The complexity of Russian language is mostly overestimated but we all know that every stereotype is based on a bit of truth. To get an excellent mark for the Russian language subject is hard even for native speakers (even harder than for the maths!) not to mention foreigners trying to learn Russian. I must admit I think about grammar rules and punctuation more writing this article in Russian than in English. But that inconvenience allows me to express my thoughts in a hundred more sophisticated ways. Isn’t it a reason to try to learn Russian and enjoy the results?
Russia is always blessed by God with numbers! Russian language is the 6th official language of the United Nations, the 6th most influential language in the world and the 6th hardest language to learn in some rankings.
Let’s go through some twists and turns of the Russian language and figure out if your soul is up to learning it! Yes, exactly, your soul – only it can comprehend the language. You have heard about “Russian Soul”, right? It’s complicated, deep and enigmatic and, well, it sometimes gives us troubles. So if you grasp it in a single flash you will learn the Russian language easier. For example, there is no equivalent for our word “toska” in English.
“No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.” Vladimir Nabokov
Cyril and Methodius (they created Cyrillic alphabet) were attracted to flexibility of the language. Exactly, in no other language you can find so many diminutive and curse words! The range of our emotions gives a thrill: we can be affectionate even to a stone but if we are outraged…well, you understand what happens!
If you want to read masterpieces of such geniuses as Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevskiy, Lev Tolstoy in original – you’d better learn Russian as well! Because poems and prose are unrenderable. As Pushkin said: „Russian language is distinguished by its tunefulness, melodies, chant and expressiveness.”
– Would you like some tea?
We usually reply: Yes no, maybe.
Do you have a clue should you serve tea or not? Well, learn Russian to think out a puzzle and thank our expressiveness! You won’t think life is a picnic but you will definitely benefit from this resolution.
And “you are my support in the days of burdensome doubt, oh great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language!” (I.S. Turgenev) Oh, fully agreed, indeed!