English: I was born and raised in the US, so it's only natural that I know it so well.
Español: I learned Spanish from seventh to tenth grade, but I didn't use the language that much, so I've forgotten most of what I've learned.
Русский: I've been fascinated by almost all things Russian since kindergarten. I'm pretty sure I'll use this language quite often.

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Russian sounds so cool It would be cool to learn, but I'm intimidated even by the word for 'hello' :P

So how do you pronounce 'Zdravstvuite'?

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Let's see...

Здравствуйте
Здравст-вуй-те
ZDRAHFST-vui-tyeh

Of course, there are other ways to say "hello" in Russian, though. "Здравствуйте" is a formal way of saying it. You'd use it with strangers and superiors. "Привет" (pree-VYEHT) is very informal (reserved mostly for close friends and family) and is basically similar to "Hi" while an informal version of "здравствуйте" would just be "здравствуй" (ZDRAHFST-vui) (for classmates, co-workers, and friends). Usually, when speaking to a native speaker, even if they're a friend, it's best to let them greet you first so you know whether to refer to them formally or informally.

On another note, "и" and "й" are different. "И" is a vowel under all circumstances, while "Й" is a consonant, much like the way "y" is typically used in English (e. g. in "yes," "boy," "play," "you"). So, in the case of "здравствуйте," "у" ("u") is the vowel in the second syllable, not "й" ("i").

As Russian isn't a Latin-based or Germanic language, it can definitely be intimidating for anyone unfamiliar with Slavic languages.

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Last edited by General Luigi on Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That's a pain, I think Spanish is nice. :P But, do you still know some words?

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Sí, pero no recuerdo mucho.

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Qué, pena amigo, si necesitas a alguien con quien hablar español, aquí me tienes.

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I got the gist of what you said there, and I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine with English for now. Besides, considering that I'm still learning Russian, I don't want to run the risk of getting the two languages meshed together. There are some similarities between the two languages, such as verb conjugations and the existence of infinitive forms for verbs, though there are also differences. There's also the presence of words borrowed from other languages.

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OK, I understand. ^_^ Good luck with your learning! ;)

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You can learn so much from this thread I guess I should do a little teaching myself...

...Unfortunately, we do not have Greek letters here on my cousin's computer, so I will wait till I get home

EDIT - I'm home noooooow

Hello/bye - Υειά σου - Yasoo
Good morning - Καλημέρα - Kalimera
Good evening - Καλησπέρα - Kalispera
Goodnight - Καληνύχτα - Kalineekta
Thank you - Ευχαριστώ - Evharisto
I love you - Σ'αγαπώ - Sagapo
You must try my cake, it is nice - Πρέπει να προσπαθείς το γλυκό μου, είναι ωραία - Prepee na prospathees doh gliko moo, eeneh orayah

Mmm... cake

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