Elementary Russian: Сегодня в лингафонном кабинете... Language Lab, Elementary Russian (Урок 4, неделя 3)

ПРИВЕТ!

 Вы любите индейку? 

The above stamp is from Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus. Notice the word for "turkey" in Azeri... "hindtougu"... Like "hindu" or "India"... related to the Russian word индейка, "Indian bird." 

Now... к делу... 

First things first, grab a copy of the grammar quiz (Dr. Zheltoukhova's group only)

Now, grab a copy of your lab worksheet from us at the lab or download from HERE.

1) Do the listening exercises. You'll find them on the page that starts off "Repeat the sentences..." 

(ಡ_ಡ)☞ Listen here for the first exercise. 

The second exercise reviews the phonological phenomenon of vowel reduction... How are O, A, E pronounced under stress (under the accent mark) and unstressed. Remember the rule: unstressed 

Unstressed O --> /a/

Unstressed E --> /и/

Otherwise, vowels are pretty much pronounced as written.
(ಡ_ಡ)☞ Listen to the words pronounced here. 

2) Review the difference between тоже и также below and do the written task. Have it checked by the tutors. 

Note: Russian has two words that mean "also" and they cause language learners no end of problems... In fact, one of the tests for language competency is to correctly choose тоже и также. 

They are NOT interchangeable, though you can almost always say также instead of тоже, while saying тоже when you SHOULD say также is a mistake. 

Anyway, тоже is exclusively used when different subjects share the same predicate. Также is used inclusively when introducing new information regarding the same subject

Here's some examples:

• Вы говорите по-русски? Я тоже говорю по-русски! 
• Do you speak Russian? I do, too. different subjects You speak Russian, I do too. Use тоже!
• Я говорю по-русски. Я также говорю по-французски! 
• I speak Russian. I also speak French. You've introduced new information about me -- it's more than confirmation, it's a new item. Use также!

A key phrase in Russian is я тоже так думаю/I think so too! It confirms that you and your interlocutor see the world in the same way. You're confirming old information! You think this way, and so do I! Здорово!

Maybe the easiest way to think about it: тоже means "too" and также means "additionally." Do you speak Russian? Me, too! I speak Russian, and additionally I speak French.