How to Fake a Thick Russian Accent

Roll your /r/., Replace the sound /th/ with the sound /d/., Pronounce ending consonant sounds /d/, /v/, and /z/, as /t/, /f/, and /s/., Pronounce the vowel sound used in words like "In" more like the vowel in "Seen"., Pronounce the short "o" sound...

9 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Roll your /r/.

    As with many European languages, the /r/ is rolled or trilled in Russian.

    So, when you are speaking English with a Russian accent, make sure you roll your Rs.

    Doing this consistently will make the accent sound more authentic.

    Don’t trill your /r/ for too long, as this will make the accent sound fake.For instance, when you say the word "very," you will roll the /r/.

    It may come out sounding like a "d" at first, but with practice you can get the rolling sound down.
  2. Step 2: Replace the sound /th/ with the sound /d/.

    So instead of saying "this," say "dis." If you do this, it will help enhance your thick Russian accent.

    Don't do this if you want to portray a lighter Russian accent.

    This is not true at the ends of words, as in Russian, consonants are not voiced at the ends of words.

    Instead pronounce /th/ as /t/.

    For instance, you would say, "cot" for the word "cod" (the fish) instead of "coth."

    In Russian, the consonants at the ends of words are not voiced.

    You would pronounce 'breeze' as 'breese.' Doing this will make your accent sound thicker.For instance, "love" becomes "lof" and "clod" becomes "clot."

    "I will make this thing bigger" would become "I weel make thees theeng beegger." This is because the long "i" vowel sound occurs infrequently in Russian, so a native Russian speaker who is new to English will be more likely to say "ee" instead of the long "i" sound., In English, the sound is a diphthong, and you actually pronounce the sounds of "o" and "u," though the latter is very soft.

    For instance the word "boat" becomes much shorter, more like "bote." As we don't use the sound in English often, it is important to listen to native speakers of Russian., Because the /w/ sound is not frequent in Russian, it can be difficult for Russian ELLs(English Language Learners) to pick up.

    While a lot of people usually only change the /w/ to /v/, the error can go both ways.

    Therefore, a more passable accent should contain both types of errors.

    For instance, you could say, "Vere is my west?" for "Where is my vest?"
  3. Step 3: Pronounce ending consonant sounds /d/

  4. Step 4: and /z/

  5. Step 5: as /t/

  6. Step 6: and /s/.

  7. Step 7: Pronounce the vowel sound used in words like "In" more like the vowel in "Seen".

  8. Step 8: Pronounce the short "o" sound in a clipped way.

  9. Step 9: Pronounce initial /w/ as /v/ or vice versa.

Detailed Guide

As with many European languages, the /r/ is rolled or trilled in Russian.

So, when you are speaking English with a Russian accent, make sure you roll your Rs.

Doing this consistently will make the accent sound more authentic.

Don’t trill your /r/ for too long, as this will make the accent sound fake.For instance, when you say the word "very," you will roll the /r/.

It may come out sounding like a "d" at first, but with practice you can get the rolling sound down.

So instead of saying "this," say "dis." If you do this, it will help enhance your thick Russian accent.

Don't do this if you want to portray a lighter Russian accent.

This is not true at the ends of words, as in Russian, consonants are not voiced at the ends of words.

Instead pronounce /th/ as /t/.

For instance, you would say, "cot" for the word "cod" (the fish) instead of "coth."

In Russian, the consonants at the ends of words are not voiced.

You would pronounce 'breeze' as 'breese.' Doing this will make your accent sound thicker.For instance, "love" becomes "lof" and "clod" becomes "clot."

"I will make this thing bigger" would become "I weel make thees theeng beegger." This is because the long "i" vowel sound occurs infrequently in Russian, so a native Russian speaker who is new to English will be more likely to say "ee" instead of the long "i" sound., In English, the sound is a diphthong, and you actually pronounce the sounds of "o" and "u," though the latter is very soft.

For instance the word "boat" becomes much shorter, more like "bote." As we don't use the sound in English often, it is important to listen to native speakers of Russian., Because the /w/ sound is not frequent in Russian, it can be difficult for Russian ELLs(English Language Learners) to pick up.

While a lot of people usually only change the /w/ to /v/, the error can go both ways.

Therefore, a more passable accent should contain both types of errors.

For instance, you could say, "Vere is my west?" for "Where is my vest?"

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Jack Stone

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