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Is the Russian language hard to learn?
It is safe to say that the majority of the Russian language is not quite simple and complex. Is the Russian language hard to learn for anyone, or only for English speakers? For example, it is most easily studied by Czechs and Ukrainians, but for the Japanese, for example, it is overly difficult. English speakers will be somewhere in the middle of that range. But you can do it with regular practice!
Russian speakers can’t even imagine the suffering of those foreigners who try to learn Russian, much less speak and write in it. For foreigners, learning Russian is like learning Chinese. Language has about six cases, numerous endings, and multiple exceptions to the rules. And the shades of speech are epithets that are used so skillfully by some intelligent people that you will not immediately understand how this or that sentence was formed!
NOTE: Russian language is easier to learn than Chinese language.
Is the Russian language hard to learn for foreigner and is it worth it? Foreigners who decide to learn Russian open up many new opportunities and options such as communication with Russian-speaking business partners. Also, studying in Russian-speaking schools and universities, as well as communication with Russian-speaking tourists.
Finally, new language offers just a wide range of new acquaintances because if you know Russian you can communicate not only with the Russians, but also with the many Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Kazakhs and, in principle, from the entire former USSR. Moreover, some cinema and literature are very difficult to translate in a way so that the original meaning is preserved.
Note: Due to political issues between many former USSR republics now independent countries, for trips to few countries it may be advisable to learn local language.
How hard is Russian language to learn?
The Russian language has no stress. Some languages require to put stress when you read a book. Different syllable (or syllables) must be emphasized for different meaning. Other languages even have rules governing how to properly stress syllables. There are, of course, exceptions, but there are still rules. In Russian, people use the rules of language from memory – there are no rules for placing stress in it.
In Russian language there are only six cases. Instructors who study Russian with foreigners say, cases are a problem for students. If they can conquer the cases, the study of Russian becomes much more intensive and easier. But the majority, as they say, stumble over precisely this grammatical step.
Also, it may be hard to learn the Russian language because it is difficult to navigate in it when different consonants are soft or hard. Indeed, have you ever wondered why in some cases we speak using softening consonants, and in some – without them. This is not only about those situations when there are soft and hard signs, but about the usual words: bridge, mom, milk, mile, honey, etc. We were taught that way at home and at school and we do not think about it.
There is, of course, a rule where use of soft or hard are determined by the vowel standing after the consonant. But then, there are exceptions to that rule as well. And it can (and usually does) take years to successfully apply these rules in practice.
In Russian language, there are no rules for closed and open syllables to somehow navigate the pronunciation. This is partly why foreigners almost always have an accent, even those who are well versed in the grammatical intricacies of the language. Almost no one succeeds in speaking Russian without an accent.
NOTE: The hard part of learning Russian is essentially the grammar and correct use of the language. It is much easier to learn conversational (informal) form of the Russian language. Just like in any language.
Of course, there are even more examples to understand how difficult it is to learn the Russian language. In the Russian alphabet, some letters are not really letters at all (e.g. ь, ъ). Ohers have no analogs in other common languages – u, s, for example. This confuses foreigners who are trying to relate the new alphabet to their own. And what if there are no analogs?
Russian Language Sentence Structure
Is the Russian language hard to learn because of the different sentence structure? Well, the word order in the sentence can be whatever you want, depending on what you want to say. In addition to the necessary arrangement of words, it is necessary to highlight them. Native speakers do this automatically, subconsciously, but for foreigners, this is a problem.
For example, speaking emphasis is important:
– I will go somewhere – we intend to go somewhere.
– I will go somewhere – It is I, who will go.
– I will somewhere – Oh, I will definitely go, no matter what.
In Russian passive voice is find. In Russian sentence can start with the verb and it is also fine. In Russian sentence structure can be literally opposite t what is common at English language.
Few more simple examples of how hard is to learn the Russian language.
