Russia 18

Listen to Russia 18, a 23-year-old woman from Moscow, Russia. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 23

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 05/09/1996

PLACE OF BIRTH: Moscow

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Russian/White

OCCUPATION: none

EDUCATION: postgraduate

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS: none

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject teaches English and French, and also speaks Spanish. She says she has purposely acquired an RP (Received Pronunciation) accent of English while at university. (In this regard, she is not representative of a typical Russian accent but is instead an example of someone who has worked to master a British dialect.)

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Ivan Masterov

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 11/05/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I was born in Moscow, and I’ve lived here all my life. Ah, I started learning English when I was five and attended my local school. There the teacher told me that I had a knack for languages. So, after some time, I changed schools and, eh, started learning French as well. By the end of my school I, ah, was able to understand both spoken and written English. However, my own pronunciation left much to be desired. Still, it didn’t prevent me from entering Moscow State Pedagogical University and graduating with honors as a teacher of English and French. There I was taught the RP variation of English, and I’m still, eh, trying to stick to it. Oh, finally, it should be noted that I’ve never been to English-speaking countries, I’ve never lived abroad, and, uh, used English mainly for talking to non-native speakers of English. Thank you for your attention.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Ivan Masterov

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 11/05/2020

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.

• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here, please go to Other Dialect Services.