Why is Russian hard for English speakers?

Why is Russian hard for English speakers?

Another thing that makes Russian culturally more difficult for English speakers is the language’s proximity to other European languages. Russian has more words in common with Slavic languages, French, Italian, and German than it does with English, for example.

What is hard for Russians to pronounce?

‘Help’, ‘happy’ and anything with ‘H’ ‘H’ in general is hard for Russians. They pronounce it harder than native speakers, with something similar to ‘kh’, not open soft h. So it creates an odd throaty sound and instead of ‘help me’ you’d hear ‘khyelp mee’, while Russians pronounce ‘happy’ like ‘khepi’.

Do Russian students learn English?

Yes, they do. A foreign language is a mandatory subject in Russian National Curriculum from 10 years old to 17 yo. But some schools start teaching a foreign language from 8 or 9 yo. And mostly it is English (next two are German and French, but it’s much rarer).

Is Russian hard to learn as a native English speaker?

Of all the European languages a native English speaker can learn, Russian is among the most difficult. The Germanic and Romance languages have a lot of the same core because they both have roots in Latin. Russian is from a completely different language branch called the Slavonic branch, which includes Czech and Polish.

Is Russian impossible to learn?

Russian is widely believed to be one of the most difficult languages to learn. The need to learn the Russian alphabet serves as yet another obstacle for many people who would like to learn the language. They might be surprised to know that the Russian alphabet actually takes only about 10 hours to learn.

Is Russian easy for English speakers?

How do you pronounce /əʊ/ in Russian?

English /əʊ/ starts in a neutral position then moves to /ʊ/, though Russian speakers often pronounce it as a single Russian /o/. This may be in part owing to its spelling, which always contains the letter : /eɪ/ ≠ Russian /. Russian speakers often pronounce /eɪ/ as a single vowel, starting in a similar position:

What is the difference between Russian and English sounds?

Russian contains a vowel system of 5 or 6 vowel sounds, whereas GB English has 19 sounds, Russian speakers may replace 2 or 3 English vowel sounds with one Russian vowel: Russian speakers tend to replace English /ʌ/ and /ɑː/ with Russian /a/: heart hut.

What are the most difficult sounds for Russian learners of English?

Some of the most difficult sounds for Russian learners of English are, certainly, sounds like the vowel in /her/ which seems to be even more difficult to pronounce in words that start with /w/ such as /work/ and /were/. Other vowel sounds that cause difficulties are the lack of differentiation between /bat/ and /bet/ or /reach/ and /rich/.

How to improve English pronunciation for Russian speakers?

English pronunciation for Russian speakers is sometimes difficult due to the differences in sounds for vowels, consonants, and syllabic patterns. By practicing these keywords out loud, you will improve your ability to pronounce these English words.