russia.clarocada.
com: yrr
Clarocada: YRR edition 4.20. |A4 issued 8 August, 2012
You can learn to read
Russian in 75 minutes!
Key Benefits: Once you have studied this 18-page
document, you will be able to read Russian and
speak Russian! Estimated time to master this is 75
minutes (spend fifteen minutes a day on this for the
next five days).
. . . . . . . . . .
Contents
Clarocada
Read Russian in 75 Minutes
Contents ..............................................................................................................................................1
An introduction to Clarocada ............................................................................................................2
Clarocada in action .............................................................................................................................3
Clarocada in action .............................................................................................................................4
Surprise yourself: You really can do this! ......................................................................................5
Pocket Reference for the Russian Alphabet ..................................................................................7
A The Five English Letters (Day 1) ...................................................................................................8
B The Seven False Friends (Day 2) ..................................................................................................9
C The Greek Orthodox Nine (Day 3) ............................................................................................. 11
D The Hebrew Five (Day 4) ............................................................................................................. 13
E The Six Russian Stragglers (Day 5) .......................................................................................... 14
A simple incentive for you to Master the Russian Alphabet ..................................................... 16
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Clarocada gratefully acknowledges the courtesy of The Russia House Ltd. and of
Russian Language in London, for allowing reproduction of certain elements
provided by them within this documentation. Life is all about learning. Enjoy life!
Clarocada Russia / Russian Communications
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An introduction to Clarocada
.. Clarocada has developed a unique system of
..
.. ensuring quality, flexibility and value for its
.. customers for more than a decade.
..
This document illustrates how also works to give you a valuable, yet
easily achievable skill - the ability to read and speak Russian - in
about seventy five minutes of study (or less)! Believe it - you can
already speak Russian !
Over the past nineteen years, Clarocada has evolved a unique series of
processes and applications for language services. These have been distilled and
systematised into advanced techniques and problem solving methodology across
a range of industries and communication media, and take full advantage of
cutting edge technology and language developments. Most importantly, they offer
you unique benefits and cost savings to make your words make sense. Perfect
sense.
Clarocada methods: are illustrated in a unique series of documents, with practical,
real-world applications showcasing the outstanding success of this unique and
holistic language quality system. Other documents in the also.doc series are
available for you free, simply call the Clarocada helpline on 08456 58 90 58, or
complete the response form at the end of this document.
• Clarocada is flexible and practical
• Clarocada methods are only available from us – we have not
licensed, resold or shared the intellectual property
• Clarocada is a quality benchmark for clear communication
• Clarocada is backed by full professional indemnity insurance
clarocada™ helpline
08456 58 90 58
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Clarocada in action
Real World Problem One
A busy customer has no time to learn Russian, but wants to impress
at a business dinner taking place in Russia in a few week's time.
Approach
Clarocada persuade the customer to give up ninety minutes of their valuable time
at their own office, with a simple guarantee: If the client feels after returning from
the trip to Russia that the ninety minutes they spent was wasted, and did not offer
them any business advantage, he will not pay a penny for what is imparted to
him during that ninety minutes.
Solution
In ninety minutes, a native Russian speaker introduces the client to key Russian
phrases, greetings and a few important customs. Upon enquiry as to the nature of
the client's forthcoming trip, she drafts a short after-dinner toast, which is
transliterated onto a 5 x 3 cue card. The client's business card is examined, and
by the next day, the client receives 48 neatly printed self-adhesive labels, to be
attached to the back of his cards, with his name, contact details, and a short
explanation of his business in Russian, along with a CD with a recording of key
social phrases and the text of his toast to aid his pronunciation.
Success
In Russia, after the dinner, Clarocada’s customer completely floors the Russian
business audience with his apt, concise and witty toast, executed in flawless and
perfectly pronounced Russian. After the vodka has been downed, the Russian
audience members crowd around him to congratulate him on his performance,
and to ask for his card. He is able to thank them, and exchange a few phrases of
greeting in Russian.
(He s to himself, and remembers the CD repeating the toast that he was able to
play it in his car every day before he left for Russia, ensuring that he only needed
a glance at the transliterated cue card before he began the toast).
He is also the only person in the group of over twenty who has his business
details in Russian on the reverse of the cards he is presenting.
Meanwhile, the other members of the group, entirely neglected by the Russian
audience, stare glumly at their plates, and wish they'd spent six years learning
Russian at school like our customer so obviously had…
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Clarocada in action
Real World Problem Two
A customer is expecting a site visit from a Russian group, knowing
that they will be bringing their own interpreter. The meetings and
programme are crucially important to the customer, and they know
that contract negotiations will be very tough indeed. What can they
do to make the Russian visitors feel welcome, and ensure they get
the result for which they have been working so long and hard?
