Sol's New Russian & Korean Log

[aaleks]

That reminds me, why are Soviet cartoons so popular in Russia?

Because they are really good, kind and of a good quality, from my native-Russian point of view Some of them might seem too simple and naive, but that are the ones of things that make them so appealing.

[Sol]

That reminds me, why are Soviet cartoons so popular in Russia?

Because they are really good, kind and of a good quality, from my native-Russian point of view Some of them might seem too simple and naive, but that are the ones of things that make them so appealing.

Even though I haven't even been to Russia they give me a sense of nostalgia. Are they still shown on Russian TV?

[aaleks]

Are they still shown on Russian TV?

Yes. I can't say how often, but I' seen, for example, Ну, погоди! on kids’ tv-channel Карусель.

Even though I haven't even been to Russia they give me a sense of nostalgia.

They always give me this sense, as and Soviet kids’ tv-movies like Гостья из будущего or Приключения Электроника and so one .

[Evita]

Huh, so I've been reading on ~던 and how it indicates a past action that you are remembering that happened multiple times and may still be carrying on today.

-던 is used in two ways with verbs. The first way directly corresponds to the English "used to":

This is the school that I used to go to. -> 여기 제가 다니던 학교예요.

The second usage is a bit harder to explain. This is not about regular actions, it's about something that happened once - relatively recently - and didn't finish. Usually there's a time word in the sentence:

어제 보던 영화 - the movie that I was watching yesterday (and didn't finish)

[Sol]

Huh, so I've been reading on ~던 and how it indicates a past action that you are remembering that happened multiple times and may still be carrying on today.

-던 is used in two ways with verbs. The first way directly corresponds to the English "used to":

This is the school that I used to go to. -> 여기 제가 다니던 학교예요.

The second usage is a bit harder to explain. This is not about regular actions, it's about something that happened once - relatively recently - and didn't finish. Usually there's a time word in the sentence:

어제 보던 영화 - the movie that I was watching yesterday (and didn't finish)

Thank you for that explanation! It's one of the clearest I've seen!

[Sol]

Today I continued with the ~던 exercises and learned ~았/었던. The lessons really picked up the pace! Thinking about how many there are left and how complicated it will get makes me nervous!

But seriously, look how compact Korean is compared to English:
고장으로 계속 멈추는 버스를 탔던 승객들이 다른 버스를 탔어요
The passengers who had been riding the bus that kept stopping because it is/was broken got on another bus

9 words vs 19

I've intensified the Russian studies since it seems to be absorbing really well. Lingvist is amazing. I also downloaded Tandem and am now talking to ~10 Russians! I had a rather intense session of Russian chats, because I surprisingly understand a ton when reading, but need heavy usage of Google Translate to communicate I love how they use ) for a smiley rather than . I once asked a Russian why this was and she said that it's easier. I love Russian so much!

Also if anyone knows anything like Viki but for Russian shows/movies, please tell me! I'm having trouble finding subbed Russian content.

[aaleks]

I love how they use ) for a smiley rather than . I once asked a Russian why this was and she said that it's easier.

Yes, we do so). I constantly have to stop myself and not to use ")" or ")))" instead of and here on the forum. Although for me these types of smiles are not interchangeable and on Russian forums or social sites (like vk) I use both, depending on what the emotion I want to convey.

[Sol]

I love how they use ) for a smiley rather than . I once asked a Russian why this was and she said that it's easier.

Yes, we do so). I constantly have to stop myself and not to use ")" or ")))" instead of and here on the forum. Although for me these types of smiles are not interchangeable and on Russian forums or social sites (like vk) I use both, depending on what the emotion I want to convey.

At first I thought...what is this? Why do Russians keep writing )) ) )))? I see it's a complex art with many nuances.

[Sol]

Also I just found a REALLY good resource for Russian. It's YT videos, subbed in English. They have movies and dramas, and documentaries. I'm watching one on space.

Here's the channel with English subs available, and this one has more videos but not all of them have subs.

[Sol]

Wow, Tandem is great. Yesterday I found myself juggling multiple languages at once as I was talking to Russians and Koreans, occasionally switching to English and talking to my cousin in Bulgarian. Russian conversation isn't as hard as I'd have thought, texting anyway. I understand almost anything.

The Russian past tense confuses me because it looks like the Bulgarian inferential mood.

говорил (RU): he spoke
говорил (BG): he spoke (but you didn't witness it yourself or aren't certain about it)

So listening to the Russian past tense always sounds like someone's retelling something they're not sure about. I wonder if Russian has a similar tense/mood.