Way to Russia Talk Lounge

dcunited11 · Frequent Guest Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 27

i am writing some letters to a couple of orphans in russia. how would i write these names in russian?

Marina
Sasha
Dima
Vitya

is vitya a boy? i don't mean to be rude or anything, but i get confused sometimes. Embarassed

i know marina is a girl, sasha is a boy, and dima is also a boy

thank you soooo much!!!

e · VIP Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 654

Theres a website where you can key in English text into Cyrillic text and vice versa. You can convert the names there --or for that matter type your entire letters there, and ask the Russian moderator Camrade to "spell check" it for you...so to speak
Its:
www.translit.ru

This was what I was able to do with it:
Marina Марина

Mogsfan · WayToRussified Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 490

e · VIP Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 654

Come to think of it, there was a thread on this forum that discussed this topic, but it somehow vanished. Or at least I can't seem to find it anyway.

I still remember the links that had good websites concerning Russian names though:

http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/rus.html
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/7635/names.html

Rick · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:37 am Post subject:

dcunited11 · Frequent Guest Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Posts: 27

thanks a whole bunch

how do you HANDWRITE this one?
Дима

this first letter...is it like a A but not pointed at the top? squarish at the top? thanks again

Mogsfan · WayToRussified Joined: 03 Nov 2004 Posts: 490

Just google 'learning Russian language online" or "Russian alphabet."

These sites have the Russian alphabet and method used to 'write' the letters:

http://www.rossia.com/stamps/info/readrussian.htm
http://masterrussian.com/blalphabet.shtml
http://abvg.net/Cyrillic/

Note: the last one is from the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet but should suit the purpose of comparing with the other sites and providing the alphabet printed and written forms.

Only · Frequent Guest Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Posts: 48

init6 · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:18 pm Post subject:

I'm of the opinion that anyone who visits Russia should at least learn to read the alphabet. People's attitudes are the only reason they think it's so overwhelmingly impossible to learn to read Russian (same with other things - ever met someone absolutely convinced they can never learn to use a computer?).

To give you an example, I taught myself the alphabet in an afternoon, sitting in a bar. Just get a beginner's Russian book (I recomend the 'Teach Yourself' series), write the alphabet down plenty of times, and eventually you'll be able to read and write in Russian.

I still can't write Russian script, and I have a bit of a time reading it, but once again, that just means I have to put some time into it and learn it.

Good luck on your trip, just trying to offer some advice that I guarantee will make the trip a more pleasant experience than if you can't read Cyrillic.

Jutrzenkapolska · VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534

I found a Russian textbook in Polish online and I am teaching myself how to write my name. Smile

http://pl.wikibooks.org/wiki/Rosyjski

There's no letter 'l' in Cyrillic? You write it ль?

init6 · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 11:52 pm Post subject:

No, the Russian "L" is simply "л." The "ь" is what is called a "soft sign." It just means that you pronounce the preceeding letter (usually a consonant) in a softer tone. It has a brother, the "hard sign," but it's not used much at all. All of this is why the Cyrillic alphabet has 34 letters, while Latin has only 26. Razz

The soft sign is used extensively in Russian, but it is not pronounced in and of itself.

Camrade · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 12:11 am Post subject:

not only as ль
before some vowels and in other cases

in transcryption it will look like [l'] or [л']

Jutrzenkapolska · VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534

Ok, thanks.So what would the "ł" sound (English "w" as in "wash") be in Cyrillic?

init6 · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:15 am Post subject:

"L" is normal L, just as in English. With the soft sign it's "lll" versus with hard sign it would be a hard "el." It sounds weird to describe it, but I think the Russians can back me up on this. Only real way to "experience" both is to see them in context. Perhaps Russians can provide examples?

Jutrzenkapolska · VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534

Hard el is pronounced like the English "w" right? As in "зло"?