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!
You only call them chips when you eat them with fish. Duh. Again, learn to speak American people!
Cartoon of moose and squirrel, just!
Those ‘chips’ are actually ‘pommes frites’.
(Learn to speak French, People!)
Firstly, there IS an “I” sound in the Russian language.
Secondly, there IS an “I” sound in the Russian language....as in “Eye”
For example...Ya Nye Zn-Eye-Yoo....ie: “ I don’t know”
OR! Eg Mik-EYE-al.....as in Mikhail Baryshnikov
Oh, Gosh.
Things I like about the French:
If you get out of the big cities, they are very nice, warm people.
They have a stunning sense of Style; and many great visual artists have come from France.
They know how to COOK! - (something dear to my heart.)
They’ve given us some great philosophers - not to mention literary artists.
And French is possibly the most complex of the Romance languages, and the hardest to truly master.
Bonne nuit!
The trick of Russian language is you don’t need grammar at all to be understood. Just learn the words and compile as you please and use intonation to compensate the lack of proper grammar. USSR was a Babylon with about a thousand native groups who had own language each. Most of them had their own ideas on how to speak Russian for communication with other groups based on the grammar of their languages and the rest learnt to live with it. There are no grammar Nazis in Russia.
My friend in BiH always told me to speak Croatian with an American accent “because when you speak Croatian you sound like a demented Russian.”
I wonder if I spoke Russian in Russia, I would be told I sound like a demented Croatian.
Cool Russian accent tips.
I’ll have to take your word for it. My favorite thing about France... Joan of Arc. I don’t know how to say that in French.
Jeanne d’Arc.
(Pronounced sort of like ‘zhawn dark’.)
Nice to know. I always admired her.
There are no grammar Nazis in Russia.
Nice use of zh by the way. Very phonetic.
I’ve never been able to decide whether she was enlightened, or simply nutsy.
But I guess on a certain level, we’re all just here for our own subjective ‘ride’.
If we can do some wider good with it, maybe that’s a plus.
She was a saint. I’ve heard God’s voice. She has heard voices from other saints. Am I crazy? God will say.
Boris Badinov!
Except that French fries were invented in Belgium.
And potatoes in America.
Plus speak of yourself in third person. “Yuri like you bery much”
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