Table Of ContentRussian in Plain English
Russian in Plain English enables complete beginners to acquire the skill of reading words written
in Cyrillic independently, with no English transcription or imitated pronunciation, within a short
period of time.
This book introduces the Cyrillic alphabet gradually, feeding in the letters and their various
pronunciation aspects one by one over its ten units, thus building a complete picture of the Russian
sound and writing systems. It also highlights the interrelationship of the two systems and helps
learners to see the logic behind the use of the Cyrillic alphabet. In addition, the book teaches
learners to produce Russian word stress on a marked syllable, contributing to stress acquisition.
Furthermore, the book explains the basic grammatical features of Russian words and the
rules of how to put them into sentences, enabling learners to start saying things in Russian from
Unit 1. It employs some findings of research in language processing, helping learners to start
building their speaking and reading skills.
This book is an essential guide for all beginners, including students and independent learners.
Natalia V. Parker is a keen educator and language practitioner. Trained in foreign language
teaching in Russia, she held a full-time teaching post at Tula University, which she left to set up
one of the first non-state, non-profit schools implementing more up-to-date teaching. At the age
of 27, she became a head of school. After moving to the UK, Natalia taught Russian for several
years, developing a new teaching methodology. She returned to higher education in 2016, doing
an MA in Applied Linguistics at the University of Sheffield. Her teaching experiment produced
extremely successful results which enabled her to secure an Arts and Humanities Research
Council (AHRC) Studentship, awarded by the White Rose College of Arts and Humanities
(WRoCAH), for her PhD at the University of Leeds. In 2019 she presented the results of her
research at the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages
(AATSEEL) Conference and at the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies
(BASEES) Conference, among other forums. Currently, Natalia is running another pedagogical
experiment on teaching Russian grammar.
Russian in Plain English
A Very Basic Russian Starter for
Complete Beginners
Natalia V. Parker
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Natalia V. Parker
The right of Natalia V. Parker to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Parker, Natalia V., author.
Title: Russian in plain English : a very basic Russian starter for complete
beginners / Natalia V. Parker.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2020. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019054394 (print) | LCCN 2019054395 (ebook) | ISBN
9780367415365 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367415402 (paperback) | ISBN
9780367815097 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Russian language—Textbooks for foreign
speakers—English. | Russian language—Grammar.
Classification: LCC PG2112 .P27 2020 (print) | LCC PG2112 (ebook) |
DDC 491.78/0071—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054394
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054395
ISBN: 978-0-367-41536-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-41540-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-81509-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To all those who want to learn and
all those who support learning
Contents
Preface ix
Preface for teachers xi
Acknowledgements xiii
First things first xv
UNIT 1 Getting started 1
Something old, something new (revision of unit 1) 15
UNIT 2 Questions and answers 21
Something old, something new (revision of unit 2) 38
UNIT 3 Mine or yours? 47
Something old, something new (revision of unit 3) 65
UNIT 4 Excuse me. Have you got a pen? 73
Something old, something new (revision of unit 4) 94
UNIT 5 Say “please” 103
Something old, something new (revision of unit 5) 121
UNIT 6 Where are you? 129
Something old, something new (revision of unit 6) 145
UNIT 7 Work or play? 153
Something old, something new (revision of unit 7) 171
UNIT 8 Where do you live? 181
Something old, something new (revision of unit 8) 198
vii
CONTENTS
UNIT 9 Is red square big? 207
Something old, something new (revision of unit 9) 229
UNIT 10 What is he/she up to? 241
Final revision 259
Russian alphabet 271
Cultural and historical background 272
Dictionary 274
Grammar index 279
Pronunciation index, including letter-sound correspondences 282
viii
Preface
I’ll be your guide to Russian
My name is Natalia, and I will be your guide for learning Russian from
the very beginning. I am Russian myself, born and bred, in addition
to being a language teacher. I lived in Russia for half of my life (well,
a larger half ) but have been teaching Russian in the UK for the other
half. This book was born out of the questions which my students have
asked me, as well as my own questions which came up when I was
trying to understand the difficulties that my students had in learning
certain aspects of Russian. So, it looks like you have a fairly experi-
enced guide.
Throughout this book, I will do my best to explain the logic behind Russian words and
sentences, giving you examples and providing you with lots of practice to apply this logic to
your own reading and speaking. As your guide, I will be helping you navigate your way through
Russian every step of the way: I will say hello at the start of units and good-bye at the end of
them, give you tips and offer prompts, remind you of what is what and advise on how to move
forward more effectively. I look forward to helping you learn and hope that you will be excited
about turning each new page of this book.
I love my country, its people and its language, and I will also tell you about them the way
I seе them. I will introduce you to some people and places I know in Tula, the city where I come
from, as well as the village where my grandmother lived. Thus, you will have glimpses of Russia
outside Moscow and St. Petersburg. I sincerely hope that this book will help you start to know
and love my language and my people too.
Before you start
In this book, we are not going to start with memorising all 33 Russian letters in one go or
reciting them in alphabetical order. Instead, we will learn to handle the new letters in words in
order to be able to read them without relying on knowing them or their English transcription.
ix
