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Soviet Cartoons

Soviet cartoons are some of the best out there. Along with their artistic value, they’re great for keeping up your Russian! Here are a few suggestions to start with.

  1. Винни Пух is the Russian version of Winnie the Pooh. This first came out as a film in 1969, followed by two other sequels. The main characters are Winnie the Pooh and Piglet instead of Robin, and the illustrations are a little more rugged and with lots of character. The Russian is fairly simple, but Winnie’s voice can be a little hard to understand. You can find it on YouTube here.

2. Тайна третьей планеты (Secret of the Third Planet) is a science fiction animated film that came out in 1981. It is based on the children’s book Alice’s Travels, and follows the store of Alisa, who follows her father in what ends up being a detective story. The Russian is very clear and easy to hear, and the illustrations are great! This one is also available on YouTube here.

3. Бременские Музыканты (Bremen Town Musicians) is a 1969 animated film based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. It follows the story of a donkey, a dog, a cat, a rooster, and their master Troubadour, and is known for its lively soundtrack and rock n’ roll songs. The Russian is fairly easy to follow as well! It is on YouTube as well, right here.

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Media Recommendation: German Music (part II)

So, you listened to everything I recommended in my last post, and you’re looking for a bit more (or you hated it all). Here are a few more suggestions, ranging from hip-hop to Indie social commentary. Follow along with the lyrics, or just sit back and catch up on some contemporary German culture!

Fiva – “Das Beste ist noch nicht vorbei” 

One of Germany’s only female rappers, Fiva speaks very clearly, so it’s a great song for beginners. Lyrics are here.

 

Bausa: “Was du Liebe nennst” 

This song was huge last year, and it’s catchy enough that you’ll see why. Bausa has become Germany’s Drake…meaning that all of his songs sound the same. Check out the lyrics here.

 

Von Wegen Lisbeth – “Meine Kneipe”

Catchy Indie music, reminiscent of OK Go. What more is there to say? Find the lyrics here.

 

Seeed – “Augenbling”

Seeed is one of Germany’s best-known bands. A mixture of hip-hop, reggae, and dancehall beats, their music is definitely one-of-a-kind. Check out the lyrics here, and watch out for the English section.

 

OK Kid – “Gute Menschen”

Another soft-rock/Indie group, but this time with social commentary about bourgeois German desire to be “good people.” Check out the lyrics here.

 

 

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Media Recommendation: German Music

Learning German and getting tired of Mozart, Rammstein and “99 Luftballoons”? Here are a few bands (covering a few different genres) that are a little newer.

AnnenMayKantereit – “Barfuß am Klavier” 

A slow ballad, “Barefoot at the Piano” features some beautiful lyrics. As YouTube commenter Ryan King once said, “I’d never thought of German as a particularly beautiful language… that is until now.”

 

Cro – “Traum”

If you’ve been to Germany, you’ve probably heard this one. Cro, a German rapper/artist is known for his secrecy (he always wears a panda mask). This one’s a bit faster, but it’s catchy, and the lyrics aren’t too complicated.

 

Namika ft. Black M  – “Je ne parle pas français.”

Most of this song is in German, with some French thrown in there when Black M raps. It’s slow, simple German, and repeats a lot. Find the lyrics here.

 

Olli Schulz – “Dann schlägt dein Herz” (Live) [Start at 2:33 for the song, or from the beginning to hear his introduction]

Olli Schulz, one of my personal favorites, is an indie-rocker with a great sense of humor. Here are the lyrics, and you can find the non-live version here.

 

Ready for a challenge? Then try:

Yung Hurn – “Ok cool” 

Basically the Austrian equivalent of Trap. You’ll probably need the lyrics for this one.

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Media Recommendation: “Кухня” (“Kitchen”)

Кухня is a Russian sitcom that came out in 2012, and consists of 6 seasons and 120 episodes. It follows the story of the main character, Maxim Lavrov, and his quest to become a chef in one of Moscow’s best restaurants “Claude Monet.” Maxim, along with the rest of the restaurant’s workers, are constantly finding themselves in humorous situations.

The conversation is fairly slow and simple, so the show is good for intermediate and advanced speakers to practice their listening. It’s also good for beginners, as a lot of kitchen and food vocabulary comes up.

The show can be found for free on YouTube. You can also purchase a subtitled version on Amazon, but I’d encourage you to save the money and practice your Russian.

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Some Russian Music Recommendations

Music is a great way to learn a language, as the speaking is usually clear and easy to keep up with. Here are just a few options to start with!

Vladimir Vysotsky is one of the most famous Russian musicians from the 1960s and 70s. His songs are about life in the Soviet-Union, and have a distinct gritty style to them. His music can be found on YouTube, and you can start with “Спасите Наши Души” (“Save Our Souls.”)

Alla Pugacheva is a beloved pop icon. Among many songs that can be found on YouTube, she is also featured in the famous movie Ирония судбы (The Irony of Fate). She has a more recent music video that you can find here, which stars her and Russian comedian and singer Maksim Galkin.

