Brittany and Billie's Russian Dialogue pg. 23, #3

Brittany O. and Billie V.'s Russian Dialogue pp. 23, #3 for Portfolio 1.

http://vocaroo.com/?media=vrmLUpMcHTU9gJczI

Russian Dialogue pp. 23, #4, with Karina and Lindsay for Portfolio #1

So here's our dialogue recording. Enjoy our attempted Russian! :)

Brittany and Billie's Composition

A recording of Brittany O. and Billie V.'s composition for Portfolio 1.


http://vocaroo.com/?media=vC2egZVW5ptmqw43M

Know your Russian Stereotype: The Gopnik

(This is my attempt at showing off the funnier side of Russian society, hope you enjoy it)

http://exiledonline.com/russias-original-gangstas-meet-the-gopniki/

Essentially crude urban poor whose eccentric style reflects a desire to look like criminals (or be criminals), the Gopnik (Гопники) is an easily recognizable character in Russia for anyone who has been there in the 1990s and early 2000s. The epitome of low culture in Russia, the Gopnik has become the butt of many Russian jokes. In the article posted, the history and identity of the Gopnik is explained.

If you are going to study abroad in Russia, some basic knowledge about the Gopnik might be very useful in certain situations, like going to bars and clubs with friends, walking the street, or understanding some jokes. That said, here are some quick facts about the Gopnik:

-Traditionally, Gopniks wore tracksuits. This is because they were both fashionable and practical. Perfect for the criminal on the run. Notable brands were Nike, Adidas, and Abibas (black market rip-off)

-Gopniks listen to mainly two types of music, the chanson (songs mainly about criminal life) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTvwCAtn4Nc and techno http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daTe4KiPaW4

-Gopniks enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages (жигулевское, Jaguar, портвейн три семерки, anything that is cheap), cigarettes (Пётр I, Ява), and sunflower seeds

-They are usually violent and xenophobic

However, today it looks as if as Russia changes, so changes the Gopnik. The traditional Gopnik is harder to find as more Gopniks drop the clichéd tracksuits and techno of the 90s to pick up the suits and ties of today. Still, their boorish behavior and chauvinistic attitudes remain.

One final thing should be noted though; normal Russians dislike the Gopnik immensely. Russians typically would like to see themselves as cultured or at least maintaining some sense of class, while the concept of the Gopnik flies in the face of that. Many normal Russians tend to feel oppressed by Gopniks and their crassness in the public space. To best sum up these feelings, I leave you with the song "Гопники" by the band Зоопарк. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nLb4nDtPvE

"Gopniks! Gopniks! They make it hard for all of us to live!"

Prepositional case usage and formation

An exciting Power Point about the prepositional case...

War and Peace: The Opera Version

So here I am...the music student that only talks about music. (How typical) However, this post can relate to many students than just the four music students in our class!

Russian operas are quite spectacular! Many of them are based off of famous novels or writings by your favorite Russian authors, such as Tolstoy and Pushkin. The video(s) that I have chosen to share with you all come from Prokofiev's War and Peace. As you can imagine, this is an extremely long opera. Some opera companies produce this show in two parts because it would be at LONG night at the opera if it were presented all at one time.

This particular scene is the death of Prince Andrei, sung by Russian baritone, Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The role of Natasha is played by soprano, Irina Mataeva. Andrei is wounded and on his death bed. Natasha comes to visit him. They declare their love for each other as he dies in her arms. If you listen closely, you can hear the Prince's heartbeat being conveyed by an offstage women's chorus (which adds a fantastic dramatic effect to the scene). In part two (around the 3.50 mark), you'll hear a waltz theme. That same waltz was played at the beginning of the opera when Andrei and Natasha first meet at a ball. (I know I've vaguely scratched the surface on the actual story, but I didn't have enough time to read the whole thing before posting this blog! :)

I hope you enjoy it!

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94oFPJNCo-k&feature=related

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOa7bR1bcMo&feature=related

Your moment of absurdity...

the porcupine shouts something like "who makes a porcupine sandwich without bread! [nonsense] they're hooligans! they're idlers!" or something... i don't know what a cutaway gag is, do you? and is that supposed to be Putin?

Naked Soviet Girls with Oars

handwriting animation

Taylor sends me a link to a site that has animated demonstrations of how to correctly form the letters of the Russian алфавит. Very cool! Check it out. 

Voiced and Unvoiced Consonants

And here's a link to the Power Point I used in this AMAZING video!