The Russian Language: in Our School, in Our Community, and in the Wider World.

The Russian language is a Slavic language spoken by around 255 million people worldwide, primarily in Eastern Europe and global Russian speaking communities. It is one of the world’s most spoken languages, one of the official languages of the UN and a key means of communication between many countries. Yet, given recent events in the world, with the war in Ukraine, it is possible that our collective condemnation of Russia’s actions has had ripple effects in many Russian speaking communities, even here at our school. So, this article intends to act as an introduction to the basics of the Russian language, to familiarise ourselves with basic phrases and facts, and to get to know some of the people at our school who speak this truly impressive language.

Russian is a Slavic language, spoken in Eastern Europe by many different communities. Instead of our alphabet, the Latin alphabet, Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, a script originally based on Greek. Therefore, when reading Russian we see some letters we can recognise and pronounce relatively similarly to English: А, Е, Т, М, К and О are all pronounced similarly to their Latin counterparts. However, we quickly find examples of false-friends, letters that look like another sound but are pronounced differently: С (pronounced like s), В (v), Х (h), Я (ya), Р (r), Н (n), У (u), and И (i). 

Here are some basic phrases you can learn to help you start your first conversations in Russian:

Здрáвствуйте / Привéт – Zdrávstvuyte / Privyét – Hello / Hi

Я [name] – Ya [name] – I am/My name is [name]

Как делá? – Kak dyelá? – How are you?

Всё хорошó – Vsyo khoroshó – Everything is fine

Так себé – Tak syebyé – So-so

До свидáния – Do svidániya – Goodbye

Спасúбо – Spasíbo – Thank you

Пожáлуйста – Pozháluysta – Please / You're welcome

Извинí – Izviní – Sorry / Excuse me

Да / Нет – Da / Nyet – Yes / No

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also include some of our interviewee’s most favourite Russian words:

Кука́лка – kukálka (doll), Гóголь-могóль – gógol’-mogól’ (a sweet desert similar to Eggnog), and Лекарство – lékarstvo (medicine). 

It is important to remember that Russian isn’t just a language spoken far away, but it is also the first language of many in our school community, with whom I have had the pleasure of interviewing for this article. While you may assume I spoke with many Russian students, the people I interviewed who speak it fluently at home and in their communities are not all Russian themselves, instead mostly Ukrainian, as well as Lithuanian, and even Kazakh, reflecting the language’s widespread use in many different communities. 

Whilst many English speakers may perceive Russian as a “harsh language”, in reality, it is a rich, descriptive language with its own unique rhythm. It’s much more descriptive than English according to speakers: jokes are funnier, smaller words can be harsher and more impactful, and there are so many more ways to describe things.

However, despite its beauty and depth, some speakers believe there is a stigma attached to speaking it. Given recent events such as the war in Ukraine, some people may make shortsighted assumptions about Russian-speakers which can lead to a perceived stigma surrounding the language: one person I interviewed felt she had to explain that she’s not actually Russian, another expressed feeling shame for having family heritage there. Despite Russian being a common language across many nations, regions, and communities - including in Ukraine - these individuals often feel the need to be careful when speaking their native language publicly. 

For many Russian-speaking communities across the country this winter, minds will be set towards celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. Whilst in the west we celebrate Christmas on the 25th Dec., many Russian speakers celebrate it on the 7th Jan. due to the Orthodox calendar being 13 days behind ours. However, due to the war, many Ukrainians now celebrate on the 25th instead. For this, long tables are set with 12 dishes of delicious seasonal dishes, some examples being Selyódka (pickled herring), Golúbtsy (stuffed cabbage), Myedóvik tort (traditional layer cake), and Váfyel’ny tort (Wafer cakes), and families may also often go to church together. 

In many Russian speaking communities, New Years is perhaps even more important than Christmas. On New Year’s Eve, children receive presents, not from Santa, but instead from Father Frost - Dyed Móroz, with the help of his granddaughter The Ice Maiden - Sneguróchka. And with such wonderful wintertime traditions, what better way to sign this article off with some holidays greetings.

С Рождество́м – S Rozhdestvom – Merry Christmas

С (Наступáющим) Нóвым Гóдом! – S (Nastupayushchim) Novym Godom – Happy (upcoming) New Year!

A very special thanks to Elin, Karolina, Mia, and Sofiia for giving your answers. Большое всем спасибо!

By Thomas McDonach