Reading in another language

It really takes a long time. All I can say is stick with it. Spanish and other romance languages are fun because of the roots though - maybe make a game with new words where you try to guess the origin and/or related English words?

You can also buy parallel translations and just look at the other page when you get stuck (though for me it's tempting to read the English even when I'm not stuck, so I have to cover it with a large bookmark). It's faster than using a dictionary, and some even come with translators' notes.

You can get intermediate/advanced "readers" that have footnotes for difficult words at the bottom of the page. I have one for French that really helped in my second year. Unfortunately, most of these are superlatively boring.

Seriously though, the biggest suggestion I can give is to persevere. Building vocabulary takes time and effort, especially high level vocab. Don't read texts that will screw you over until you've built some confidence with grade-school kids' books (seriously, often they combine complicated grammar with decent vocab). Maybe a book of Mexican folktales or something?

Good luck with your studies!

I've used English daily through the Internet for ~10 years but I wouldn't say I grasped it enough for serious reading until maybe 4-5 years ago. It's a huge amount of work and I don't recommend it unless you're learning a really common, everyday easy language like English is. Even when you grasp the contemporary usage of a language, reading something pre-20th century can totally throw you off and make you feel clueless.

>Been learning russian for 5 months
>can browse and post on the Russian 4chan (дчa.ч) without much difficulty
>take a look ay the first page of war and peace with a bilingual reader
>understand maybe a quarter of the Russian at best

After hitting it with a dictionary for like half an hour I had the first coupl paragraphs down. Translations change it a lot. Tolstoy isn't done justice by English translations. He writes beautifully. It's a shame about all the French though. I didn't get a word of that.

Who "learning languages just for books" here?

Would you consider it patrish to do so?

Have you succeeded at it?

Do you think that as a motivation it makes it harder to succeed?

>>8471765
That's funny, I'm the opposite. I can sometimes read a full page of Tolstoy but I'm incapable of understanding people having a casual conversation or shitposting in Russian. I tried discussing with Russians online and it made me feel like I had just started learning the language.

>It's a shame about all the French though.
I guess it's frustrating when you don't know French but it makes the text so much more rewarding when you do. Like when you can read Lolita without needing a shit-ton of notes. French is everywhere in 19th century Russian lit man.

>>8472213

It's not to say I understand most of the words on the Russian equivalent of this place, as I don't, but because I can get the gist of what's being said 90% of the time it has been great for increasing vocab. What I find with Tolstoy is that he employs a vocab so far beyond my own that context just doesn't help me very much.

My listening is utter dogshit though, desperately need a way to improve it.

Also yeah, I'm planning on learning French after Russian, as I'm interested in it as well. I don't think commitment will be a problem for me, as the hour or two I commit to learning the language daily has been extremely rewarding for me.
How long have you been learning Russian?

>>8471765
>>8472213
I was thinking of learning Russian, do you think it's worthwhile? I can only think of using it for reading a few books and shitposting.

>>8471675
>OP
Raised bilingually, so it wasn't a problem for me.

Regret being American yet.

>>8472213
Ho мoжeшь ли ты пpoчecть Улиcca нa pyccкoм?

>>8472317

Well I've had fun with it. I can't say it'll necessarily be worthwhile, but I'll eventually get to read some books so that'll be on.

>>8471675
I'd say about 3 years. By then, I began to understand complex Spanish verb tenses and vocabulary. However, I had an awesome teacher and many Spanish-speaking "friends".

Protip: You'll always find new words in a language. Highlight them, find the definition, and write it down. Make a list of all the words you don't know and you'll eventually master them. Also if you want to read better, you must also WRITE better. Practice writing in your new language alongside reading everyday. Watch/listen to media in that language as well.

>>8472296
>What I find with Tolstoy is that he employs a vocab so far beyond my own that context just doesn't help me very much.
Tolstoy isn't the worst, as far as vocabulary and phrase structure go. It's a bit early for you if you've only been studying Russian for five months of course, but short stories like the Kreutzer Sonata or Father Sergius are relatively easy reads. Lots of vocabulary to learn in the first pages but after a while it gets simple.

>How long have you been learning Russian?
About two years, with a few months of doing nothing. I think I have the grammar down now, I just improve by reading in Russian as much as I can and learning at least 10 new words every day. My studies have been 100% focused on reading literature though, I can barely write or understand spoken Russian.

>>8472361

зaчeм вы?

>>8471675
>I have been trying to learn a second language for over a year now, and have read several books (mostly easier ones I had already read in English), but still find myself looking up 2-3 words that I can't figure out with context clues per page. Especially when I begin a new book, getting used to the author's style and vocabulary is frustrating.
That's how you learn though. Add every new word in a Memrise course and work on it every day. Obviously it's going to be frustrating at first, that's what learning a language feels like. Don't worry about it, be patient.

>>8471911
i learned french to read it. learning a language specifically to read books in that language is perhaps the most patrish thing a person can possibly do.

>>8471675
Never. Why is using a dictionary so scary? Skim read through the page, only looking up words that come up multiple times, then ask yourself at the end what happened? Then go through and read important parts more carefully, taking words that are important for comprehension of the situation going on.

Once you get used to using a dictionary it really doesn't take long or take anything away from what you're reading.

>>8472317
Unless you're going to live in another country or you have a gf/family, what better reason is there to learn a language other than lit and shit posting?

>>8471675
My advice is to read extremely short things if you don't master the language.

Read aphorisms (and tweets!), so you won't get disturbed with "breaking the flow" when you don't know a word.

Suggested authors: Nietzsche or Lichtenberg in German, Gomez Davila in Spanish, La Rochefoucauld or Vauvenargues in French, etc.

Then when your level gets better, read short poetry and short stories. Then when you're excellent: novels, plays and essays.

You will not improve if you don't practice, so "how long does it take" depends on you only.