For simple English To Go, Russian has 6 synonyms. A sophisticated challenge for a foreign student is explain about going or walking somewhere. You will need to use 6 different verbs instead of the one: “drive”, “walk”, “ride”, etc. Let us recall that in Russian too, a glass or is usually standing on the table but a fork lies on the table.
They also say that handwritten text, for a foreigner, looks like an enchanted curse. Written texts in Russian for a foreigner is probably the most difficult part. The written text will initially always write as if it is written by elementary school kid. Then, there is a difficulty to read handwriting. Well, the same goes for any language. Finally, it will be hard for natives to read your handwriting, unless you write in large letters.
However, the Russian alphabet is more like Latin alphabet – same roots. For example, Russian alphabet and letters are hugely easier than, well, Chinese, Japanese, other Asian languages, or Arabic and Hebrew or Farsi.
Other examples of How Hard is to Learn Russian
Polite expressions from English, for example, may seem rude to Russians. It may seem off for a native English speaker that his or her way of addressing someone to ask for something, for example, making an order somewhere (I would like a cup of tea, please.) may seem to Russian speakers as rude. Why? Because of exact words translations its looks like a person is putting on airs and is kind of rude and forceful. In Russian there is also difference between “I would like” and “I want.” In Russian, it is better to use “please, give me a cup of coffee.”
Russian English learners suffer from being considered rude by native English speakers. Russian verbs also do not make life easier for foreigners and their teachers of the Russian language, because not everyone can explain and understand the difference between the verbs “s’el – ate” and “poel – ate”.
There is an exception to every rule in the Russian language. In one of the foreign textbooks on the Russian language, which somehow fell into my hands, it was written that there is no rational explanation for this or that exception to the rule, but for some reason, the Russians should write “zhi – жи” – “shi – ши” with the letter “е – и”. It is pure memorization.
And again, I think about the same Germans who are used to living and teaching strictly according to the rules. However, when faced with the grammar of the Russian language, they have to deviate from the usual mechanisms and open up new possibilities of their brain. Because quite often there are such foreigners who freely and grammatically correctly communicate, read and write in Russian.
Any foreign language can be learnt the fastest among native speakers of this language. It is customary for foreign students, for example, to spend one of the semesters in another country. During this time, they often learn a foreign language. In our country, such student exchange programs are not very common, so the language practice of many foreigners studying our language is reduced to the question “How to get to …” during tourist trips across Russia.
Also, foreign young people like to arrange a year of work and travel before entering a university. To determine their life plans and learn a foreign language, they travel around the world as nannies or farmworkers.
Russian is impossible to learn?
Not at all, nothing is impossible, especially learning language, no matter how difficult it is. Russian is one of the hardest languages for sure, but not impossible to learn. There are probably more reasons why it is difficult for a foreigner to learn Russian, and each foreigner has his or her own excuses.
The reason why someone conquers a foreign language, despite any grammatical, geographical, or family barriers, is only one – the motivation and desire. And if it is so, then no exceptions to the rules or phonetic tricks can stop a person from comprehending a new language, and with it the culture, character, and history of other people.
And if such a desire brings a foreigner into the Russian-speaking environment, his or her patience and work are rewarded not only with the opportunity to read Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in the original, but also bring him closer to solving the mysterious Russian soul.
As a rule, the first step in learning any language is to learn the alphabet and correct pronunciation of sounds. However, today there are also such methods that are aimed at teaching communication in a foreign language in practice from the first lessons.
In the first stages of learning in Russian, foreigners do not learn about orthography and style. The study of these areas should be taken only after the development of a perceived plate of lexical and basic rules and principles of language.
To achieve good results in the study of the Russian language, it will not be superfluous to view Russian films with subtitles, television broadcasts and listen to Russian songs. And the main thing is a daily practice in reading, listening, and speaking.
Good luck to all of you who trying to learn that beautiful and at the same time hard language, remember that everything is possible and after all, you will have a chance to feel on your own all the beauty of Russian language and culture in general.
You can read some facts about Russia here: Russia.
