Russian Language Day

The UN Russian Language Day coincides with the birth of Aleksandr Pushkin on June 6th, a Russian poet considered the father of modern Russian literature.

“Complex, ironic, funny and beautiful” – it is not uncommon for some Russian learners to talk about their enduring love affair with the language.

With hundreds of millions of speakers worldwide, Russian is in danger of extinction. However, for most of us, its alphabet makes it look too difficult to learn. To encourage us, Russian Language Day, declared by the United Nations in 2010, focuses on cultural events, readings, plays and music.

It also coincides with the birth date of Alexsandr Pushkin (1799-1837), whose genius for novels, plays, poetry, etc. Every year, spend a day to appreciate his work or one of the other Great Russian writers on your prior list. Why not suggest a novel in translation to your book club or see what your library can offer. Or skip the Cyrillic alphabet and look for an online spoken language course.

Interesting facts about the Russian language

As is the case with many languages ​​across East Asia, the stress patterns of Russian words can make a huge difference. In fact, they can change the meaning of words altogether. For example, the meaning of “я плáчу” is “I am crying”. However, with “я плачу”, the stress is placed on the second syllable instead of the first and this means “I am paying”. There is a slight difference between the two meanings, right?

Russian is the eighth most spoken language globally. Not only 170 million native Russians speak the language, but also 130 million other people from the former Soviet republics that no longer exist speak Russian. Russian is one of three East Slavic languages. The other two are Ukrainians and Belarusians. In addition, there are more than 100 spoken languages ​​ in Russian including Mordvin, Bashir, Chuvash, Chechen and Tartar.

Russian is the language of space! If you have a dream of becoming an astronaut, you should start learning your Russian language because it is considered as the language of space. After NASA, Roscosmos is the second largest space agency in the world. To get to the ISS, astronauts must board the Soyuz spacecraft, in which half of the systems and components on board are in Russian.

There are as many expressions for different shades of blue in Russian that they have in any other language including descriptions for dark shades and for light shades. This is interesting because in some languages ​​there is not even a distinction between green and blue.

History of Russian Language Day

In 2010, Russian Language Day was established by UNESCO (abbreviation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). As already mentioned, Russian Language Day was chosen because it coincides with Aleksandr Pushkin's birthday, the father of contemporary Russian literature. His first poem was published at his 15 year old. Many of his works are considered masterpieces, including the story of the fall of Don Juan, the TV series The Stone Guest, and the poem The Bronze Horseman. Regarding the Russian language, his work is also considered critical because it combines all contemporary elements of the Russian language.

How to Celebrate Russian Language Day

• Russian themed dinner party

While Russian cuisine may not be as famous as France or as ripe for entertainment as it is in Britain, it has some gems. See if you can find a Russian cookbook, and then invite your friends for a night of food and vodka fun.

• Read some Russian literature

Tolstoy and Dostoevsky stand out, of course, but it's also worth checking out Vladimir Sorokin's "Day of the Oprichnik," or Ekaterina Sedia's "The Secret History of Moscow." In terms of movies, "Night Watch" is a modern fantasy thriller, while "Diamond Arm" is a stellar comedy. (Yes, Russians know how to do comedy!)

• Learn Russian words...

Try to move beyond "Moskovskaya Osobaya," - which is one of Russia's oldest vodka brands - back to the Russian Empire.

Why we love Russian Language Day

• It is said to be melodious

Not everyone agrees on this, but there are those who consider Russian to be one of the most beautiful languages ​​in the world. It has a significant impact on other languages ​​- especially when it comes to political words.

• Russia has influence

Russian speakers can influence change in the world. Russian Language Day gives us the opportunity to find common ground amid political turmoil.

• Russian humor

We don't think about it often, but a lot of humor depends on the language used to convey it. And just as there are certain jokes that only work in English, there are certain jokes that only work in Russian.