You see, I always learn faster when the subject is entertaining. I don't know how "Hooked on Phonics" makes learning fun, but I would say that our technique is pretty well adapted to convey the basics of a new language, though I'm sure we wouldn't have much commercial success if we put it on the market. The key to it all was that I was not alone in my struggle to learn the new tongue. My other roomate, Jon, fought with me every step of the way.
As you might have guessed by now (and if you're not oblivious to the subject of this page), Jon and I were not learning the finer points of the russian language. Instead, we were learning new and exciting ways to taunt eachother (and innocent unsuspecting bystanders who had no idea what we were talking about). The driving force behind the growth in our vocabulary is very analogous to the arms race of the cold war. Jon and I would partake in a rather entertaining game in which we would alternate sythesizing new and creative insults for the other. Obviously, the greater the depth of one's vocabulary, and the better one was at creating colorful expressions, the better one could perform at this game. Since no one likes to lose all of the time, Jon and I made sure to continue to expand and maintain our stockpiles.
This whole story probably doesn't sound all that alien to many of you. The bulk of my very tiny vocabulary in several other languagues (french, german, hindi, chinese, and tamil) also resides in a set of phrases that you wouldn't say to your mother. It should be noted that my entire knowledge of russian is innately phonetically based, as I am completely illiterate in the cyrillic alphabet. In addition, I do not pretend that my perception of what the words sound like is an accurate representation of reality. I also would like to say that my mistakes should not reflect poorly on my teacher, who clearly has a much stronger connection to the language. Finally, I have learned several useful and polite rudimentary expressions (which I in fact have used around the Nasonovich family with a little success), so the process did achieve something good...
With all of that said, let's get to the good stuff!!!
9) Spakoyni noche, suka bleeyat.
8) Ti vanayiesh kak govno!
7) Ya liublu tvayee balsheeyee siski.
6) Ya hachoo atarvat tvayi malinki yaichki.
5) Eedee k'chortu, svolatch!
4) Patsilooy mayoo valasati zhuopa!
3) Ti liubeesh kushat govno!
2) Ti hochesh isli ya zasranoo v'tvayom rot?
1) Sasi mooy hui, peezdietz!
Nathan Hillson / 18-JUN-98 / Comments to
hillson(removeme)@stanford.edu
