[sak9645]

I'm so glad that these phrases were posted. I remember some of them from the days when I took Russian in college. They will be great when parents need something.

I'd like to suggest, however, that another type of phrase book would also be useful to traveling parents. And that is a phrase book based on the words toddlers and young children use. These words are often not the ones that are taught in college Russian classes, or mentioned on language CDs.

As an example, if an American adult needs to discuss bodily functions, he/she may say things like "urinate" or "bowel movement" -- at least if he/she is in polite company! But little American kids usually don't use these phrases, and may not even know what they mean. Toddlers, in particular, may say things like "pee-pee" and "poo-poo". I suspect that the situation is very similar with Russian children.

While you can often figure out what a young child means by observing "body language", it can really help if you understand the words they are speaking. So it would be good if you can say, in Russian, something like, "Do you need to go pee-pee?" and understand something like, "I need to go pee-pee right now." Knowing toddler Russian, in this case, could prevent a major mess!

Another example is words dealing with pain. An adult might speak about a stomach ache or a gastro-intestinal problem. A young child, however, may use a word like "tummy" ache. A grownup may speak of a cut on his finger, while a child might refer to an "owie" or a "boo-boo." Children expect their parents to meet their needs, when they hurt. So it would be a good idea for a parent to know what the child is saying about something that is hurting.

I bet that someone who is fluent in Russian could make a few dollars by writing and selling a "Toddler Russian" phrase book!

Sharon