Russian: The language of space
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9 Facts About the Russian language
Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world.
Russian is one of the three Eastern Slavic languages; the other two are Belarusian and Ukrainian.
The Cyrillic alphabet has thirty-three letters, of which ten are vowels, twenty-one consonants and two have no sound.
The vowels have five sounds, and they are written differently according to whether they follow a hard or soft consonant.
There are only about 200,000 words in the Russian language, but this is double the size of the 19th century vocabulary.
Some Russian words have been borrowed by the English language. Some intriguing examples include bolshevik, cosmonaut, mammoth, pogrom, samovar and vodka.
Native Russian words typically do not start with the letter “a”. Instead, words are prefixed with the sound "й."
Russian words that have Asian origins often represent objects.
Russian is one of the six official languages used at the United Nations.
Origin of the language
Russian emerged in the Old East Slavic states.
History of the language
The Russian language emerged during the middle of the 15th century.
Learning the language
An English speaker should expect to learn Russian in 1100 hours.
Russian language diversity
Russian is the official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; it is a recognized regional language in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine as well.
Although the Russian language is spoken in many countries, linguists only identify three Russian dialects: northern, southern, and central, whereby the latter is heavily influenced by the first two. The main variants of Russian include Russian (UKR) and Russian (BY).
Did you know?
Russian is spoken by nearly 170 million Russian natives and 130 million inhabitants of former republics of the Soviet Union; this means there is a significant amount of diversity.
Each dialect has its own distinct style of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.
The southern dialects are spoken around Tula, Ryazan, Oryol, Lipetsk, Tambov, and most of Kaluga, Voronezh and Kursk Oblasts.
In the mid-1800s, standard Russian with the Moscow dialect became the official language.
The northern dialect of the Russian language is spoken north of Moscow and along the Volga River.
The central dialect is predominantly spoken in Moscow and some surrounding areas.
Russian language for beginners
Ten basic words to start learning in Russian;
Hope=Надежда
Good morning=Доброе утро
Rain=Дождь
Family=Семья
Happiness=Счастье
Thank you=Спасибо
Autumn=Осень
Hello=Привет
Good-bye=До свидания
Cherish=Лелеять
In days of doubt, in days of dreary musings on my country's fate, you alone are my comfort and support, oh great, powerful, righteous, and free Russian language!
Ivan Turgenev
Novelist, poet and Playwright
Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Novelist, philosopher and journalist
She decided that day to study Russian, the language of violence, terror, and absurdity. She knew she would never be bored.
Natalie Standiford
Writer and student of Russian Language
Fun facts about the Russian language
Many words for blue
The Russian language splits the shades of blue into different words, such as голубой for light shades and синий for darker shades.
Language of space
If you've ever dreamt of going to space or becoming an astronaut, you may need to learn Russian. It is known as the language of space.
Gender-specific middle names
Russian middle names can vary and sound different according to gender. The body of the name remains the same, but a gender-specific suffix is added.
No present tense for “to be”
The verb "to be" only exists in the past and future tense. In Russian, the phrase "to be" (быть) exists, but it is never used in the present tense.
One adjective with one syllable
All Russian adjectives have several syllables – with one exception: the word злой, which means "angry" has only one syllable.
Spoken in Eurasia
In Eurasia, Russian is the most widespread language. It is listed even higher than China with nearly seven times as many speakers.
One word with many meanings
In Russian, a word's stress pattern can dramatically change its meaning. For instance, я плачу could mean "I'm paying" or "I'm crying" depending on which syllable is stressed.
A blessing by thanking
The word "spasibo" (Russian: спаси́бо - thank you) originally meant "спаси бог" which translates to "god save."
Word for Germans
Interestingly, the word for "German" in Russian is "неме́цкий" (Nemetski) which translates to "those who can't speak."
Similarity to English
About 10% of Russian words are similar to English ones, which many people may not know. For example, кофе (pronounced "Kofi") is "coffee."
