As one of the first Western ethnographers working in Moscow, Nancy Ries became convinced that talk is one crucial way in which Russian identity is constructed and reproduced. Listening to the grim stories people used to characterize their lives during perestroika, and encountering the florid pessimism with which Muscovites described the unraveling of Soviet governance, Ries realized that these dire tales played a crucial role in fabricating a sense of shared experience and destiny. While many of the narratives aptly depicted the chaotic social and political events, they also promoted key images of "Russianness" and presented Russian society as an inescapable realm of injustice, absurdity, and suffering. At the height of perestroika in the early 1990s, Moscow residents commonly used the phrase "complete ruin" to refer to the disintegration of Russian society, encompassing in that phrase the escalation of crime, the disappearance of goods from stores, the fall of production, ecological catastrophes, ethnic violence in the Caucasus, the degradation of the arts, and the flood of pornography. Ries argues that such stories became a genre of folklore consistent in their lamenting, portentous tone and their dramatic, culturally poignant details.

As one of the first Western ethnographers working in Moscow, Nancy Ries became convinced that talk is one crucial way in which Russian identity is constructed and reproduced. Listening to the grim stories people used to characterize their lives during perestroika, and encountering the florid pessimism with which Muscovites described the unraveling of Soviet governance, Ries realized that these dire tales played a crucial role in fabricating a sense of shared experience and destiny. While many of the narratives aptly depicted the chaotic social and political events, they also promoted key images of "Russianness" and presented Russian society as an inescapable realm of injustice, absurdity, and suffering. At the height of perestroika in the early 1990s, Moscow residents commonly used the phrase "complete ruin" to refer to the disintegration of Russian society, encompassing in that phrase the escalation of crime, the disappearance of goods from stores, the fall of production, ecological catastrophes, ethnic violence in the Caucasus, the degradation of the arts, and the flood of pornography. Ries argues that such stories became a genre of folklore consistent in their lamenting, portentous tone and their dramatic, culturally poignant details.

香港小學生常見病句大可以分成三大類：（一）措詞不當類；（二）違反邏輯思維類及（三）違反漢語語法類。 本書根據上述分點，收錄了香港小學生最常見的一百五十句病例。作者在每條病句下，並列出對應的粵口語和書面語，簡明分析孩子寫作時的心理狀況，如何受各種因素的影響，循循善誘，為家長與中文導師講述如何幫助孩子糾正錯誤，讓他們輕輕鬆鬆學習寫作。

When face-to-face with a real Russian speaker, do you freeze? Do you know how to ask for directions in Russian or communicate if there's an emergency? If your answer to any of the previous questions was 'Yes', then this book is for you! If there's anything more challenging than learning the grammar rules of a new language, it's knowing what to say and having the courage to speak with confidence. We know how you feel - You always try to avoid making embarrassing mistakes or not getting your message through correctly, but it will happen anyway. 'How do I get out of this situation?', You may ask yourself, but have yet to find a straight-forward answer. Until now. We have compiled 50 Russian Stories along with their translations, providing new Russian speakers with the necessary tools to begin effectively studying how to set a meeting, how to check into a hotel and even what to say during an emergency! Our Russian dialogues get straight to the point saving you precious time. There's no benefit learning words and phrases you will never actually use! If you want to learn Russian quickly and have a ton of fun along the way, obviously, this book is for you! How Conversational Russian Dialogues works: • Each new chapter will have a fresh, new story between two or more people who wish to solve a common, day-to-day problem that you will most likely experience in real life. • A Russian version of the conversation will take place first, followed by an English translation. This ensures that you fully understood just what it was that they were saying! • Before and after the main section of the book, we shall provide you with an introduction and conclusion that will offer you important strategies, tips and tricks to allow you to get the absolute most out of this learning material. • That's about it! Simple, useful and incredibly helpful; you will NOT need another conversational Russian book once you have started reading and studying this one! Focus on getting from zero to conversationally fluent, so you can: -Travel or live in Russia or any Russian speaking country without relying on Google Translate -Join Russian conversations with your Russian speaking coworkers, friends, or family members -Date Russian-speakers without embarrassing yourself -Stop getting passed over for jobs or promotions for less-qualified people who are bilingual We want you to feel confident while learning Russian; after all, there should never be a language barrier stopping you from traveling around the world and expanding your social circles! So look no further! Grab your copy of Conversational Russian Dialogues and start learning Russian right now!

These short language courses are intended for absolute beginners, and can be used by adults learning at home or in a class. An audio disc is included.

Talk Russian Enhanced eBook (with audio) - Learn Russian with BBC Active The bestselling way to make learning Russian easy "Determined to learn the language but no time for nightschool? Try the BBC Talk short courses." The Guardian Learn even faster and smarter with the flexibility, speed and convenience of this enhanced eBook. Everything you need is just where you need it: navigate the book with ease, practise your listening and speaking skills, test your progress and access valuable language notes all with one touch from the page you're on. Talk Russian has already inspired thousands of people to learn Russian from scratch and find the confidence to give it a go. It is a bestselling course, widely used both in the classroom and by independent learners. Make fast progress right from the start using the successful, proven Talk method - with specially designed activities, interactive audio and clear, jargon-free grammar explanations. Develop your language skills with tips and strategies to help you learn. Express yourself more confidently through taking part in real Russian conversations. Whether you're learning for business, travel or just for fun, this straightforward, step-by-step approach will ensure you're soon able to speak Russian in a range of everyday situations. Learner reviews of the book/CD version of Talk Russian: "The best "teach yourself" course I have ever used." "Super for everyone, even those who struggle with languages." "Found this item very useful in my Russian language course. It was highly recommended by my tutor and easy to see why." Also available in Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish .

The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey. It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.