Approach
After understanding the business objectives that the client has, and identifying
the nature of the visit, Clarocada dispatches two of its directors to give the
management group an intensive two-hour language and cultural briefing.
Solution
The entire group learns some specially prepared vocabulary, practice it together,
and the Clarocada Directors “act the part” of Russians arriving at their facility, to
test what they've learned. They are warned not to shake hands through a
doorway. They are given examples of Russian negotiation techniques, and learn
how to anticipate, and deal effectively with such tactics. The idea of a welcome
notice is raised, and it is also decided to place a short welcome message into the
visitor's hotel rooms in Russian with welcome information and their itinerary for
the visit, along with a suitable welcoming gift.
From the Russian welcome sign at the airport held by the MD, his and the driver’s
use of welcome phrases, and down to the detail of the note in the hotel’s mini-
bars, and the visit to a famous poet's house, as much as been done to make the
visitors feel that they are important to our customer. All of the key people that the
Russian visitors meet are able to greet them in Russian, and explain who they
are, and what they do within the organisation.
Success
Having anticipated and dealt with several of the negotiating techniques used by
the Russian visitors, a tough contract negotiation ends with an unexpected and
early agreement, and the planned 'quiet farewell' evening goes on long into the
night. Friendships have been made, not merely a deal signed...
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Surprise yourself: You really can do this!
How this way of learning works…
Virtually everybody who visits Russia or any of the countries of the former
Soviet Union without ever learning Russian seems to wish they could at least
decipher the Russian alphabet. Maps, building plaques, street names, menus -
it’s all just too difficult, isn’t it? And besides, you really just don’t have the time!
No, it is not difficult, and you can make the time - 75 minutes is a reasonable
estimate - split that up into 15 minutes a day over the next five days. Sections are
marked A to E with Day numbers to help you – and day one is very simple –
because you already know the letters from English – and they all look and sound
the same in Russian. So it’s four days, and an hour.
This guide will close the gap between you and the Russian alphabet. Persevere,
and you will be reading Russian in an hour!
You will be surprised at how easy it is to get the gist of words and signs in
Russian - once you can decipher the letters, and have gained some idea of
pronunciation from hearing Russians speak.
Read it through, keep it with you for reference; and your time in Russia, or
meeting Russians will be made easier, more enjoyable, and who knows, perhaps
more profitable.
Firstly: The individual letters of the Russian alphabet are introduced,
not in their alphabetical order, but in groups, first according to their
phonetic or visual closeness to English, and also, with the "non-English"
letters, according to their origin or other criteria.
Secondly: Following each group of letters, real examples of
individual Russian words are given using the letters thus far introduced.
Wherever possible, these have been so selected as to be meaningful to you
transliterating them. Out of a strange-looking cluster of Russian letters, you
will soon be able to unearth the name of a Russian newspaper, a place
name, a famous Russian writer or composer. All the words so used are
"genuine", and as a visitor to Russia you will see several of them at the
airport, or in your hotel, on notice boards, on the streets, and so on.
Enjoy learning! And remember that only practice makes perfect. Your newly
found skill will be sure to impress your colleagues, friends and relatives, and most
importantly, your Russian prospects, clients or partners!
Clarocada Russia also gives you an incentive to learn – see page 16.
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If you want to learn more…
Clarocada Russia is happy to offer you advice on learning methods for this
material. Repetition, using a tape recorder, and practising writing characters are
the obvious techniques that will assist you - but everyone learns in a slightly
different way. Call for assistance on the Clarocada helpline on 08456 58 90 58.
A marked characteristic of Russian is that one syllable of each word is
always heavily accentuated. We have not added accents in this publication,
as it is designed to merely introduce you to the letters and allow you to read
and pronounce them correctly. To improve your spoken Russian, you simply
need to listen carefully to how Russians pronounce their own language, or
indeed pronounce words in English. Clarocada is happy to advise you on
suitable self-study and multimedia material which it has tested and can
recommend.
Should you feel after mastering these basics that your ambitions are fired, or that
you need a little further encouragement or assistance, Clarocada Russia is
ready to teach you Russian - at your own pace, using a variety of teaching
techniques customised for you, at your office or home, or in Barcelona,
Edinburgh, London, Moscow or St Petersburg. Call me on 08456 58 90 58 today
to arrange an initial assessment, and we can agree on a programme that suits
you.