One of my personal favorites is a contemporary band called “Серебряная свадьба,” “Silver Wedding.” Their style is a little more folksy, and the photo above is from their song about Alexander Pushkin’s death, which you can find here.

“Грибы,” “Mushrooms,” is one of the most popular new groups. They’re actually Ukrainian, but they rap in Russian. Their songs are somewhat parody, somewhat serious, but very entertaining. The language is a little bit harder to understand, but the songs are still catchy even if you don’t get everything! You can start with their most popular song “Тает лед” (“Ice melts”).

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Media Recommendation: Babylon Berlin (2017-)

 

Babylon Berlin (2017-) is a German crime series created by Tom Tykwer. The show is set in 1920s Berlin in the Weimar Republic, and deals with the intersecting criminal activities of that age.

Babylon Berlin is a must-watch for anyone interested in learning German. It is the most expensive non-American TV series ever made, and features beautiful cinematography. It’s also a good way to learn more about Berlin culture, since the series is very well-researched.

The first two seasons of the show are streamable on Netflix, and have good English and German subtitles. The language is fairly difficult to follow, mostly due to the Berlin accent that some of the characters use, but most of the story can be followed in context.

Check out the trailer here:

And check out this short interview in German with Liv Lisa Fries, who plays the principal female role, Charlotte Ritter:

 

 

 

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Movie Recommendation: Стиляги

Стиляги [2008] (Stilyagi, translated as Hipsters) is a movie musical set in Moscow in the mid 1950s. Its story follows a boy named Mels as he transitions from fitting in with the grey and black dress of Soviet youth, to that of the colorful stilyagi.

The stilyagi were Russians who thought Americans wore bright, outlandish clothing, and wanted to replicate this form of expression that was oppressed during Soviet times. Along with the plot, the movie also shows the negative view Soviet society had of this subculture, and how the stilyagi would have to dress up and listen to jazz in secret.

You can find the full movie on YouTube here. The Russian isn’t too fast or complicated, but there are subtitles if you find yourself not being able to keep up.

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Learn Yiddish Online

Yiddish, a historically Jewish language, is closely related to German. It’s often said that Yiddish vocabulary is about 80% German words, 10% Slavic, and 10% Hebrew. Both were developed during the Middle Ages in central Europe, and many German speakers today can understand the language.

Yiddish uses the Hebrew alphabet, and writes from right to left. Start out by learning the Yiddish Alphabet at the YIVO institute’s webpage. YIVO also offers other resources online.

Yiddish Dictionary Online – Although the website is a bit counterintuitive, this is one of the most comprehensive Yiddish dictionaries available online. Many other dictionary websites use the data from this website with their own

Yiddishpop.com is a bit silly but is a great way to start learning the language. The lessons use short, animated videos. The benefit to these is that they are completely in Yiddish, and use context rather than translation to help you learn.

Yiddish Biz is a more traditional way to learn the language. Made up of a series of English-Yiddish videos, the site progresses from single words and short phrases, many of which involve English cognates, to more complex sentences.

Once you’ve mastered the basics of Yiddish, be sure to look at some of the cultural resources. The Yiddish Book Center website offers digital collections of books in Yiddish, as well as a number of other resources. The Yiddish Daily Forward is a cultural and news journal with many articles in English and Yiddish.

Last but not least, here’s a Yiddish pop song, “Dona Dona,” written in the 1940s and sung by Nehama Hendel in 1965…

 

 

 

 

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Deutsche Welle App

The Deutsche Welle App is an excellent place to start if you’re looking for a German grammar review, or to improve your German skills on the go.

Start with an “Einstufungstest” (placement test) to figure out which level you’re in. Deutsche Welle features A1, A2, and B1 exercises, that is, from beginner to intermediate. Each placement test features 30 questions. 

The “Übungen” (exercises) in the placement test can also be found in the “Alle Kurse” (all courses) section. These are divided into levels, beginner through intermediate, and contain exercises focusing on grammatical concepts.

The Deutsche Welle App also features an overview of grammar, including verbs, adjective endings, and cases. These short summaries are similar to what you’d find in a German 100 or 200-level textbook, and are divided into bite-sized pieces.

The grammar review section (Grammatikübersicht) gives clear, short descriptions of the grammatical concepts. Although they aren’t as thorough as college textbooks, they are useful for reviewing.

Have fun learning!

 

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Russian Idioms

 

Many Russian idioms are very fun, but do not at all translate directly into English, and can therefore be hard to learn how to use. With Очень по-русски (Very much Russian), you can hear them used and explained with everyday examples by a native speaker.

The website features frequent episodes about all kinds of idioms. It is intended for people learning Russian, so the speaking is slow and comprehensible, and is always provided with a transcript so you can follow along.

Like this one, where they explain “днем с огнем,” or literally in English, “during the day with fire.” Obviously this doesn’t make much sense to an English speaker, so the blog goes through simple examples to give it some context, along with explaining where it comes from.

You can also find Russian jokes and an article about how to navigate Russian humor, along with dictionaries and sources to learn the alphabet!