They say that learning Russian is very difficult. I already spoke a number of languages
when I decided to learn this language, because I wanted to learn a more difficult and exotic language. It was a
fantastic decision, which literally changed my life.
If you are thinking of learning russian,
get this: learning Russian brings about a lot advantages.
You are not only going to be able to communicate with millions of people,
but the structure of your brain itself is going to change and improve, since you have to think
in a different way by using new and unusual linguistic structures.
Now, let me tell you how I have learned Russian myself.
The first lesson I have learned is that especially with languages
which do not have a latin alphabet, it is quite important to know
how to start on the right foot. Cyrillic is not very difficult per se,
you can learn it in a few days, no problems pop up when you have to
type on the keyboard. The thing is, the Russian keyboard has a
different disposition of letters, and you have to get used to a completely different
typing system. It is a bit like learning to play the piano from the start again, but with
different notes. I have downloaded a phonetic keyboard
and THAT keyboard is very easy and intuitive to use. When I started using it, typing in Russian
became simpler and faster.
Russian has cases, and native Russian speakers take them
for granted. They don't learn cases from grammar tables, they learn
by actively using the language. Kato Lomb, a famous Hungarian
polyglot, reminded us of this fact, and it is something very important to take into account when it comes to learning
languages with a (different and) difficult structure. Whichever language you want to learn,
start listening and reading from the very beginning, and only later
use grammar books, and if you do that, everything will be all right. As I said
at the start of this video, by learning Russian you will reap a lot of benefits, and that
became evident when I landed in Russia for the first time. At first glance,
you can get the impression that Russians are a bit cold, but if you speak
in their language, they become quite friendly and warm.
But let's go back in time. I have always been passionate
about the history of World War II. From the get-go, I was fantasizing about speaking with those
who lived this challenging period for the Russian people. Although
I could not, unfortunately, meet those people, thanks to the Russian language, I was able to read
books and articles (as well as watch movies) and this enormously helped me understand
history from the point of view of Russian. Russian has broadened my vision of
space, time and language, and I am proud of being able to tell you all this
in the Russian language. Thanks a bunch for listening to me
and if you want to know more, click on the link in the description box, I have written an article
in English about how I have learned Russian on my blog. Bye bye!