Learning Russian language

Most of the time you would hear what haydee described, but that doesn't mean if you pronounce the word 'properly' you are wrong, it's just not as common.

Thanks haydee and NuttyOne. Haydee, yea I remember about voiceless consonants now, so no that doesn't confuse at all! Thank you!

Thank you all.
If you could answer me about снег. I can say [сн'ег],[сн'ек] or [сн'ег],[сн'ех]? Also about that v Медведев is pronounced like [Медвед'еф] ? Just to be sure.
I realized it's very difficult when you know Serbian (or other slavic language) and you are studying Russian. I wish Russian was more phonetic but I won't give up.

you ca deffiitely NOT say [сн'ех]
and Медведев is pronounced like [Мед'ведеф].

Vuoklis, I just want to say thanks for your follow-up on that
And Hi How Are You?? Long time no see

Originally Posted by Milan.

Btw I love russian songs, they are helping me with that O.

Not the best way to study Russian phonetics actually. The thing is, the musical rhythmic stress often falls at the unstressed syllable, so it may be sung, for example, [a] where [ə] is pronounced in colloquial speech, and so on. That's because [a] and [ə] are homophones in Russian, not different phonemes, so being unable to pronounce [ə] under stress we change it to [a] if we have to stress it in the song.
Also many rock singers (especially those from Leningrad/St. Petersburg, but it's not a rule) tend to pronounce unstressed "e" harder than it is in everyday speech. In short, there are lots of issues separating 'song phonetics' from 'speech phonetics'.

Originally Posted by jandros

Vuoklis, I just want to say thanks for your follow-up on that
And Hi How Are You?? Long time no see

hi you're welcome if it's useful )
I'm more than good, thanx ) I'm getting ready to pack my bags for Norway. Can't wait can't wait can't wait ))
how are YOU? I began to think you decided to forget Russian :O
(maybe it would be better to chat in the "off-topic" thread (sometimes moderators can be pure evil )

Does this make sense?

Не скажи Богу как большая буря. Скажи буре как большой Бог.

I tried to say, "Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big God is."

this sentence doesnt make any sense coz to use word "большой" in this context is impossible.
U have to use here the word "велик/велика" if u want the right variant it ll be:

Не говори Богу как велика буря. Скажи буре как велик Бог.
"Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big God is"

Originally Posted by JunjouLover

Does this make sense?

Не скажи Богу как большая буря. Скажи буре как большой Бог.

I tried to say, "Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big God is."

Previous poster was right, except for omission of two commas before "как".
You either use какой + full adjective or как + short one, not vice versa. Как велик(а) is correct here.
Also perfective form in negative imperative is rare and colloquial, and usually bears meaning "watch out/be careful". Examples:
Допроси подозреваемого как следует, только не убивай - Interrogate the suspect properly, but don't kill him (supposing your interlocutor is capable of killing him on purpose, and telling him not to do it).
Допроси подозреваемого как следует, только не убей - Interrogate the suspect properly, but don't kill him (meaning be careful so not to kill him accidentally).

Thanks to both of you for the help.

I think I get the using the imperfective in the negative imperative, but I don't understand when you'd use какой instead of как?

It's a question of using short and full adjectives. The rule I figured out (I don't know how general it is) is the following: if the adjective is not bound immediately (i.e. not separated by a verb) with a noun, you use a short form (Крис счастлив Chris is happy - not mentioned 'happy whom'), if it is, you use a full form (Крис - счастливый человек Chris is a happy man).
Here it could seem that the noun and the adjective are bound, but it is just because of the reversed word order; if you untangle it, it will be storm is big. Thus, "какая большая буря" would mean a surprised exclamation: What a big storm!

Ok, I think I get it.

And then "How big is the storm!" would be "Буря как белика!"

i think it should be "как велика эта буря!" or "насколько (же) велика эта буря!"
i'm not 100% sure though

..or "насколько (же) эта буря велика!"

Как велика (эта) буря!
Sounds bookish, but possible.

For example, in the sentence "Какие высокие дома построили в Петушках!" What big houses are built in Petushki! you can only use the full form. If you want to use a short form, it will be "Как высоки дома, построенные в Петушках!" How big are the houses built in Petushki! The thing is, the short form sort of includes the verb 'to be'.

Hahahaha, ok. Thanks guys for the help I think I'll go study a little more now

So the main things I should pull away from this are 1. kakoi and full form or kak and short form and 2. when to use the short form. Sounds like a plan.

If I go to Russia, approximately how long will it take me to learn Russian, already knowing Serbian and Macedonian which are similar slavic languages?

Originally Posted by macorules94

If I go to Russia, approximately how long will it take me to learn Russian, already knowing Serbian and Macedonian which are similar slavic languages?

I think one or two mounth ll be enough for learnin and after some weeks for talkin but of course it depends from u