How to talk with a Russian accent

If you have ever wanted to mimic a Russian, perhaps for a play or movie, use these tips and you'll be speaking like one in no time!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Voice, little knowledge of Russian culture

1. The first thing to know about Russians is that they pronounce many consonants and vowels distinctly different from their English counterparts. Listening to Russian dictations and phrases will be an invaluable asset in developing your Russian accent.

2. Note the following characteristics about the Russian-English accent:
   
   a) Russians pronounce English "w" as 'v'
   b) English "Th" should be voiced as simply 'z'
   c) "R" should be rolled like the Spanish "r"
   d) "E" sounds should be voiced more like "ay" in day.
   e) "I" is always pronounced like "ee" in beet.
   f) When speaking, try to keep it monotone and not so singy like English
   g) Russians do not use articles or the word "to" before verbs.
   Omit words: "the, a, an, to" from your speech.
   h) "H" in Russian is more gutteral like the Spanish 'j'
   i) Pronounce "U" as 'oo' in English 'boot'
   j) Never use the verb 'to' be.

3. When speaking of place names such as cities, you may want to use the Russian version instead:
   
   Moscow--Moskva
   St. Petersburg--Sankt Peterburg
   Soviet Union--Savyetski Sayus
   Eurasia--Yevrazia

4. When saying commonly used words like 'yes' and 'no', use the Russian equivalents instead:
   
   Yes--Da
   No--Nyet
   Thank you--Spaseeba
   Please--Pajalsta
   Hello--Allo

5. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself a bit with a few more Russian words to further Russianize your speech. It's not nearly as hard as you might think; in fact, you probably know several already: vodka, ballet, samovar, oblast, gulag, and vino (wine)--these are all Russian words that mean the same thing in English as they do in Russian. With the aid of the Internet, make a list of about 20-50 words which you can use and will be understood by the English speaker.

Tips & Warnings

• Ven in Soviet Union I learn squeeze fish.
• For gift I give you wife's shoes.
• Tonight we drink to communism.
• In old country I cosmonaut at Soviet Space Program.
• Do not speak like this to an actual Russian speaker!

[Myshashi]

on 3/26/2009 The method of picking up the accent varies wildly, and speech theripists can pick up what you are doing wrong and explain how to change.http://www.neutralaccent.com is really helpful.

[miasavc]

on 12/4/2008 Witty article! My husband is Russian and still I have a hard time speaking phrases he attempted to teach me, most of the time I give up! LOL