Finally, I hope that you enjoy learning to read and speak Russian using the
Clarocada system, and that your further understanding of Russian language, and
Russia’s culture and people, is made just a little easier.
Russia is a huge country full of amazing people, and you will appreciate both
better with the knowledge you can gain here.
Kind Regards,
David Petherick
Director | Clarocada Russia
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Pocket Reference for the Russian Alphabet
А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И (Й) К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ (Ъ) Ы (Ь) Э Ю Я
Russian English
THE FIVE ENGLISH LETTERS
K K
M M
T T
A A
O O
THE SEVEN FALSE FRIENDS
В V
H N
P R
С S
X KH
E YE (YO)
У OO
THE GREEK ORTHODOX NINE
Б B
Г G
Д D
3 Z
Л L
П P
Ф F
И I
Й Y
THE HEBREW FIVE
Ж ZH
Ч CH
Ш SH
Щ SSHCH
Ц TS
THE SIX RUSSIAN STRAGGLERS
Э E
Ю YOU
Я YA
Ы IY
Ъ hard sign
Ь soft sign
Learning Tip: Tear out and keep this page for quick reference
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A The Five English Letters (Day 1)
There are five letters in Russian that look like and (more or less) sound like their
English counterparts. We told you this was easy to learn!
КMТAO
K M T - as in English! Well done. That’s 3 down, just 29 to go!
A is pronounced as in "father", never as in "May".
O is much more round and open in Russian, sounding almost like the 'aw' as in
"Shaw".
When the letter 'o' does not carry the stress in a word, it is pronounced rather like
the first 'o' in "tomato". Listen to the Russian pronunciation of Moskva (Moscow),
written МОСКВА, and it will sound like maskva, with the first 'o' very much
"watered down".
Examples:
АКТ means ACT
ATOM means ATOM
КОМА means COMA
TAKT means TACT
М is what you’ll see on Male toilets
That’s not bad for your first day – almost nothing to learn!
The modern Russian alphabet is derived from the Cyrillic alphabet
invented by St. Cyril of Thessalonica, who converted to Christianity in the
9th Century. It was St. Cyril who made the first translations of the scriptures
into a Slavonic language, Old Bulgarian, which is a forerunner of modern
Russian. The Russian alphabet; after many modifications over the centuries,
today consists of thirty two letters.
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B The Seven False Friends (Day 2)
The next letters are those which look like English letters, but which have a totally
different phonetic value.
ВHPСXEУ
The "key" for the first four consonants is as follows:
B is pronounced V, as in "Violet"
H is pronounced N, as in "Narrow"
P is pronounced R, as in "Red"
С is pronounced S, as in "Silver"
Examples:
КВАС Russian rye beer - kvass
КОСМОС Space, or the cosmos
МОТОР Motor
НОC Nose
СОУС Sauce
ТАНК Tank
ТАСС Tass, the Russian News Agency
ТРАКТОР Tractor
X The letter X is traditionally linked to the ch as in "loch".
For the best guide to how this sound is pronounced, listen to the much used word
kharasho (ХОРОШО), which means 'fine, well, good, OK'.
E The Russian E sounds like the 'ye' as in "yet", not as the 'e' in "bend", for which
there is a separate letter (Э).
Everyone knows that the Russian word for no is nyet. The Russian is, however, a
three, not a four letter word: НЕТ.
Of all the Russian consonants it is the Т and Д (‘D’, introduced later under The
Greek Orthodox Nine) which undergo the most marked audible change when
followed by the letter E. Т, when followed by E, sounds similar to the t in "lecture",
and Д, when followed by E, to the d in "endure".
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There is another unsettling point about the letter E: in some
circumstances it is pronounced as the 'yo' in "yonder". Sometimes to
distinguish the 'yo' - mainly for the benefit of learners - the E is printed as
Ё. But in normal use, it is not differentiated in this way. One of the most
important words with 'yo' is ВСЁ, meaning 'all' or "everything". Listen out
for the frequently used expression ЭТО ВСЁ (eta vsyo), "that's it", "that's
all". And just to keep the fun going, ВСЁ (vsyo) means everything, but ВСЕ
(vsye) means everyone. Sorry.
У is pronounced as the 'oo' in moon and is transliterated by the letter 'U'.
Examples:
МЕТРО Metro
МОСКВА Moscow
НЕВА Neva, St Petersburg's river
НЕРВ Nerve
ОМСК Omsk
РЕСТОРАН Restaurant
ТОМСК Tomsk
ИРКУТСК lrkutsk
НУ Well (as a highly informal question - ‘well then?’)
