Russian Handwriting: Propisi: Volume 1 Paperback – 20 Sept. 2012

By far the best book/course on writing Russian Cyrillic script I've found. Russian Cyrillic type can look impenetrable to an English speaker, and the handwritten version of the language even more so. Struggling to copy typed Russian when learning the language is a problem that affects many Russian language learners, and can slow down learning or even put people off compeltely. This book is one of a series of three, and the entire collection will take you from how to form each letter of the alphabet right up to writing whole paragraphs with only printed Russian Cyrillic as a prompt. Not only this, but it will give you clear, legible and beautiful handwriting in the Russian language - easily understandable to all Russian speakers, and natural for you to write, too. After completing the Propisi course, you'll be able to concentrate fully on your Russian language learning, writing freely in Cyrillic without even thinking about it.The positives:* A full handwritten alphabet, both capitals and lower case, is included on the first page. It's in Russian Cyrillic alphabetical order, so you'll be able to learn the order of the letters that a Russian dictionary will be arranged in.* The books are designed to be written in directly. Every page is lined, with a line to write on, and upper and lower lines that your ascenders (the tall bits on letters like English 'b', and capitals) and descenders (the lower loops, like English 'y') should reach. As well as horizontal lines, there are also diagonals - these are for lining up your letters on the correct angle, as Russian Cyrillic script is written with a right-tilting slant (like Latin (English) script's italic).* Volume 1 shows you exactly which strokes to make to form each letter, and in which order. Many aren't formed in the same way as Latin (English) script even if they look alike, and this can feel strange at first. Stick with it, because the correct formation of the letters is crucial to being able to write Russian Cyrillic fluidly, legibly and easily (again, many other books don't pay enough attention to this)* In Volume 1, each page introduces a new letter of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. It appears first in full black print, with direction arrows showing the way to form each letter. Then follows the same letter in grey print, multiple times across one line. These are designed for you to write over them, ensuring you learn the correct letter form and helping to create a 'muscle memory' for each letter. You will be shown how to form both capital and lower case in these letters. Then follows a blank line for each letter, allowing you to practice the letters under your own steam. Then, various combinations of letters already learned are introduced, to get your hand used to joining the different letters to each other. Finally, whole words are introduced, and short sentences.* Volume 2 has the same construction lines to guide your handwriting, but has only one black print letter/word example at the start of each line. It focuses on various combinations of letters, paying attention to those that are a little more tricky. There are many whole words to copy, as well as sentences, palindromes and Russian sayings.* Volume 3 still includes construction lines, and only one black print example at the start of each line. It focuses on the letter combinations that learners can find most difficult, and also begins to include a little language training (the focus is mostly on letters that can sound alike, and choosing the correct one to enter into a word or sentence). Most of Volume 3 consists of sentences, with the final 6 exercises being short printed pieces that you will copy out into your new beautiful Russian Cyrillic handwritten script!The negative points:* The only English in the book is a page at the front detailing the focus of each volume. None of the words or sentences you'll copy have translations, and the letter substitution exercises in Volume 3 have no answers included. If you're learning the Russian language in tandem with using the Propisi handwriting course you will probably be able to understand the material presented, but some people may find the lack of translation frustrating. However, it's important to bear in mind that at this point, you don't need to understand what it is that you're writing - you just need to be able to write it confidently. The language learning will come later, from elsewhere (Propisi isn't a language learning book).* The only printed Russian Cyrillic is at the start of the book - the page index and a page describing the Propisi course. This can be confusing for beginners as some handwritten letters don't look anything like their printed version, and it's possible to be confused about which letter it is that you're learning to write. Whilst the page index tells you in printed form which letter you're working on, it's an idea to have a printed and handwritten version of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet nearby to hand so you don't have to flick back and forth through pages, at least until you're comfortable with the handwritten alphabet.* Although the book clearly shows the 'hooks' at the start of Russian Cyrillic letters 'л' and 'м', it doesn't explicitly explain that these are crucial to the formation of the letters and not just a little joining convenience. Russian Cyrillic letters begin a little above the line, unlike Latin (English) script which begins on the line. The hooks at the start of some letters are important to differentiate between them and other letters that look similar. So please don't overlook learning them! Likewise, bars are sometimes used over the Russian Cyrillic 'т' and under 'ш' to differentiate between them and other letters, and this isn't mentioned at all. Although bars aren't standard in handwritten Russian Cyrillic, they do crop up, especially when a word could well be unintelligible without them.Russian Cyrillic, especially the handwritten version, seems to scare most language learners away. It looks strange, and the handwritten script often seems to appear just like a long collection of wave shapes with the occasional loop thrown in for fun. It's easy to see why many people think Russian is really difficult to learn.If you're learning Russian, you'll probably begin by transcribing the printed script, but this very quickly becomes unwieldy, and the slow nature of this may frustrate and even hold back your language learning. The beauty of this set of books is that you learn handwritten Russian Cyrillic as though you were learning to write, not as though you're learning a new language. It's an important difference, because being able to make notes and complete Russian language exercises when learning the language depends upon you being able to write it confidently - and to learn to do this you don't have to understand what you're writing, as long as you can make the correct shapes, and create them with a flow and speed that feels natural. The Propisi series is an excellent way to achieve this skill, and it will make your Russian language learning experience 100% more positive.I wish I'd completed the Propisi series before I attempted to learn the Russian language, as the confidence to know I can write down and practice what I'm learning would have been a wonderful starting point. When I received the books I thought I would never be able to write 'all that wavy stuff' and make sense of it. As it is, I completed the Propisi course within two months (a few pages a day), and I have no problems at all writing freely and easily in Russian Cyrillic now. The Propisi course is head and shoulders above other books on the subject, and is an excellent resource for all Russian language learners, no matter the age.

I've been looking for a handwriting book for ages. It will help me in learning Russian.

Rubbish. I got better Russian writing tuition sheets free off google. There is little content in this book. The book size is small at just larger than A5 but not as large as A4. There is no translation of the words for english beginners. Well over priced. Probably worth approx £4 max. Ps I got a refund.