Columbus Ohio

[tmma 467]

For a native English speaker, it's harder than German or Dutch, but easier than Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, etc.

Ooooooh :/

lol...thanks for the reply

[MishaMoose 2]

I don't think that adding the curse words into your speech is a good idea (at least until you make sure that people you communicate with use them). Plus it just sounds ridiculous when a non-native Russian speaker says them.

I must say I have found one or two to be very usuful playing russian billiards. Along with taaaaaaaaaaak and pachimoo. It's a great game but I am quite suspicious that it was purposely designed to frustrate non-russians

Most of my friends there speak moderate amounts of english and tell me they find english curse words to be fairly useful.

Now I just need to learn "No, really that is what I meant to do that" in russian and in a convincing manner.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Misha and Zhenya

[tmma 467]

I know ' blat' because Slim says his wife says that alot

Edited June 13, 2011 by tmma

[eekee 182]

I must say I have found one or two to be very usuful playing russian billiards. Along with taaaaaaaaaaak and pachimoo. It's a great game but I am quite suspicious that it was purposely designed to frustrate non-russians

Most of my friends there speak moderate amounts of english and tell me they find english curse words to be fairly useful.

Now I just need to learn "No, really that is what I meant to do that" in russian and in a convincing manner.

I think they're necessary to know, unless you spend all your time with high-class (not high-class as in rich but... classy), cultured people (aka boring people!). But until you move from znakomiy to drug... better to leave it alone. Just know so you can understand.

[MishaMoose 2]

I think they're necessary to know, unless you spend all your time with high-class (not high-class as in rich but... classy), cultured people (aka boring people!). But until you move from znakomiy to drug... better to leave it alone. Just know so you can understand.

Excellent advice I think. Russian seems to be at least as rich in scatological terms as english. Although this is primarily based on hearsay evidence

[eekee 182]

Saying Russian mat is as least as rich as cursing is English is a downright insult. I get made fun of all the time for how weaksauce cursing in English is in comparison.

We don't have a 12-volume dictionary of English swear words: http://plutser.ru/mat

Edited June 13, 2011 by eekee

[MishaMoose 2]

Saying Russian mat is as least as rich as cursing is English is a downright insult. I get made fun of all the time for how weaksauce cursing in English is in comparison.

We don't have a 12-volume dictionary of English swear words: http://plutser.ru/mat

I stand corrected! I think my drill intructors in Marine boot camp all those eons ago might have need 5 or 6 volumes .. but not 12!

Rich language indeed!

[ONA 133]

I think they're necessary to know, unless you spend all your time with high-class (not high-class as in rich but... classy), cultured people (aka boring people!). But until you move from znakomiy to drug... better to leave it alone. Just know so you can understand.

Yup, I'd said before I was boring

And yes, that's why I said that people should make sure that the person they're talking to doesn't mind mat before starting to use it. Cause me and my friends don't use it unless we're really mad, surprised, upset or if it's just a part of a story. I never use it talking to my parents, older people and people I don't know very well. So if a person I haven't known for a long time would use it, I would not like it.

I feel a lot more freedom in using English curse words though.... maybe that happens cause English isn't my native language, so all the curse words don't seem real or at least not as strong as Russian ones.

[eekee 182]

yeah, they're not as strong. I use them with my parents, etc.

[slim 1,523]

I found Dutch incredibly hard to learn to speak,

I work for a Dutch company and when the big guys come in and yap on their cell phones, I "almost" understand it. Like German, many of the words are "close enough" to English that they can be understood. I kind of think of it as "relaxing" my tuning and getting the gist of the words/phrases. I don't understand a whole lot, but I can get enough to catch a word here and there and that's enough to work.

For a native English speaker, it's harder than German or Dutch, but easier than Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, etc.

I found Korean to be easier than Russian because it's such a simple language. However, for most English speakers Russian probably would be easier since it's "European" moreso than "Asian." And by that I mean Asian languages have a lot of emphasis on honorifics and titles, etc. Russian uses dimunitives quite a bit but that's not necessarily a "rule" that has to be learned. In Asian languages, you better talk at the right level!

Saying Russian mat is as least as rich as cursing is English is a downright insult.

My wife on the phone back to Russia would make a sailor blush. Every other word is mat. For someone who's a "most high and cultured, sophisticated lady" (her self-description) she sure does use a lot of bad words.

And yes, that's why I said that people should make sure that the person they're talking to doesn't mind mat before starting to use it.

I had a Russian girlfriend who was appalled when I used some choice words to describe our "interactions." She said, "Who teach you these words?" I didn't tell her exactly whom it was, but in fact, it was my wife who'd broadened my vocabulary a few years prior to this nice lady.

That just about sums it up as to why I married my wife and not the one that was so sensitive!

[ONA 133]

I had a Russian girlfriend who was appalled when I used some choice words to describe our "interactions." She said, "Who teach you these words?" I didn't tell her exactly whom it was, but in fact, it was my wife who'd broadened my vocabulary a few years prior to this nice lady.

That just about sums it up as to why I married my wife and not the one that was so sensitive!

To each his own. That's not about being sensitive though, it's more about up-bringing. My parents are extremely strict, they would punish me and my brother for caling each other names like "durak/dura", which aren't even curse words, so there is just no way I'm going to be too liberal about using Russian mat.

I did teach my fiance some curse words though, but just for fun. That's what Russian people do - we teach foreigners some curse or slang words or stupid phrases and then watch them using those words and phrases. Might be fun sometimes

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I work for a Dutch company and when the big guys come in and yap on their cell phones, I "almost" understand it. Like German, many of the words are "close enough" to English that they can be understood. I kind of think of it as "relaxing" my tuning and getting the gist of the words/phrases. I don't understand a whole lot, but I can get enough to catch a word here and there and that's enough to work.

[ONA 133]

Why are you doing this to me?

I'm graduating July 1st, I kind of hoped I'm never going to see any of those things again... ugh!...

[slim 1,523]

To each his own. That's not about being sensitive though, it's more about up-bringing. My parents are extremely strict, they would punish me and my brother for caling each other names like "durak/dura", which aren't even curse words, so there is just no way I'm going to be too liberal about using Russian mat.

I did teach my fiance some curse words though, but just for fun. That's what Russian people do - we teach foreigners some curse or slang words or stupid phrases and then watch them using those words and phrases. Might be fun sometimes

Durak is another word I hear often.

[ONA 133]

Durak is another word I hear often.

That's one of the 1st Russian words my fiance learned

I always get surprised how much easier it is to memorize 'bad' words and slang