10
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C The Greek Orthodox Nine (Day 3)
The next letters to be introduced are the remaining ones which have been
derived from Greek; consonants first:
БГД3ЛПФИЙ
Б is pronounced as В, as in "boy"
Г is pronounced as G, as in "great"
Д is pronounced as D, as in "dish"
3 is pronounced as Z, as in "fizz'
Л is pronounced as L, as in "late"
П is pronounced as Р, as in "peach"
Ф is pronounced as F, as in "fear"
The vowel И is equivalent to the 'ee' as in "see".
The Й is only used following a vowel to produce a diphthong, as the 'y' in "boy" or
"May". It never stands independently, and thus is not pronounced separately.
Й is usually transliterated in English by the letter 'y', and often appears at the end
of a word to slightly soften the sound.
Examples:
АРБАТ ' Well known street for taking a walk in Moscow.
АППЕТИТ Appetite
БЕРЁЗКА 'Beriozka' – a small birch tree
ВИНО Wine
ВОДКА Vodka
БОРОДИН 19th Century Russian composer who wrote 'Prince lgor'.
ГАРДЕРОБ c.f. the French 'Garderobe’ or wardrobe
ДА Yes
НЕТ No
ДОСТОЕВСКИЙ Author of 'Crime and Punishment'
ИДИОТ Idiot - another novel by Dostoyevsky
ИНТУРИСТ Intourist - Russian travel agency
КОММУНИЗМ Communism – don’t see this word in so many phrasebooks now
11
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КОФЕ Coffee
ЛЕНИН Lenin
ЛЕНИНГРАД Leningrad - the city is now called St. Petersburg, but the region
surrounding the city retains the name ‘Leningrad Region’
МИР Name of the former space station – Mir, which means ‘world’, and also
‘peace’.
ЛИКЁР Liqueur – watch out for the dots above the E (see page 11).
ЛИФТ Lift
ПРОСПЕКТ Wide boulevard in Russian cities
ПУДИНГ Pudding
РИМСКИЙ-КОРСАКОВ Wrote ‘The Flight of the Bumble Bee'.
РОСТБИФ Roast beef - best with Yorkshire ПУДИНГ of course
РУССКИЙ Russian
СПУТНИК Satellite
СУП Soup
ТОЛСТОЙ Author of 'War and МИР'
ТУАЛЕТ Toilet
ПАСПОРТ Only one 's' in the Russian word for passport
ТАКСИ Taxi
12
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D The Hebrew Five (Day 4)
Next come some of those funny letters that look impossible.
ЖЧШЩЦ
Fear not. First let us consider the so-called "hush sounds" - ‘ch’, ‘sh’ and the ‘s’
as in "pleasure". Each of these sounds is conveyed in Russian by its own letter.
Ж represents the 's' as in "pleasure".
This letter is normally transliterated by 'zh' in English.
Ч represents the 'ch' as in "cheese".
Ш represents the 'sh' as in "shin".
There is a fourth hush sound in Russian: this is written Щ, and is in fact a
combination of Ш and Ч i.e. sh and ch, as in "fish & chips".
English speakers often have difficulty pronouncing this. Think of it in practice
pronounced as a ‘long’ Ш. Alternatively, drink a few too many vodkas, and you’ll
find you can produce this sound perfectly, even if you can’t make other sounds
All of these letters are derived, it is thought, from Hebrew script, as is the last
letter in this group
Ц represents the sound 'ts' as in "hits".
Examples:
БИФШТЕКС Despite the 's', only one portion of beefsteak!
БОРЖОМИ Georgian mineral water
БОРЩ Beetroot soup
nd
ЖУКОВ Famous Russian 2 World War Marshall
Inside Information: Russians refer to the 2nd World War as The Great
Patriotic War
СОЦИАЛИСТ Socialist (USSR was СССР)
ЧАЙКОВСКИЙ Composer of 'Swan Lake' and ‘The Nutcracker’
ЧЕХОВ Author of 'The Cherry Orchard' and ‘The Three Sisters’
ШАМПАНСКОЕ Russian champagne is very palatable
ЩИ Russian cabbage soup
ПТИЦА Bird
Ж Sign on Female Toilet
13
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E The Six Russian Stragglers (Day 5)
Finally, there are the stragglers, the last six letters to learn in the Russian
alphabet. You’ve got this far – and the last two you can really forget at this stage,
so there are just four more letters to learn to complete your knowledge.
