Russian for Beginners by Charles Duff

by Charles Duff

This provides a full, simplified introduction to grammar, a 4,000-word vocabulary, and 42 lessons in the basic principles of the language.

Genres: Language, Russia, Reference

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Rheia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really useful for review of beginner Russian! Will continue to refer back to it as I continue my studies :) It's obviously quite old school but it's compact and contains a good selection of vocabulary and exercises. Some of the pronunciation descriptions are a bit wonky so it's best to use alongside a teacher, some audio, or simply for review as I've done.

[Tracy Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the hard, old-fashioned kind of grammar book. i should take the time to do the grammar exercises in the back.

[Alan Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classical introductory course in the Russian language. Like all of the texts of its day, it has a strong grammatical focus. That's not to say there aren't conversational exercises, texts to translate and so forth. But the primary focus is around learning Russian inflections and other grammatical details and quirks of the language (of which there are many!)

I used this book to supplement a high school course in Russian and I've continued to refer to it over the years. My daughter is now learning Russian and we use this as a supplement for her studies.

Something that is overlooked in books such as this is the typography. In the Duff text, it's excellent. The Cyrillic text is set in a serif typeface which I find more legible. I would compare it to the Nicholas Brown "The New Penguin Russian Course" where all of the text seems to be much smaller and set in what looks like Helvetica.

Finally, it goes without saying that all of these self-taught language books should be regarded as supplements. A tutor is indispensable.

[Melissa Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book rules! Super useful.

[Ironically Nostalgic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be an indispensable tool throughout the first year of my Russian language learning experience. The context of the book is adorably novel now--it is a strictly apolitical book for English-speaking students interested in the Russian language circa the early 1960s. As such, it is an interesting artifact of its time that tells some interesting truths: Russian at the time was a "traveler's language" that exists as a lingua franca across over 1/6th of the planet's terrestrial surface; Russian was quickly emerging as a dominant language in the international scientific and engineering community; and, as of 1962, the language had some 200,000,000 speakers.

Russian today is more widespread than ever, and its status as a predominant language across Eastern Europe and Central Asia remains. Given the utility of international dialogue in our increasingly global world, an American seeking to learn a new language could do much worse than Russian.

Anyway, the book itself is a fantastic tool for new students of any age. Focus on grammatical structure and comprehensive introductions to all of the major topics in Russian language arts are available. Throughout the text, Duff renders an easy-to-follow didactic system for self-study. In other words, while the breadth of information available within the book looks quite overwhelming, there is a strong and visible style of instruction that never leaves the reader feeling too in the dark.

The major topics are here: morphology, practical language-learning habits, pronunciation, grammar and rhetoric, notable examples of language use in popular Russian culture, and even a little orthographic history. If you don't know much about linguistics, the technical aspects won't be sorely missed. If Soviet reforms to the Cyrillic script and Russian language use don't interest you, you won't feel too out of place by just skipping those sections. This is a wonderfully open-ended tool for study, and if you manage to find it in some old bookstore, you won't regret picking it up.