Ура! The book is out!

Sorry for the long hiatus! After months of work and distraction, the Yozhin Family Alfavit (Alphabet) book is up for sale! You can find it at Amazon.com, but if you buy directly through CreateSpace.com, I'll get a greater percentage of the royalties (the price is the same for you: $17.99, or the year Pushkin was born!)

My work here may continue to be slow in coming, since I am preparing to live for a year in St. Petersburg and am drawing some other things involving Norse gods...But I will continue to post hegehoggy Russian things!

Here's a link to buy the book!

https://www.createspace.com/3586584

Thanks for reading!

Meanwhile...

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busily putting together the manuscript for a polished and tangible book version of the Yozhin's alphabet! I'll soon (ish) have a link to where you can find the self-published volume, which includes some new or updated content.

Meanwhile, the our friends the Yozhin family are beating the winter chills away with warm кисель, a syrup or soup (depending on consistency) made of berries. I once read that Pushkin asked to be brought blackcurrant kisel on his deathbed, recalling it fondly from childhood. Today, you can buy freeze-dried kisel concentrate at Russian markets. I have a brick sitting on the shelf that I'm going to cook up once I've learned more Russian (don't want to misinterpret the instructions!).

A love story of sorts

Between language lessons (now that you know the alphabet, I'll be making posts about grammar and vocabulary), I will share a story about our cousin in the north, whom you may remember from the letter P.

To tell this story, I will introduce you to another character. Her name is Мелания (Melaniya).

Zdrast-vuy-tye! Hello! Melaniya came to St. Pet --Oops, Petrograd -- to study. Here, she met the Yozhin's cousin Николай (Nikolai).

To quote from Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, which their story will loosely follow,

Her eyes were opened and she said

"This is the one!" Ah, ever stronger,

In sultry sleep, in lonely bed,

All day, all night, his presence fills her,

By magic everything instills her

With thoughts of him in ceaseless round.

(From the translation by Charles Johnston)

An Interlude

Я is for yabloko

This is the very last letter of the Cyrillic alphabet! Ура! Hurray!

Яя is pronounced "ya" and written like Яя, with the front hook not connected the the preceding letter.

Яблоко ("yabloko") is an apple. Yum!

Now that you know the alphabet, get ready for stories with vocabulary and grammar! See you again soon.

Ю is for yunnat

This vowel is pronounced "yoo." It is written as Юю.

Юннат ("yunnat") is an abbreviation of юный натурализт, or Young Naturalist. Beginning in Moscow in 1918, this was an after-school program for children in the Soviet Union that featured hands-on nature activities and lessons in biology and agriculture.

Э is for entsiclopediya

This letter is analogous to the short "e" in English, and looks like Ээ in handwriting. It isn't very common in Russian -- it appears mostly in words borrowed from other languages. You're much more likely to encounter our old friend Ee (that sounds like "ye").

Энциклопедия ("entsiklopediya") is an encyclopedia. There is a really big one at the library!