I've always loved spy movies and tv shows. One of my very favorites is
Burn Notice. Before moving to Ukraine, I always thought that when the spies spoke Russian, it was the coolest. Once I started "studying" Russian, I decided it wasn't quite as cool as I had originally thought. It's extremely difficult and native Russian speakers tend to be REALLY critical of your lack of skill. Some days, Russian and I got along: I was able to make people understand me, and they didn't even look at me like I was an idiot. Other days, though, Russian was what gave me a migraine and had me wanting to beat my head against the wall. I took a lot of Advil during my 2 years.
However, now that I'm back, I'm very much enjoying listening to tv Russian speakers use Russian. Some people actually sound like they're speaking Russian- their intonation, pronunciation, speed at which they talk. Some, though, sound like they merely memorized a bunch of syllables and tried to string them together, which may very much be what I sounded like at the beginning...
Now, I feel like such a pro. A pro who can laugh with glee at those who don't know how to pronounce Russian phrases. Victory!
1 comment:
I totally understand - similar situation, less actual knowledge involved - I was recently reading a novel about a Czech lady written by an American. The whole time all I could think was: "that's NOT a lady's Czech last name, nor is that a Czech dessert, that's not in Prague, it's in Karlovy Vary, etc." Isn't it frustrating to be so educated? :)
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