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!

ь is a soft sign

This letter is something of a counterpart to the hard sign (tvordii znak). It is similar in appearance: ь printed and ь written (it too is never at the beginning of a word and has no capital form). It doesn't have quite the intriguing political background, though. Instead, it is the bane of students learning Russian. Called the мякий знак (myakii znak), or "soft sign," it changes the pronunciation of the consonant preceding it from hard to soft. This is a very subtle shift, somewhat like the difference between "canon" and "canyon," or "boo-tiful" and "beautiful."

ы is a special vowel

This letter is difficult to approximate in terms of English sounds. It is closest to a short, hard "i." It looks like ы printed and ы written. It will never be the first letter in a word, but it is otherwise quite common in Russian.

ъ is a hard sign

In Russian there are a couple tricky letters that don't ever begin a word. This one (ъ), which looks like ъ in handwriting, is called a tvyordi znak (твёрдыи знак), which means "hard sign." It creates a separation in the word, but has no sound of its own. I can see why my cousin says we should get rid of it...

Note: This letter has some interesting cultural/historical connotations. As I tried to blithely and obliquely convey at the end, the early Bolshevik government that was coming into power at the time of the Yozhins called for the abolition of ъ at the end of words -- one could say that the Civil War had a spelling front (specifically the enforcement of the spelling reforms of 1918). Later, it slowly began to be used again (though not often) within words, and in post-Soviet Russian may even be found at the end of a word, either ironically or to evoke a sense of conservative values. Fascinating!

Щ is for schyogol

This letter is tricky to put into English terms. Sometimes, it is transliterated as "sch" (as in "borscht"), other times as "shsh" (like the phrase "fresh sheets") It's sort of a softer, more drawn out version of "Ш." In handwriting, it looks like Щщ, with little loops like the ones on "Цц."

Щёголь is a dandy. What a fashion plate!

I'm not really sure what this had to do with anything. I just like drawing foppishly-dressed up hedgehogs...

Ш is for shakhmati

This letter is pronounced like the "sh" sound in English, but hard like "shock," rather than soft like "sheep." In handwriting, it looks like Шш.

Шахматы ("shakhmati") is the great sport of chess! "Шах" means "check" and "мат" means "mate." Sasha is learning how to play from cousin Kolya. He has enthusiasm, at least.

Ч is for Chekhov

This letter is pronounced like an English "ch," but slightly softer (like "cheap," not "chop"). Sometimes it is transliterated as "tch" (as in Tchaikovsky). In handwriting, it looks like Чч.

Антон Павлович Чехов/Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904) was a great Russian writer, whose short stories and plays are still highly revered today.

Of course, if you forget to type the "h" when you are looking him up, you may instead find Pavel Andreevich Chekov (Павел Андреевич Чехов), fictional navigator of the Starship Enterprise. How you transliterate can make a great difference!

Ц is for tsar

This is a slightly tricky one. It is pronounced like the "zz" in "pizza" and transliterated usually as "ts," but sometimes as "cz." In handwriting it appears as Цц, with little connecting loops that are smaller than those on Уу.

Царь (tsar') is the title of the ruler of the Russian Empire. Our tsar is Nikolai Romanov II. He has a big beautiful palace in St. Petersburg. My cousin goes to university there. My cousin does not like the tsar very much.

Х is for khimik

This letter is not what it seems! It is pronounced as a hard "h," like the "ch" in "Bach" or "loch." It is generally written in English as "kh," (as seen in the name "Chekhov"). In handwriting, it looks like Хх.

Химик ("khimik") is a chemist. Here is Dmitri Mendeleev, who is famous for pioneering the Periodic Table of the Elements. Not only did he create one of the main early tables on which our current one is based, but he predicted the existence of several of the elements not known at the time!

Ф is for feya

This letter is pronounced like an English "F." It looks like the Greek letter phi, too! It looks like Фф

in handwriting.

Фея ("feya") is a fairy! As in, I like to imagine I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy when I listen to Tchaikovsky.

У is for uchitel

Don't confuse this vowel with the English "Y" -- it is actually pronounced "oo." In handwriting, it appears as Уу, with the loop of the little у connecting to the next letter.

Учитель (uchitel) is a teacher! In hedgehog school, we apparently learn calculus very early. That, or the author is recycling a drawing she did of her roommate's Russian math professor...Oh no, can't stop the meta-commentary!

Т is for Tolstoy

This one is quite similar to the English "T." There is a trick when you write it, though -- it looks more like an English cursive "M": Тт.

Лев Николаевич Толстой/Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, often Anglicized as "Leo" (1828-1910) was a hugely influential and revered writer of the nineteenth century. His most famous works are the novels Anna Karenina (remember the first letter?) and War and Peace.

С is for samovar

This letter is equivalent to the English soft "S." It is written just as the English "C:" Сс.

Самовар (samovar) is an implement found in many Russian households. It heats water that can be used to make tea (чай).

