Runglish 
Russian English

What is Runglish?

The term Runglish stands for Russian English, i.e. the variety of English spoken by Russian native speakers, of whom there are over 150 million living in over 15 countries.

Where are Russian and Runglish spoken?

Russian is the official language of Russia (the Russian Federation), Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kirghizia, it does not have an official status but is spoken by a vast majority of those living in Ukraine, Moldova (former Moldavia), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It is also spoken in Transnistria (Moldova), Abkhazia (Georgia), South Ossetia (Georgia), Israel, and Alaska (USA).
There are quite many Russian-speaking communities in Europe, particularly France, and the USA (the best known being Brighton Beach).

Runglish, British and American English

All Russian native speakers naturally speak Runglish instead of English, the variety being quite widely spread (about 100-150 million speakers).
Runglish has distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. It is basically closer to British than American English (since the majority of Russian mother-tongue speakers live in Europe and therefore learn British English). British pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and punctuation are educational standards in Russian schools and universities, American English is now gradually removing British English, though. Use of American English is typical of the speech of those living in Moscow and St Petersburg, whereas residents of other cities, e.g. Ekaterinburg (American spelling Yekaterinburg), Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk etc, prefer British English.

What differences are there between Runglish and English?


Runglish Pronunciation
-        Short and long vowels (hit and heat) are not distinguished.
-        Open and close vowels (pan and pen) are not distinguished.
-        /i:/, /?/, and /j/ sounds make the preceding consonants palatalized.
-        Voiced and voiceless consonants are not distinguished in final position (leave and leaf).
-        Aspirated consonants are not generally aspirated.
Runglish Vocabulary
-        Russian words are frequently used (dacha, vodka, borsch etc).
-        Different words may be used (concrete instead of particular, dinner instead of lunch, house instead of building, go in for sport instead of do sport, forget something at home instead of leave something at home etc).
Runglish Grammar
-        There is no distinction between a, the, and zero article.
-        Simple tenses are used instead of Perfect and Continuous tenses.
-        Different prepositions may be used (during instead of for, at or in, with the help of instead of by means of, in instead of at or on etc).
Runglish Syntax
-        Use of multiple negation (I didn't do nothing).
-        Wrong tags are used ('Didn't you know that?' 'Yes, I didn't').

Runglish - a separate language, variety, dialect, pidgin, something else?

Runglish is generally considered to be a variety of English (as American or Australian English), since it is not a separate language (as Russian or English), dialect (as Yorkshire dialect or Texas dialect), or pidgin (as Tok Pisin or Kroo English). Yet there is not a precise linguistic explanation to such phenomena as Spanglish, Chinglish, etc and whether the status of Runglish is to change is an issue for linguistics of future.

Varieties within Runglish

There exist numerous varieties of Runglish which can be classified in terms of one's command of Runglish and the region one comes from/lives at the moment.
Classification 1 (command of Runglish)
-        Schoolchildren's Runglish
This is the poorest variety of Runglish which boasts a broad accent, limited vocabulary, and basic command of English grammar. At best, school leavers manage to attain the intermediate level.
-        University students' Runglish
This depends on a student's speciality. If a student takes course in a technical science, their command of Runglish would stay the same. Higher levels are reached by those who study computing, management, marketing, tourism, and journalism.
-        Runglish spoken by schoolteachers of English
This variety boasts a broad accent, slow speaking, and quite a limited vocabulary but better command of Runglish grammar and spelling.
-        Runglish spoken by university teachers of English
Speaking is more fluent, vocabulary is wider but the level of English is not proficient but mainly advanced.
-        Specialists' Runglish
This can be divided into 2: translators' Runglish (poorer pronunciation and fluency but wider vocabulary) and interpreters and journalists' Runglish (impeccable English accent, often American, best fluency but vocabulary might be not as wide as translators' one).
Classification 2 (region you come from/live)
-        Metropolitan Runglish
This variety of Runglish is spoken mainly by those living in Moscow and St Petersburg (Ekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, and Kaliningrad often included). It boasts better accent (often American), fluency, and wider vocabulary.
-        Regional Runglish
This is spoken by those living in smaller cities and therefore having poorer command of Runglish: their accent is broader, speech is slower, and grammar is worse.
-        American, etc Runglishes
These are spoken by the native speakers of Russian who live/stay in the US or any other country. These varieties are affected by local languages and have their own distinctive features.

Vowel system

/i:/-/i/
Runglish /i:/ is much shorter than English /i/.
Heat is pronounced hit, leave is pronounced live, seat is pronounced sit.