ЭЮЯЫЪЬ
Э, corresponds to the 'e' in "Edinburgh" or “Eric”.
(Remember, the Russian E sounds like the 'ye' as in "yet". Э and E are different
sounds, but in English, are almost always represented by the single letter “e”) Air
travellers will have seen "АЭРОФЛОТ", the name of the Russian national airline
writ large on the side of Tupolevs, Antonovs and Ilyushins. Э also occurs in the
very frequent word "ЭТО" meaning "this".
Remember the meaning of “ЭТО ВСЁ”?
Ю represents 'yu' as in "yule", or as the 'u' in "unicorn". The Soyuz (meaning
“Union”) of spacecraft fame is spelt СОЮЗ.
Я, the R back-to-front, is pronounced 'ya' as in "yarn". Just on its own, the letter
‘Я’ means “I”, as in “Me, myself, I”.
The final three letters are a little more difficult to describe.
Ы - or the "sixty-one", as it is sometimes known - is a "hard" vowel,
corresponding to the English pronunciation of 'er' as in "butter".
You can always get by with pronouncing the Ы as as the 'i' in "it".
Listen to the frequent Russian word ВЫ, which means "you", or МЫ, meaning
"we"; it will strike you that the sound is markedly different from the 'i' in "vim" or
"milk". Normally Ы is transliterated in English by the letter ‘y’ (for example, in
Petrovsky) which, as we have already noted, is also used to represent И).
The Ъ and Ь are called the hard and soft signs. The Ъ is not very common and
can be ignored for your present purposes: it can be considered as a silent letter.
The soft sign Ь softens the consonant which it follows. Until you can clearly
establish, through careful listening, what the effect is of the soft sign, it is safe to
ignore it. And ignore the hard sign until you’ve had a vodka or two.
Examples:
АНГЛИЯ The Russian for "England"
ГУЛЯШ Not always Hungarian Goulash
ИЗВЕСТИЯ The Russian newspaper Izvestia
ИНТЕРВЬЮ Interview
КОКТЕЙЛЬ Cocktail, please Mr. Molotov
14
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КОНТРОЛЬ At the airport you will see ПАСПОРТНЫЙ КОНТРОЛЬ - Passport
Control
КОНЬЯК Not necessarily French cognac – What is known in Russian as
Armenian cognac is excellent.
МЕНЮ You should be able to read this by now - the menu!
РОССИЯ Russia - and the name of the vast hotel near Red Square
(БЫВШИЙ) СОВЕТСКИЙ СОЮЗ (former) Soviet Union
15
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A simple incentive for you to Master the Russian Alphabet
Can you pass the 35-second test?
If you can call Clarocada within seven days of receiving this document, and can
correctly recite the Russian alphabet, in the order below (the A to Z, or AH to YA),
within 35 seconds over the telephone, you will receive a very special prize to
reward your efforts.
Is it worth it? Well, there really is only one way to find out. Just call
08456 58 90 58 now, and have your A-Я ready. You’ll be making a
phone call, and be reading and speaking Russian ! Yes, you will be
speaking Russian! That has to be worth a little bit of your effort, and
it’s certainly worth a reward!
1 Study and learn from this document, and practice your alphabet against the
clock. You’ll get better every time.
2 When you’re sure you can beat the clock, call 08456 58 90 58 and ask for
David or Roza, and say you want to sit the ‘the AH to YA test’ (Oops two
more pronunciations given away there)
3 The clock starts running when you are ready. You have 35 seconds to
correctly recite the Russian alphabet! (You can’t pronounce the characters in
brackets below, so skip them. That makes 29 characters to pronounce). And
relax, the AH to YA hi-tech digital timer, unlike most things at Clarocada, is
not 100% accurate. (Must get it fixed. Sometime.)
4 If you can beat the clock, you’ll get the good news right away! Then just
correctly answer a simple tie-breaker question: “What is the Clarocada web
site address?”, and you’ll be receiving a handsome personalised certificate
for your efforts! (MRA: ‘Master of the Russian Alphabet’ will look very nice on
your wall). If you are expert enough to manage a sub-25 second time, you’ll
also get a very special bonus reward.)
5 Then, you can officially say that you can read and speak Russian!
Congratulations!
А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И (Й) К Л М Н О П Р С Т У
Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ (Ъ) Ы (Ь) Э Ю Я
Ignore the three characters shown here in (brackets) for the test.
These characters cannot actually be pronounced in isolation - they
merely modify sounds in juxtaposition with other characters.
16
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