# about the alphabet



## kuroda

hello every one

I have one point about the alphabet!
I've memorized the alphabet of the language but when I started to write it in the reall life my russian friend told me that '' you can't write them with this way because it is different''

so my question is, how can I write them ? and why there are tow forms for russian alphabet ?

spacibo


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## rusita preciosa

I'm not sure what you are asking. Can you give a specific example?
Russian spelling is one of the most phonetic spellings I know (that's when the words are written pretty much as they are pronounced). Like in any language, there are exceptions, but once you master the alphabet, you should be able to spell most of the words


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## morzh

kuroda said:


> hello every one
> 
> I have one point about the alphabet!
> I've memorized the alphabet of the language but when I started to write it in the reall life my russian friend told me that '' you can't write them with this way because it is different''
> 
> so my question is, how can I write them ? and why there are tow forms for russian alphabet ?
> 
> spacibo





The way your question is asked, I am not sure if you understood what you've written yourself, but I surely have not. It is a general show of respect to others to try to ask questions so they are easily understood by those whom you want to answer them.

Now, I will make a feeble attempt to answer what I think it is you are asking. I am not sure what your "russian friend" told you, but one thing is for sure: as long as you write Russian Cyrillic Characters (А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З etc), no matter what style you use, printed, "drafting", calligraphic, Gothic-styled, there is NO WRONG WAY of writing the alphabet. 

If however you decide to phonetically write Russian letters through using Latin/Arabic/Devanagari/Babylonian or whatever else abjad/abugida/alphabet or cuneiform is there - well, then, no - you cannot use that.

This is it.


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## Welshie

Perhaps he is referring to the difference between printed characters and handwritten characters. For example, the letter д being written something like _g_.


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## Nanon

If so, that reminds me of this old thread, among others.
When I tried to begin learning Arabic some time ago (I might begin again in the future - that's another story), we were taught to write the letters the way they are printed, more or less. That may be the difference.


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## kuroda

Welshie said:


> Perhaps he is referring to the difference between printed characters and handwritten characters. For example, the letter д being written something like _g_.






Nanon said:


> If so, that reminds me of this old thread, among others.
> When I tried to begin learning Arabic some time ago (I might begin again in the future - that's another story), we were taught to write the letters the way they are printed, more or less. That may be the difference.



yes that's exactly what I mean

the different between the handwriting and the authentic one !

I found many letters written in different way like this one д


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## Nanon

Authentic? Don't forget that printing was invented after handwriting ... 
Joined-up (cursive) handwriting in Latin script makes letters look a little different, too.
Here is a model to practice.


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## kuroda

ohhhh it's look exacerbate

thx


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## Vasiliy

Do Russians actually use the handwriting? Or do they use this when writing with hand?; А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж etc. Instead of the written form? I heard alot of people do so, because it sometimes gets hard to read otherwise?


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## morzh

Vasiliy said:


> Do Russians actually use the handwriting? Or do they use this when writing with hand?; А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж etc. Instead of the written form? I heard alot of people do so, because it sometimes gets hard to read otherwise?



Not only is Russia famous for its bears on the streets, but now also for Russians who do not use handwriting.

How is Cyrillic any worse in handwritten form than any version of Latin alphabet? Why would Russians not use handwriting? Or did using typewriters heavily by Russians since 15-th century and mass-producing computers since mid 19-th century make them unlearn how to write in longhand?


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## rusita preciosa

I did not understand you question, Vasiliy *(is this** a thread of obscure inquiries??).* 

We do use *cursive *when we write by hand. The cursive is one of the first things that is taught at school (very extensively and rigorousely) and the habit usually stays. To me, it is much more difficult and time-consuming to print my letters when I write by hand than to write in cursive (although, to be honest, I do not remember when was the last time I wrote anything by hand).


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## Vasiliy

morzh said:


> Not only is Russia famous for its bears on the streets, but now also for Russians who do not use handwriting.
> 
> How is Cyrillic any worse in handwritten form than any version of Latin alphabet? Why would Russians not use handwriting? Or did using typewriters heavily by Russians since 15-th century and mass-producing computers since mid 19-th century make them unlearn how to write in longhand?


 
I'm sorry, didnt meant to offend you. But i know alot of people who write printed Latin letters. Because of the reason that it gets hard to read.


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## rusita preciosa

I also want to clear the confusion of terms here. 
*Cursive:* the font people usually use in handwriting. See the link in Nanon's post #7, it is the second set of characters for each letter. 
*Printed:* the font that is usually used in print, but also can be reproduced in handwriting. In Nanon's link it is the first set of characters for each letter.


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## rusita preciosa

Vasiliy said:


> I'm sorry, didnt meant to offend you. But i know alot of people who write printed Latin letters. Because of the reason that it gets hard to read.


I guess, in Russia mostly very young children print their letters when they just learn how to write by hand. Once they start school and become "big kids", cursive becomes a habit. I understand how it is hard for non-natives to understand cursive since each person "interpretes" the cursive and has own style.


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## morzh

Vasiliy said:


> I'm sorry, didnt meant to offend you. But i know alot of people who write printed Latin letters. Because of the reason that it gets hard to read.



No offense here. We all know lots of people who choose to use "printed" style, since many people have awful handwriting (me being one of them). However most people when doing handwriting still use cursive, and even here in US, where people are truly awful at handwriting (our schools here do not emphasize it too much) they still do it. 
And Russian school tradition still tries to teach some calligraphy.

Naturally, with the advent of computers, and e-mail taking over, most people will stop writing with pencil and paper eventually, but I don't see it happening anywhere well ahead of any other place, with the approx. the same rate of computers proliferation and the alphabets being similar in difficulty.


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## cyanista

*Mod note*

Please feel free to continue the discussion in the abovementioned thread on the same topic:* Russian: Handwriting.

* This thread of obscure enquiries is now closed.


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