8 Russian words that foreigners cannot pronounce
'12.06.2020'
Source: Femmie.ru
Have you ever heard foreign speaking people say “hello”? Femmie.ru tells what Russian words turned out to be the most difficult for foreigners.
Learning an unfamiliar language is another challenge! Especially when it comes to our native language. Russian, along with Japanese, is considered one of the most difficult to learn. Here and cases, and declination by birth, and rich vocabulary with many synonyms and additional meanings. In addition, there are features of pronunciation. A foreigner will not utter some words that are familiar to us even after years of training. Here are 8 such words.
"Hello"
In most countries, greetings are short: “ciao,” “hello,” and all that. Out of habit, poor foreigners stumble over a bunch of consonants in our official “hello”. But there is also a “y”.
Try to pronounce it yourself, clearly articulating, and not reducing it to "hello"! It’s good that there is a simple and understandable word “hello”.
"Sights"
It seems to be not such a difficult word, why are tourists from all over the world fighting over it? The fact is that 2 or more consonants in a row are difficult to pronounce. We cope with this only because from childhood we are accustomed to pronouncing combinations of "st" and "pr".
To understand foreigners, try to say Sehenswurdigkeit (zeensvjurdiskaiten). That is what the “landmark” sounds like in German. Not only is it long, but also consonants are located in unusual combinations. In general, from all sides a difficult word. It is especially a shame that a foreign tourist will probably have to use it at least once.
"Lottery"
In this case, the vowels fail - the combination “her” is not typical for European languages. Therefore, the British, French and Germans cope with difficulty.
But the Japanese were especially unlucky. In their language there is no sound “l”, so any words with this letter seem unpronounceable. Instead, "p" is used (although not as solid and rolling as ours). And the "bread" in the mouth of the Japanese turns into a "ridge", and the name Olga - into Origu.
On the subject: Hollywood stars who speak Russian and speak several languages
"Happiness"
This is just a combo of difficulties for a foreigner! Here and the sound "u", and a soft sign, and the "favorite" confluence of consonants "art." Yes, and not pronounced the way it is spelled. The output is something like "shaste."
"Unsatisfactory"
Maybe this word is not used every day, but sometimes it is still necessary to use it. Well, you have to pronounce by syllables - otherwise foreigners cannot reproduce it.
But to put them “unsatisfactory” in Russian because of this is not worth it. After all, sometimes a Russian-speaking person will not say such a long word for the first time without hesitation.
"Protect"
Russian sizzling is a stumbling block for foreigners. Saying a soft “u” is difficult for a European, they usually get a sound that looks more like a “w”. And here he repeats already twice!
The main thing is not to tell your foreign friends that you can also formulate the sacrament - the “defenders”. But Lewis Carroll, traveling around Russia in 1867, not only heard this word, but also wrote down - zashtsheeeshtshauouushtsheekhsua. This is not something to pronounce - looking at him is scary.
"Products"
“Y” is an amazing letter that baffles foreigners. This is a rare sound - it is found only in Slavic (Polish, Czech), Turkic (Turkish, Kazakh) languages, and also in Korean.
But Europeans are incredibly difficult not only to pronounce it, but even to understand how this is done. How can you say something with your jaw extended forward ?! Moreover, the Russian language in general seems rude to them, because we pronounce even vowels more clearly and distinctly. Therefore, a Frenchman or an Englishman will get something like a "product."
"Eat"
The letter “s” does not end the torment of foreigners. After all, we still have soft and hard signs! Remembering them is quite difficult - after all, in European languages there are no such characters. And do not mix up when they meet in one word - this is aerobatics.
