Friday, October 10, 2008

Belarus - Minsk

Here's another card from Belarus (a country that I've never been to, but I'm learning the language and I hope to go there someday) :) It shows the City Hall and Svaboda (Freedom) Square in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. I've received this card from my penpal :)

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3 comments:

Ana said...

Ive been wondering.....to what extent do Russian and Belorussian actually differ?

October 10, 2008 at 5:33 PM
Оксана said...

Belorussian is something between Polish and Russian. Actually, it's more similar to Ukrainian than to Russian, but still most of Belarussian people (especially in big cities) speak Russian instead of Belarussian.

There are some differences even in the alphabet:
Rus "и" = Bel "і"
Rus "щ" = Bel "шч"
Belarussian "г" is pronounced like German "h", there's no such sound in Russian.
Belarussian "ў" is pronounced like English "w" in "web".

I think Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian people can understand each other, when they speak their languages, but I'm not sure about it, because they usually switch to Russian (the regional "international language") when they meet :)

Here's an example of short text (written by me) :D in these 3 languages, so that you can compare yourself.

Russian:
Меня зовут Ксения. Я живу в Польше и мне семнадцать лет. Мне очень нравится мой родной город Вроцлав. Люблю изучать иностранные языки, путешествовать и фотографировать. Собираю открытки и марки.

Belarussian:
Мяне завуць Ксенія. Я жыву ў Польшчы ды мне семнаццаць гадоў. Мне вельмі падабаецца мой родны горад Уроцлаў. Люблю вывучаць замежныя мовы, падарожнічаць і фатаграфаваць. Збіраю паштоўкі і маркі.

Ukrainian:
Мене звати Ксенія. Я живу у Польщі та мені сімнадцять років. Мені дуже подобається моє рідне місто Вроцлав. Люблю вивчати іноземні мови, подорожувати і фотографувати. Збираю листівки та марки.

October 10, 2008 at 6:38 PM
Ana said...

I have always believed that if I focus enough, I could understand most Slavic languages...not every word, but that i could get the context...of course, replying back wouldnt really be possible :)
Here, I was mostly surprised about the pronunciation of the Belorussian "ў"....thats a weird one :)
However, Im more than thankful for this extensive explanation....I really love it...ive been reading the paragraphs over and over again,and yeah, there are similarities and differences, but I guess that if you are familiar with one of the languages, you would understand the other two as well..I think Bulgarian is quite similar as well...i dont speak it, but from my basic knowledge, i could notice similarities...
I even tried to actually translate what you had written...so here it is...no laughs please...:)

"My name is Ksenia. I live in Poland and Im 17 years old. ....... my hometown Wroclaw. I love learning foreign languages, travelling and photographing. I collect postcards(?) and stamps."

*where the dots are, i couldnt figure out whats behind them :/

now, there is the same in Macedonian, just instead of the dots, i had put 'ive lived all my life' (it would be funny if it turns out that thats the actual meaning i couldnt figure out...

Се викам Ксенија. Живеам во Полска и имам седумнаесет години. Целиот мој живот живеам во мојот роден град Вроцлав. Сакам да учам странски јазици, патувања и фотографија. Собирам разгледници и поштенски марки.

Ok, have to say, this is fun and interesting :)
If you have any questions regarding the Macedonian part, id gladly answer...if you have ANY other questions regarding the Macedonian language...you know whom to turn to :)

thanks again for the time to explain this to me...i really enjoyed it! (its obvious i think..;)

October 11, 2008 at 3:20 PM

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