Pronouciation of "Zdravstvyuitye"

[Paul B. Gallagher]

John Langran wrote:

> Without wanting to start a long bear trail, I would be interested to 
> know what colleagues in the US think about a tried and tested method to 
> get beginners to pronounce the Russian word for "hello". I undestand 
> that this originated in British Navy Russian courses at the end of the 
> 2ww, and is still useful:
> "English speakers sometimes find this hard to pronounce.  If you have a 
> standard English accent, try thinking of your donkey! Say "Does your ass 
> fit yer?" fairly quickly and slurring the first "D". The result is often 
> very close to "Çäð‚âñòâóéòå!". "
> 
> My question is, would this be too rude in American English to include in 
> a textbook?

I agree that it doesn't belong in a textbook because it's rude, but for 
a much more important reason as well: it would be ineffective. You might 
as well teach them to pronounce "Muenchen" by thinking of Dorothy and Toto.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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