Tips for learning Ukrainian

[Ashleigh]

I am trying to learn Ukrainian. I had bought some language courses but a lot of them just teach you phrases instead of teaching you how to structure a sentence. I am currently waiting for a pimsleur course to come as I tried a test session and found it to be more useful.
Is there any cartoons, shows that anyone would recommend that are easily accessible on the Internet for someone from the Uk to help me learn or does anyone have any tips of what I could do?

I tried looking at news articles but I felt overwhelmed with the amount of words that I didn't know and it left me a little disheartened. I am travelling in Ukraine in May so I don't have too much longer to study.

[Pitter Pen]

If you are limited with time, then I think you should learn words that pertain to the purpose of your visit?

Ukrainian folk tales пёп╨я─п╟я≈пҐя│я▄п╨я√ пҐп╟я─п╬пЄпҐя√ п╨п╟пЇп╨п╦

It is harder with cartoons as most of them are in Russian. Just try to watch any Ukrainian tv channel on the Internet and listen to radio. Here is one п²п╬п╡п╦пҐп╦ | пёп╨я─п╟я≈пҐя│я▄п╨п╟ п║п╩я┐пІп╠п╟ п⌠п╬п╩п╬я│я┐ п░п╪п╣я─п╦п╨п╦

Here is another tv channel цНКНБМЮ | 5 ЙЮМЮК

[AkMike]

Try using this link for Polyglot.
Polyglot - Free language lessons online, Learn English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Russian-Internet Polyglot

Sentence structure isn't rigid like english. There you can say balck cat or cat black w/o problems. . It changes the emphasis of it some but everyone will understand.

[eyegab]

Originally Posted by AkMike

Try using this link for Polyglot.
Polyglot - Free language lessons online, Learn English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Russian-Internet Polyglot

Sentence structure isn't rigid like english. There you can say balck cat or cat black w/o problems. . It changes the emphasis of it some but everyone will understand.

It would be nice if the cyrilic alphabet had corresponding letters in english. I don't get backward "r"s and chinese looking "t"s and a whole slew of other symbols. I had a book of russian to english and back again and it was confusing.

The language barrier was certainly an effective way of cutting people off from each other. Won't it be nice when God repairs that little hangup?

[AkMike]

You just have to learn a differnt language.. The confusion is part of it but you get used to it.

I'm to the point that I can read a lot of the words but I can't remember WTF it means...

[Ashleigh]

Thanks, I will have a look at those links. I know the alphabet and can write them easy enough so that's one thing. It is the grammar that I find difficult, they way that the end of the words change.

[НазарМ]

Hi Ashleigh. Here is some tips in regards of Ukrainian. First of all, sequence of the words doesn't really matter! That's quite a relief, because one doesn't have to worry much about it when constructing a sentence. For example: Я тебе кохаю як весну. Як весну я тебе кохаю. Кохаю тебе я як весну. Я як весну тебе кохаю... All of them mean the same "I love you like (a) spring". The major difficulty though is conjugation. It comes with practice. There are only present, future and past! in Ukrainian with no continuous, perfect, future continuous, imperfect, which again is great and simplifies the learning process. My suggestion would be to build some word foundation and at the same time learn to write some simple sentences incorporating the learnt words so that they are not out of context. Listening to the radio and TV (as was suggested by Pitter Pen), even when no understanding at first, will help you with conjugating verbs. I know it is not much, but might be helpful. Please, let me know of your progress and any other difficulties that you encounter. Always happy to help out. Happy New Year, Ashleigh