Уро́к 1
1.3 Пра́ктика! – Your name
Пра́ктика!
Transcribing YOUR NAME
Let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about YOU. It’s time.
Now that you’ve learned all the letters, let’s transcribe YOUR name into Russian!!!
How do you do that?
Think…what does your name ‘sound‘ like? Don’t get caught up in how your name is spelled in English. You don’t want to transcribe letters that are not actually pronounced. You (probably) want to transcribe according to how your name sounds.
There are many names that have equivalents in Russian. Take a look at this non-exhaustive list and see if you can find yours.
If you don’t find yours, you are going to need to figure out how to transcribe it.
Например:
Take a look at the following names and how they’re transcribed. Try reading the Russian to yourself. Does it sound right?
Part 1. Some names will have a near one-to-one transcription:
| English spelling | Transcription from sound to letter(s): |
| Amanda | Ама́нда |
| Lauren | Ла́урен / Ло́рен (the ‘au’ in this name can be pronounced differently) |
| Melissa | Мели́сса |
| Carmen | Ка́рмен |
| Jorge | Хо́рхе |
| Max | Макс (‘x’ is really two sounds) |
| Steven | Сти́вен (the ‘e’ has two different sounds in this name!) |
| Ron | Ран / Рон (how does ‘a’ vs ‘o’ in the transcription change this name?) |
| Kyle | Кайл (the ‘y’ is like a long ‘i’ in English here and in Russian is represented with two letters) |
| Emily | Э́мили (Э is preferred here because E sounds like ‘ye’) |
| Sara(h) | Се́ра / Са́ра (the final ‘h’ is not pronounced, so it shouldn’t appear) |
| Michelle | Мише́ль (in Russian a final soft sign ‘ь’ is added) |
Part 2. Other names have sounds (or letters) that don’t occur the same way in Russian:
| English spelling | Transcription for sounds that don’t perfectly line up with Russian |
| Heather | Хе́зер / Хе́дер / Хи́тер (the ‘th’ sounds doesn’t occur in Russian, so it can be transcribed in various ways, depending on preference) |
| Beth | Бет |
| Jason | Дже́йсон (the sound ‘j’ in English can be transcribed with a compound ‘дж’) |
| Jack | Джэк (short ‘a’ in English is often written as ‘э’ in Russian |
| Will | Уил (if you say this to yourself, you’ll see that ‘w’ is really ‘u’ + the vowel that follows) |
| Margot | Ма́рго (the final ‘t’ not pronounced, so it shouldn’t appear in Russian) |
| Nate | Нейт (the ‘a’ is long in English and is transcribed with two letters; the final ‘e’ is not pronounced) |
Part 3. Other names have a common Russian equivalent. You may want to use it or transcribe your name according to how it sounds:
| English spelling | Transcription of names with a common Russian equivalent |
| Nicholas (Nick) | Никола́й (Ко́ля) or Ни́колас (Ник) |
| George | Юрий / Гео́ргий or Джордж |
| Jonathan (John) | Ива́н (Ва́ня) or Джо́натан (Джон) |
| Michael (Mike) | Михаи́л (Ми́ша) or Ма́йкл (Майк) |
| Mathew (Matt) | Матве́й or Мэ́ттью (Мэт) |
| Andrew (Drew / Andy) | Андре́й or А́ндрю / Э́ндрю (Дрю / Э́нди) |
| Christian | Кристиа́н or Кри́счан |
| Anne / Anna | А́нна (А́ня) or Эн |
| Maria | Мари́я (Ма́ша) |
| Catherine | Екатери́на (Ка́тя) or Катри́н (Ка́ти / Кейт / Ке́йти) |
| Elaine | Еле́на (Ле́на) or Эле́йн |
| Natalie | Ната́лья (Ната́ша) or На́тали |
| Julie / Julia | Ю́лья (Ю́ля) or Джу́лия / Джу́ли |
Obviously, these are NOT exhaustive lists, but they are meant to give you an idea of how to transcribe your name according to sound, which often requires some creativity. You might also consider using the Russian equivalent of your name. It’s up to you!
