We are often asked this question: Why learn Russian? what is the advantage to get into the study of this language so difficult at first sight? what are the destinations and opportunities that will open? CREF, as a specialist in Russian language, has made for you a selection of the most common misconceptions about Russian and twice as many reasons to learn it. After finally convinced, the easiest way is to study Russian in Russia during a language learning stay for a total immersion in Russian culture. For more information, see the CREF offers for Russian language courses in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod.
5 misconceptions about the Russian language...
1.« The Cyrillic alphabet is hard to read »: wrong. The Russian alphabet resembles the Latin and Greek alphabets. It's quite familiar, and many letters are similar. The Cyrillic alphabet can be learnt within a few hours.
2.« Russian grammar is very difficult »: wrong. French has more verbal tenses. English has more prepositions. Latin has more declinations. German has more irregular verbs...
3.« Declinations are impossible to remember »: wrong. They are no more difficult than in Latin or German. Once you start practising them, it becomes automatic and you don't need to think about it.
4.« Pronunciation is very complex »: wrong. The only difficulties are the "x" (kh) like in Arabic and the "hard i". But if you make a mistake, Russian people will still understand you!
5.« Russian is spoken only in Russia»: wrong. Russian is spoken by 250 million people, of which 100 million are outside Russian borders: from Ukraine to Armenia, through Latvia, Kazakhstan, in all the former soviet Republics, Russian is used as a "lingua franca".
... and 10 good reasons to learn it!
1.Russian is spoken in Europe and Asia... 250 million speakers!
2.Russian is a great cultural language. When you speak Russian you can read Chekhov's plays, Dostoevsky's novels, read avant-garde posters and understand Vladimir Visotsky's songs or Red Army Choirs...
3.Russia sits on the Council of Europe, even though it's not a member of the European Union.
4.Russia is one of the great economic players in the contemporary world.
5.Russian tourists and businessmen are travelling more and more to Europe.
6.The knowledge of Russian is a good asset for an international career
7.When you speak a Slavic language, you can easily learn other languages of the same family (Bulgarian, Polish, Czech...)
8.Russian is a working language in International Institutions.
9.Russia is a member of the G8 and of the UN Security Council.
10.Russian is spoken on the moon... Did you know that Russian was the first language in space?