Р is for revolyutsioner

This letter is pronounced like the English "R," but rolled, as in Spanish. In handwriting, it looks like Рр, but with the bottom of the curve in the lowercase letter not connecting.

Революционер ("revolyutsionеr") is a revolutionary, such as my cousin Kolya, who is fighting for the Bolsheviks, or my great-grandfather Sergei Maximovich, who was a Decemberist.

OK, so I've resisted meta-commentary this far (really difficult for me), but I have to go from Masha to Maya here so I can just say that I don't know how to explain the idea of a revolutionary from an 8-year-old's point-of-view. Also, I must relate how much joy I felt when I made the connection between the 19th-century Russian revolutionary Decemberists and the wonderful indie band the Decembrists. But I'm still waiting for Colin Meloy to write a song about limiting the power of the tsar through revolutionary force and failing. "I fought the tsar and the tsar won..."

П is for Pushkin

This letter is similar to the English Pp. In handwriting, it looks like Пп (a bit like the Greek letter pi)

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Александр Сергеевич Пушкин) is considered first and foremost of the great Russian writers. He lived from 1799-1837 and in this short time wrote a large opus of poetry and prose. He is best known for his short stories and poems, the most famous of which is the "novel in verse" Eugene Onegin (Remember back to the letter E?).

O is for ochki

This vowel is pronounced like the English long "O" when stressed, and shortened to "ah" or "uh" when unstressed. In handwriting, it matches the English "O": Оо.

Очки ("ochki") are spectacles. Here they are being modeled by the brilliant early twentieth century writer Isaac Babel/ Исаак Бабель (1894-1940), author of the Red Cavalry cycle of short stories.

Н is for naushniki

This letter is pronounced like the English "N." In handwriting, it looks like Нн.

Hаушники ("naushniki") are things that go over one's ears, here they are the earflaps on Papa's ushanka hat which Volodya has just discovered make fun playthings.

М is for Maya (kovsky)

This letter is just like the English M, except that the lower-case version is identical to the upper-case version: Мм. It also looks different in handwriting: it begins unconnected at the bottom and has just two peaks: Мм.

Mayakovsky, full name Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky/Владимир Владимирович Маяковский, (1893-1930) was a preeminent poet of the Soviet Futurist movement. My cousin Kolya is a big fan of him, but I don't quite understand him myself.

Л is for luk

This letter is pronounced like the English L. Sometimes, it appears in a simpler form like an upside-down V. In handwriting, it looks like Лл. The little curl in the front is not connected to the preceding letter.

Лук (luk) is...an onion!

К is for kushyetka and kniga

Though made with a little extra flourish, this letter is indeed equivalent to the English Kk. In handwriting, it looks like Кк.

Кушетка (kushyetka) is couch and книгa (kniga) is book. Mama is reading me stories and poems from a book of the author Aleksandr Pushkin, while sitting on the couch.

Й is for iod

This letter is a variation on the last one, but shorter in sound. It is called an "i kratkaye" or "short ee." It often forms diphthongs, meaning it combines with another vowel to make one sound. In handwriting, it is the same as Ии, but with the short sign on top: Йй.

Йод (iod, pronounced "yode") is iodine, which was used as an antiseptic in years gone by. Few other words start with Йй!

И is for igrushki

This slightly familiar looking letter is actually a vowel that makes the "ee" sound. In handwriting, it resembles the English letter Uu: Ии.

Игрушки (igrushki) are toys! I have nesting dolls called матрёшки (matryoshki), Sasha has a traditional paddle toy with pecking chickens, and Volodya has a wooden doll that wobbles back and forth on a weighted base.

З is for zontik

This letter sounds like an English Z. In handwriting, it looks like Зз (much like a Z!).

Zontik (зонтик) is an umbrella!

Ж is for Zhar-ptitsa

This interesting-looking letter has no analog in English. It is pronounced like the "s" in "measure" or "pleasure" and transliterated as "zh." In handwriting, Жж looks like Жж.

Жар-птица (Zhar-ptitsa) is the name of a traditional being in Russian folklore known in English as the Firebird. You may be familiar with one of the legends of the Firebird from Igor Stravinsky's ballet. An adventurous prince encounters the creature while journeying in a magical realm and is given help in his quests in exchange for freeing the Firebird.

Ё is for yozh

This letter is sometimes not counted as separate from Ee, but the umlauts (two dots) indicate that it is pronounced "yo." In handwriting, it looks exactly like Ee, but with umlauts.

Ёж (yozh) is, of course, the word for hedgehog! There are several species of hedgehog found in Russia that vary in size, color, and ear length. We all like to eat insects and have spiny backs and most of us dig burrows.

Е is for Eugene Onegin

This vowel is pronounced "yeh" as in "yep" or "yen." When stressed, it sounds more like "yay." In handwriting, Ee looks like the English letter Ee in cursive: Ee.

