It’s never a bad idea to learn another language.

It’s never a bad idea to learn. period…full stop.

The act of learning anything wires our brains in a thousand different ways; increases our critical thinking skills. Increases our verbosity and our ability to communicate our own ideas more effectively. It increases problem solving skills, etc…

The very act of learning is something that should be practiced every day with something, whether that’s a new language, or a hobby, or being a history buff…it doesn’t matter. What matters is the learning itself.

So if Russian is what is giving you that interest right now, do it. At the very least, chicks dig polyglots.

Hey, I’m trying to be more proficient in my Russian.

I think that the more letters a language has, the more words it has, and the more ways you have of getting you message across. The Russian language has so much depth to it due to the many ways of saying the same thing. This can be heard through Russian music or read through Russian literature. The more words a language has, the better you can describe what you are feeling. Maybe there is a better language for translating the complexity of our minds into primal/basic words that we have created.

Now, I might me a bit further in my learning that you are, but if anyone is interested

I have just started a Russian Learning Community that I hope to grow in the coming months.

Beginners, intermediate or advanced / fluent speakers of the Russian language

All are welcome! Не стесняйтесь ребята!

• Feel free to join and create discussions and posts.

• Share insights, resources and lessons

• Participate in comments

• Spark conversations by adding questions at the end of your post

We have a rule of trying not to use translators, only dictionaries and being fine with posting a post that is grammatically incorrect and having others point out your current flaws and room for improvement.

It can be found at: [email protected] (pun intended)

Найти нашу группу можно по етой ссылке: [email protected]

or here https://lemmy.zip/c/RushB

When joining, please introduce yourself in the welcoming post

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Приглашаю Всех!

It is currently very dry, so consider yourself an OG and use that title when it gets more popular.

30 years ago we had a saying that optimists start to learn Russian now. Pessimists Chinese.

(Sub text for the ones who need explanation: because it’s going to be the language of the next world rulers)

It is never a bad idea to know the language of your enemy.

Find a culture you like and language you think is interesting and learn. No need to make it a chore, turn it into something positive and maybe go visit. You can find someone to talk to in their native language and even better someone who wants to learn yours!

Of course not. If we blamed the language for the bad actions of the people who spoke it during, there would be virtually no language left in a pristine enough condition to learn.

That being said, tempers can boil over. So maybe don’t shout your Duolingo answers at a full Starbucks. I mean, that’s good advice regardless of the language but you know what I mean.

I agree with the person who said it’s not a bad idea to learn the language of your enemy. And Russian culture is fascinating and worthy of study, even if the country is currently being run by a fascist dictator bent on world domination, at the expense and destruction of his own people. But then, that has been a trend in Russian history.

If this bothers you enough to ask about it, have you considered learning Ukrainian instead? You’ll get many of the benefits of learning Russian, and my understanding is that the two languages are mutually intelligible with some difficulty despite the differences.

While it’s true a language is tightly linked to the culture of its speakers by definition, a language’s speakers aren’t just their leaders. Russian represents centuries of cultural wealth, not just the misadventures of the last hundred or so years. It’s not the language’s fault that Putin invaded Ukraine. If you love learning languages for their own sake, do it. I made the same choice when attempting to learn Mandarin during the Hong Kong protests.

Ime people hate russia, not it’s people or the language

I’m of the general opinion that learning new things is never a bad idea, but let’s break down your sub question regarding usefulness.

At the very least a basic understanding is certainly useful. I make a point to at least learn alphabets and their sounds so I have a fighting chance putting what I hear into a translation engine. Similarly, Russian isn’t the only language that uses Cyrillic.

Paet that though? In my lifetime it was first unthinkable that I could ever visit Russia, then became possible and even a tourist destination (see: Trans-Siberian rail), and back to basically unthinkable to me.

It’ll most likely swing again.

Learn Ukrainian first maybe, and then learn Russian? It may be easier to learn if you already know Ukrainian, too.

Of course, if you already know Ukrainian, why not learn Russian too?

I think you’re Russian to conclusions.

IMO it depends on if you are interested in the language or culture, or if you plan to be in contact with Russia or Russians. For example, do you plan to translate Russian? Do you plan to read Russian-language literature?

Will that be offensive?

Bigots deserve to be offended.

Many people HATE Russia and the language.

Not your problem if people are prejudiced against Russians for the actions of the government that lords over them. If you want to learn the language, go for it.

I learned Russian when I was in school - after having family who left during the pograms. Learning the Russian language, or any language, should not be about politics. You don’t learn the language to embrace government policies, you do it in order to better understand the artists and the art they created. I don’t have my Russian keyboard, so you’ll forgive me - but there are works which work best when untranslated and understanding some context. “We” by Zamyatin, “Master & Margarita” by Bulgakov, a bunch of Tolstoy’s works, “Diary of a Madman” by Gogol, “Roadside Picnic” by the Strugatsky brothers, and movies like Solaris and Stalker. Not to mention the poetry.

Learn the language for the art. If it does make you political at all, it’ll make you even more opposed to the Chekist in charge.