Russian language tutorial & online phrasebook

Author: waytorussia (on 01 Feb 2015)
Ludwig Wittgenstein said: "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." In many ways language defines who we are. Some Eskimo tribes have 20 ways of saying the word for “snow”. The word “meaning” in Russian is “smysl”, which literally means an assemblage of thoughts. Therefore, for a Russian person something that has a meaning is something that is connected. There are many more examples like this. “Sobytie” means an event, but literally it means an aggregate of beings – a system of meaning again. In fact, prefix “S” - which carries a strong connotation “to connect” - is used so often, that it starts to alter the mind of the one who speaks. We argue that Russian language affects cognition in such a way that it gains higher propensity for systems thinking. Therefore, learning Russian may increase one’s capacity to find connections, produce meanings, and make sense.

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