Евгений Онегин/Eugene (Yevgeny) Onegin (1833) is the most famous work by the foremost of Russian writers, Aleksandr S. Pushkin. It is a "novel in verse" that tells the story of the titular bored and callow dandy and the quiet Tatyana who loves him ill-fatedly.

Д is for Dostoevsky

This letter is equivalent to the English Dd, although before some letters, it is pronounced more like a Tt. (Like with Вв and Гг, this is something to remember for later). Дд in handwriting can vary: it may resemble this: Дд or the small one may be made like the English little "g" in cursive.

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский/Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was one of the great Russian authors of the nineteenth century. He is remembered particularly for his suspenseful, brooding novels, including Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov.

Г is for gribi

This letter is equivalent to the English "G." (It is also the same as the uppercase Greek gamma!) The little one looks the same, except in handwriting, where Гг is made like Гг. Note: at the end of a word (and after some letters - like with Вв this is beyond the basics for now), it is pronounced more like a "k."

And грибы (gribi) are mushrooms! Not all of them are good to eat...

В is for valyenki

The third letter of the Cyrillic alphabet looks familiar...but don't be fooled! This is not a "B" (that was the previous letter!). Вв (see, the little one is not like in English) is actually equivalent to "V." So the word "валенки" (traditional Russian embroidered felt boots) is pronounced "valyenki." In handwriting, the letters look like this: Вв.

Some more notes on Вв:

-At the end of a word (and after some letters...but this is beyond the basics for now), it is softened to sound like "ff" (that's why some Russian names are written with this ending in English).

-The Russian equivalents of some English "B" names use this letter and become "V" names: Basil = Vasily; Barbara = Varvara. This is just a fun fact, but it can help you remember the B/V relationship.

Б is for balalaika

The second letter of the Cyrillic alphabet sounds like the second letter of the English alphabet (B), but is written differently, "Б." The lowercase is б, and in handwriting it looks like Б and б.

The balalaika (балалайка) is a traditional Russian stringed instrument that comes in different sizes and has three or six strings, but is always shaped like a triangle.

A is for Anna Karenina

The first letter of the Cyrillic alphabet is the same as that of the English alphabet, "A." The pronunciation is a bit different, being like the "a" in "father" when stressed, the "u" in "cup" when it comes before the stress and like the "a" in "about" most other times. To write this letter (for Russian handwriting is not quite the same as Russian printing), make it like this: Аа.

Анна Каренина/Anna Karenina (1877) is one of the great Russian novels by the 19th-century literary icon Leo Tolstoy. It paints a sweeping picture of upper-class Russian life from palace to farmland and centers on the intersecting romances and tribulations of memorable characters including the titular Anna, her illicit lover Count Vronsky, the young Princess Eketarina, and her humble but good-hearted suitor Levin.

[Pronunciation guide taken from The New Penguin Russian Course by Nicholas J. Brown]

Meet the Yozhins, part 1.

Zdravstvuyte! My name is Maria Fyodorovna Yozhina, but you can call me Masha. My middle name is called a patronymic because it comes from my papa's name, Fyodor.

I have two bratya, brothers. Their full names are Aleksandr Fyodorovich Yozhin and Vladimir Fyodorovich Yozhin, but we call them Sasha and Volodya. Sasha always calls me Moosha and I sometimes call him Sashechka. I wonder how Volodya will call us when he can talk (he's just a baby).

In my family there are also Mama, Papa, and Babushka, who is Papa's mama.

I have put everything here in English writing, but maybe you would like to know how to spell it in Russian (if you do not already know)? Well, our alphabet, called "Cyrillic," is not too hard to learn. I'll show you one day at a time! It can be fun, I promise.

Привет! Hi!

My Yozhin family drawings were so popular on Facebook that I decided to make them their own website! This summer, as I see how much Russian I can learn from a textbook in preparation for Slavic 1 next semester (and to stay sane for 3 months out of school! I live for academia), I will make posts with the Yozhins that illustrate the basics of the language (the alphabet, declensions, names, numbers, etc.) I will also make less didactic posts to tell the stories of the Yozhins. I hope you all enjoy!

An introduction to the Yozhins for anyone who stumbles across this page who isn't my friend on Facebook:

In the process of teaching myself the Cyrillic alphabet for fun (I came under the sway of Russomania last year) a few months back, I came across the Russian word for hedgehog, "ёж" ("yozh"). A brief e-conversation on the subject of Russian hedgehogs ensued with my hedgehog-loving friend Rachael and I began doing quick drawings of cartoon hedgehogs speaking Russian (the few words and phrases I know so far) in any free moment I could find (as a busy college student, many of these "free moments" were ones in which I should have been taking notes or studying, but oh well). I used a Photoshop-like program to color them in and used Facebook to share with my friends and family. I got such a positive response (and genuinely loved the drawings myself) that I decided to turn the drawings into a bigger project with the aim of helping myself (and maybe others) learn Russian (I'm taking classes with the aim of minoring in Russian literature) in a way that's cute and funny (how I think learning a language should be).