I'm Learning Another Language! (..and just HAD to pick the most difficult...)

[Dave2112]

This Christmas, my mother got me an intersting gift. I had talked about wanting to learn Russian for some time. I love the sound of the language and am very interested in Russian and Slavic history and culture. So, she got me several books and a CD and said "If you're going to do it...do it!"

The hardest part so far has been learning just the alphabet. See, when you learn French or Italian or Spanish or a host of other languages, at least you can recognize the letters for what they are and just worry about the pronunciation of the words. With Russian, you need to learn the Cyrillic alphabet which consists of 33 letters, some of which correlate to thier English counterparts, some which do not, and some that represent compound sounds that English has no single letter for. For instance, B=V...H=N...P=a rolled R and then there are the ones that my keyboard just doesn't have a symbol for.

So, this begs the question. Does anyone out there know of any software, hardware or programs that can allow one to type with a Cyrillic layout? Not that I need it just yet, but I am curious if I'll be able to communicate with others once I do become more proficient in Russian.

Wish me luck...I'm 5 pages into my first book and am already feeling like I may have bit off a bit more than I can chew. :illogical

[Mimi]

..... P=a rolled R ......


*faints* :blush:

[Vae]

I'm a language buff. I've taken four in my lifetime (Spanish, German, Latin and Sign) and I love that kind of shit. Italian is next. Then Russian and then Japanese.

As far as a program... I have no idea. =( There may be a java keyboard somewhere online where you can get the type of keyboard a Russian would use (when I was learning German, I had to use a German one for the letters that German uses, like umlauts and the esset, or whatever it's called). I'd try that, if anything.

[HisFlyinFingers]

For Windows (http://www.geocities.com/fontboard/cyrillic.html)

For Mac (http://web.reed.edu/cis/help/russifyarchive.html)

As far as I can tell, these sites will do the job, but obviously there are some limitations. For example, you need to download the proper cyrillic fonts, and if you create a page or send a message using this font and the reciever doesn't have that font on their computer, they won't be able to read the message.

Also, if you have the opportunity, I have to advise you look for a Russian language class in your area. Learning a language face-to-face with a teacher who speaks it makes it soo much easier. That, and it will force you to keep using your knowledge, which you might not ordinarily do if you don't know anyone who speaks Russian already.

Good luck!

[isabeau]

dave i have a good friend who has a doctorate in foreign languages and has all types of equipment available. now to get a hold of him is another matter. however if you are interested i can try. just let me know

isabeau