Why learn Russian - or Cyrillic - what use is it to me?

 I am an aspiring polyglot (speaker of many languages. One of the challenging languages for me has always been Cyrillic. That language or font is used in Russian but also in 50 other places or languages, in Bulgaria and Ukraine. I found this out first when on holiday in Bulgaria. Then I saw signs welcoming and directing Ukrainians at British airports. 

I am now researching languages for my educational speeches at my Toastmasters prospective club called LILT. We are working whrough the alphabet of languages and have readhed R for Russian. 

I have discovered nemous sources and resources. The challenges are translating the names of cities on maps and Wikipedia articles and websites for tourists, restaurants' names and menus, items for sale in online supermarkets, wine suppliers, souvenir shops. 

History and geogrphy are alo other places wheere thr writing is a hallenge to decipher, 

Joys of Deciphering

But a joy wheen you unlock the secrets of Cyrillic. I spot the name of a museum in a photo. 

I recognize names on postage stamps. 

Or the name of a stadium in a news article such as one about the tragic deaths in Russia at the stadium in Moscow.

Each time I open an article on the web, I check for the Cyrillic for the name, recognize it and say it.

Useful Resources

duolingo

Trilingual 888 English German Russian

Lonely Planet Eastern Europe Phrasebook

LILT meeting Sundayy 31 March, 2024, 2.30 UK time, 9.30 Singapore time. Contact Angela Lansbury or Carolyn Street through Facebook or Linked-In or Toastmasters International or WhatsApp or their other clubs such as Singapore Advancity, TCA, UK Harrovians and HOD.