Runglish
Runglish is the variety of English spoken by native speakers of Russian in many countries (especially in Russia and the CIS). What makes it distinctive is its pronunciation, sometimes vocabulary, and grammar.
Pronunciation.
1. Runglish speakers pronounce long vowels as short ones, so there is no distinction between ea (heat) and i (hit), or (port) and o (pot), ar (heart) and u (hut), etc.
2. Runglish æ (bad) sounds as e (bed).
3. Final lenis consonants are pronounced as fortis ones, that is 'dog' sounds as 'dock', 'hard' as 'heart', etc.
Vocabulary.
Runglish speakers often use English words with Russian origin, especially describing Russian cuisine (such as borsch, schi, pelmeni, blini, vodka, kvass, etc.) or political system (such as stalinism, bolshevism, KGB, FSB, etc.). As well as this, the following changes are common:
underground → metro,
year (in university) → course,
handsome → beautiful,
unfair → dishonest,
to do sport → to go in for sport.
Also, in the gap 'sex' in different documents written in English, etc. a Runglishman may fill in '3-4 times a week' instead of 'male'. ☺
Grammar.
1. There is no difference between a, an, the, and zero article.
Do you know man standing there?
Do you know a man standing there?
Do you know the man standing there?
(instead of 'Do you know the man who is standing there?')
2. Collective nouns take a singular verb.
Is militia well-paid?
(instead of 'Is the police well-paid?')
3. Perfect tenses are rarely used.
I lost my key, did you see it?
(instead of 'I've lost my key, have you seen it?')
4. There is no difference in the use of English modal verbs.
I must go now.
I have to go now.
I gotta go now.
I will go now.
I would go now.
I shall go now.
I should go now.
I ought to go now.
(instead of 'I must go now')
5. Runglish speakers often use 'Yes, I don't' or 'No, I do'.
Don't you like it? - Yes, I don't.
(istead of 'No, I don't')
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