I am sure honey,m that your grasp of the grammer is far greater than mine wil ever be :o) You grew up speaking Ukrainian and writing it too, so if you see errors you would know they are wrong, I on the other hand wouldnt know if a sentence was gramatically correct or not and what words were wrong, so the electronic gizmo is of no use to me, or to most of us here for that matter !!
I'll be comfortable enough with a 'normal' dictionary in my pocket (no bulge gags) and prepared 'crib sheet' if my mind goes blank. Most situations are likely quite common and expected so preparing for them can't be that difficult.
:))) But you don't have to worry about grammar that much, as we all here speak not the correct Russian, but some kind of slang, and when one speaks he does't pay much attention to grammar. Of course when writing it's a need to follow at least some grammar, but I'm sure any good girl woulnd't mind mistakes in grammar, as it's not the most important thing:)))
Having used mail.ru translator on my web mail with them, often when translating from Russian to English it will give as many as 8 variables for the word which has been used in Russian !!! Thats 7 too many for me to decide which on it should be !!!
trad:
I think most electronic translators were designed by dyslexic idiots who bunked school at every opportunity!!
But it does make for some interesting if quaint reading!!.....:))
Could have been written by Mr Chumley-Warner and Mr Grayson :o))
I know exactly what you mean Trad :o)
Almost as if the people who wrote the translating software are using a 1952 English dictionary ;o))
LINGO PACIFICA TALK - Ten Languages Talking Translator
English
German
French
Espanish
Italian
Portug uese
Russian
Chinese
Korean
Japanese
I just got it from the Sharper Image store in Fashion Island, Newport Beach. U$S 200 + local tax.
I've been practicing with it in several languages and I'm having fun.
I figured that I can use it in Russian to find a wife and the others to help me translate the menus when I take her out to eat at the southern California restaurants...:))))
TimH and Olga are right about these things, you cannot beat the strength of the methodology of languages lessons, whichever form you choose....but in a pinch, the electronic translator should help a bit.
Pronunciation has been the one feature I have seen lacking on these units. The ones I have seen only do english. I am more curious if there are those that do Russian pronunciation, how accurate are they.
Again, the point is not a substitute, but a guide for situations you are unfamiliar with until you have a better grasp.
The best of both worlds is to have a Russian speaking friend you can practice with until you can carry on a somewhat normal conversation. I don't have that luxuray at this point.
Until then, read, listen, and practice are the rules for me.