Learn Russian by Ian Press (review)

Abstract

Reviews Press, Ian. LearnRussian.Duckworth, London, 2000. X+ 214 PP. Index. Bibliography.?9.99 (paperback). MANY teachers of ab initioRussian will rejoice to hear that there is a book availablethatoffersnot only an introductionto thelanguage,buta stimulating tasterof Russian culture as well. Too many products on the marketare little more than phrasebooks for prospective tourists or business travellers, and make mediocre tools for those of us, true language lovers, who know, as does Ian Press, that 'learning a language, then, isn't just the words and the constructions;it's the whole thing: the life, the culture, the appropriateways of communicating with people' (pp. ix-x). I personally cannot but cheer to finda language learningmanual that sharesmy passionforall thingsRussian, that is informativeabout historywithout being staid, and that makesfrequent and appropriateuse of literarytexts as language illustrationsand in grammar exercises.One need only look at the index and discover'Dostoevsky'following on from 'demonstratives(declension)'to see that Pressdoes not serve up the language in a vacuum. I call Press'swork a manual but this perhaps is not yet the right word, for I am not really sure for whom the book is intended. The author himself says, 'I'm not sure that I consider this a textbook' (p. 2 I I). The independent beginner would have to be more inspired and committed than those aforementioned touristsand business travellersto deal with swift immersion in Pushkinand Blokby only the second chapter, and to feel confidentenough to use the exercises for which there is no key. Fortunately, Peter Jones's Forewordspellsthisout:'Russian,likeRussia, isnot for sissies'(p. vii).Neither is Press's book for sissies. Is it, however, for undergraduate beginners of Russian?Possibly,given some consolidation with plenty of revisionworkand a teacherpreparedto play the role of steadfasthelmsmannavigatinga chosen route through the dense collection of materials. LearnRussianis almost encyclopaedic in its scope, and perhaps it is best used as such. Press claims that beyond the firstfew chaptersthe orderis not intended to be 'progressive' (p. x), and in fact it is quitepossible to dip in and out. Offerthe book, then, to learnerswho have alreadybecome familiarwith the bare essentials,and who have been bitten by the Russia bug, for it will certainlybe of use to them. It is far more a 'travellingcompanion' reference book than a clear map for those with a predeterminedlearninggoal. Each chapterbeginswith a couple of paragraphsabout a historicalera or a literaryfigure, and is usually followed by an extract from one of the classics. Pressprovidesa rough, very literaltranslationof each extractand encourages his reader, right from the start, to use a dictionary and explore beyond the meanings his translationprovides. Sissylearnersbeware:vocabularylists are not provided Presssuggestsyou make your own. This is quite a departure from language textbooktradition,but it strikesme that he is right:his method forces a much more active learning process, and his strategyof immersion in authentictextswill, I believe, bear fruitin a widervocabularyin the long run. io6 SEER, 8o, I, 2002 The absence of vocabulary lists is not the only unconventional feature of LearnRussian.When it comes to the alphabet, for example, Press presents it first side by side with the Greek alphabet and then with equivalent sounds written in the English alphabet. Unfortunately the printed presentation, in a long line of repeated characters alternating between Greek and Cyrillic or English and Cyrillic, is not easy on the eye and is initially quite bewildering. (Generally,the dense, unfriendlyprintof the text is the book'smost significant weakness.) In addition, Press introduces verbs in groups of patterns, with exercises in completing the conjugation to help the reader get the feel for consonant changes and the like. This approach does away with the need to mark many verbs as irregular or semi-irregular,but it may also result in informationoverloadfor the less grammaticallyastutelearner. One might say that LearnRussianprovokes a reaction similar to a stereotypical appraisal of Russia itself: it intrigues, it delights, it will undoubtedly baffle and frustrateat times, but equally undoubtedly one will findoneself coming backto it again and again. Department ofRussian andSlavonic Studies S. F. HUDSPITH University ofLeeds Timofeeva, Galina. DoingBusinessin Russia.Let'sSpeakin Russian.University Press of America, Lanham, MD, New Yorkand Oxford, I999. 28I pp. Notes. Bibliography.$31.50. THERE is a shortage of...