/I/-/i/
Runglish /I/ is palatalized.
Beat and bit are pronounced /bjit/, feel and fill are pronounced /fjil/, meal and mill are pronounced /mjil/.

/a:/-/a/
Runglish /a/ is much closer and fronter than English /a:/.
Calm is pronounced come, can't is pronounced cunt, heart is pronounced hut.

/^/-/a/
Runglish /a/ is a bit more open and fronter than English /^/.
Bus /bas/, cut /kat/, fun /fan/.

/):/-/o/
Runglish /o/ is much shorter than English /):/.
Cord is pronounced cod, port is pronounced pot, sport is pronounced spot.

/b/-/o/
Runglish /o/ is a bit closer than English /b/.
Doll /dol/, lot /lot/, spot /spot/.

/u:/-/u/
Runglish /u/ is much shorter than English /u:/.
Fool is pronounced full, pool is pronounced pull.

Runglish /u/ is lip-rounded and fronted.
Book /buk/, pul /pul/, put /put/.

/з:/-/ə/
Runglish /ə/ is much shorter than English /з:/.
Girl /gəl/, earn /ən/, fur /fə/.

/ə/-/a/
Runglish /a/ is fronted and much opener than English /ə/.
Butter /'bata/.

Consonant system

1. Final voiced consonants are devoiced

final /b/-/p/
Bob is pronounced bop.

final /v/-/f/
Leave is pronounced leaf.

final /g/-/k/
Dog is pronounced dock.

final /d/-/t/
Food is prounced foot.

final /z/-/s/
Buzz is pronounced bus.


2. English aspirated consonants lack aspiration in Runglish.

/ph/-/p/
Pull /phul/-/pul/.

/bh/-/b/
Bus /bh^s/-/bas/.

/kh/-/k/
Car /kha:/-/ka/.

/gh/-/g/
Go /ghəu/-/'gou/.

/th/-/t/
Top /thbph/-/top/.

/dh/-/d/
Dog /dhbgh/-/dok/.

3. Runglish /r/ is rolled on the tongue as in Scots, Irish, Italian or Spanish.

4. /h/-/x/
Like in Scottish loch and Irish lough, Runglish /h/ is heavily aspirated.

5. /ŋ/-/n/
Bang is pronounced ban, sing is pronounced sin.

6. /w/-/v/
Wheel is pronounced veal.

7. /Q/-/s/ or, less often, /f/
Thick may be pronounced sick.

/ð/-/z/ or, less often, /d/
Theme may be pronounced deem.

Conclusion

Most English words are pronounced with Russian articulation in Runglish, which sometimes makes two, three or even four different English words sound the same in Runglish.

Feel and fill sound /fjil/.
Back, bag, and beg sound /bek/
Bad, bat, bed, and bet sound /bet/

Pronunciation of individual words

Alibi
/'ælIbaI/-/eljibji/, advanced pronunciation /'elIbI/

Beret
/'bereI/-/'beret/, advanced pronunciation /'berət/
Bury
/'berI/-/'bərji/, advanced pronunciation /'be:rI/

Comment
/'kbmənt/-/ka'ment/, advanced pronunciation /kə'ment/
Coup
/ku:/-/kup/, advanced pronunciation /ku:p/
Cruise
/kru:z/-/'kruis/, advanced pronunciation /'kru:Iz/
Crumb
/kr^m/-/kramp/, advanced pronunciation /kr^mb/

Deficit
/'defIsIt/-/'defjitsit/, advanced pronunciation /'defItsIt/
Dilemma
/daI'lemə/-/dji'ljema/, advanced pronunciation /dI'lemə/

Nazi
/'nb:tsI/-/'nezji/, advanced pronunciation /'nezI/

Palm
/pa:m/-/pelm/, advanced pronunciation /pelm/
Pleasant
/'plezənt/-/'pljizant/, advanced pronunciation /'plIzənt/
Pseudonym
/sju:dənIm/-/'psevdanjim/, advanced pronunciation /'psevdənIm/

Rouble
/'ru:bl/-/'rabl/, advanced pronunciation /r^bl/

Sweat
/swet/-/svjit/, advanced pronunciation /swIt/

Useless
/'ju:slIs/-/'juzljis/, advanced pronunciation /'ju:zlIs/

Vase
/va:z/-/vejs/, advanced pronunciation /ve?s/

Were
/wз:/-/ve, 'vea/, advanced pronunciation /we, weə/
Worry
/'w^rI/-/'vorji/, advanced pronunciation /'wbrI/

Year
/jIə/-/'jea/, advanced pronunciation /'jeə/

Runglish Grammar
Runglish Syntax
Runglish Vocabulary