hamburger” is “gamburger,” while Russian teens enjoy reading stories about “Garry Potter.”
When speaking English, however, Russians usually have to use the “kh” sound instead, which is phonetically closer to the English “h”. This gives the sound a really harsh, back-of-the-throat, phlegm-filled edge, instantly making others less likely to mess with you.
Test yourself: “Happy Halloween, Harry!” (Like a Russian: kheppi khaloween, kherry”)
5. Soften your 'e'
You won’t often hear a Russian say a hard “e”, especially when following a consonant. To be legit, make your “e” sound more like a “ye”. In Russian, the name Yeltsin, for example, in fact, begins with a Russian “e,” which has been softened.
Test yourself: “My friend said his left leg is better.” (Like a Russian: my fryend syed kheez lyeft lyeg is byetter)
6. Forget about the 'th'
As you probably already guessed from all the “ze’s” in the example sentences, Russians have a hard time finding the halfway point between hard and soft sounds in English. To have a good Russian accent, you must pick either one – “the,” for example, must be pronounced either as “de” or “ze.” “Thick,” on the other hand, could be either “tick” or “sick.” Don’t worry if people don’t understand you, by this point they’ll be way too scared to try and correct you.
Test yourself: “Take the third path to get to the theater.” (Like a Russian: Tyeyk ze soord pat to gyet to ze teeatr)
7. Take your 'u' sound to the extreme
Russians really struggle with the “uh” sound that is common in English. To alleviate this problem, they have a range of options at hand. If it’s a short “u”, they usually replace the sound with an “ah” – so “young” becomes “yang,” and “but” becomes “bat.”
When the “u” sound is a little longer, Russians tend to pronounce it as an “oo.” For example, the word “hurt” becomes “khoort,” while “put” is pronounced as “poot.” When there’s a “u” involved, don’t underemphasize it. Instead, really ham the sound up!
Test yourself: “The young man is upset because the bird is cut.” (Like a Russian: Ze yang men eez apset becaz ze boord eez cat)
8. Instead of 'v' go with 'w'
To be fair, not all Russians make this mistake. However, why not go for a stereotypical full monty here? After all, Russian doesn’t have a “w” sound, so if anything, it’ll add authenticity to your Russian accent. Watch your enemies’ fear intensify as you tell them, “I vill be back,” or “you von’t vant to mess vis me.”
Test yourself: “Will you want to be wearing that waistcoat on Wednesday?” (Like a Russian: Vill you vant to be vyering zet vyeistkot on Vednyesdyei?)
9. Lots of inflection
Everyone who comes to Russia will at least once endure the awkward experience of being asked a question, and having absolutely no idea they’re even being asked something. In English, things are clearer thanks to an upward cadence at the end of questions. Russians make things a bit more cryptic, often throwing in the stress somewhere near the middle of the sentence. Try saying this:
“Do you want to come to the park?”
Where did your voice rise? Be honest, was it on the word “park?” Dead giveaway! Now try again, inflecting on the word “want,” then bring the sentence on a downward slope:
“Do you WANT to come to the park?”
Much more confusing, right? That’s the beauty of it, though. If people are having a hard time with your true Russian question-asking skills, just give them a look that says, “What’s wrong with you?”
10. Have the right attitude
A convincing Russian accent suggests power and confidence – this means speaking calmly and slowly with a deep, authoritative voice. As for the tone: it should be somewhere between, “I don’t have time for this,” and “you get what I mean, yeah?” You can’t smooth-talk your way around Russia; getting what you want often involves assertiveness and sternness, so be ready to wear this attitude in public at all times. There’s a reason they say Russians don’t smile!
I worked with a Hungarian who absolutely hates the Russians and everything about them.
He was forced to learn and speak Russian as it was the official language of the Soviet Union. When he came to the US he worked very hard at losing his accent because most Americans thought he was Russian.
Real nice guy unless someone brought up Russia/Russians.
As an added bonus he’s as conservative as anyone here.
European Spanish speakers and Russian speakers put their voices in the same places, and some of the vowels are similar.
Latin American Spanish, like American English, Has different vowels from those of the mother country. It is thought that current English and Spanish vowels in the New World were those dominant in these countries in the 16th and 17th centuries. Over time, European pronunciation shifted up a bit, becoming more distinctive, while North and South American pronunciation of their respective vowels shifted down more to what is called a schwa sound, a kind of neutral.
But in any case, the accent of a foreign language speaker tells you something about your own language, and peninsular Spanish accents and Russian accents in English have a lot in common.
Why? Who knows?
I am practicing to call Adam SCIF and spoof him into thinking I have nekked peekchurs of Trrump.
LOL! Boris!
My Grandfather went thru the Russian Revolution as a teenage. The only Russian word I remember is peeva but my Russian accent isn’t bad.
Exactly. My Czech friend is a small businessman and staunchly conservative.
Boris & Natasha were so good. Heh.
My Polish priest speaks English as a third language. I get an askance look when I speak Russian to him; their enmity goes back centuries.
Worked for a few weeks in Slovakia immediately after the wall came down.
EVERY paper or sign or map or library display or poster or even the movie marques was written in three languages: Slovak - because that is what the people spoke.
Russian - Because the Russians coming in and running things did not trust the Slovaks to translate anything for them.
German. Because the East German Army was at the border ready to re-invade and kill any rebellion coming up. And the East German army did not want to trust any Slovak translators either!
You made it one more semester than I did!
I also enjoyed the alphabet.
It’s all so confusing... Just like why can’t all foreigners can’t just speak American? Even the English. They can’t say “chips”, they have to say “crisps” instead? Ridiculous.
LOL!
When I worked in NYC years ago I noticed very quickly New Yorkers tended to say that a lot. Putting ‘’what’’ at the end of a question. Instead of asking, “What are you, crazy?’’. They’d say “Are youse crazy or what?’’.
It’s a secret evil Canadian plot to start talking like them. For example:
NYer “ Eh! What’s wrong with you?”
Canadian “ What’s wrong with you eh?”
Interestink...
They do say chips, but those are french fries. So they need another word for potato chips.
And that word is ‘crisps’.
(Pretty descriptive.)
When I was a kid, one of my best friends was from Taiwan. He learned to speak English by watching American cartoons. The only hard part was he talked like a cartoon character, which got him some ridiculing by other kids. For example, he thought the plural of mouse was “meeses.” Or he would say something like “I eats my spinach (substitute other food here).”
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