Relaxed Pronunciation - Russian

Russian

The most notable example in Russian language is the greeting здравствуйте, which is colloquially pronounced . Other examples include:

• меня → мя ('me')
• сейчас → щас or ща ('now')
• что → чё ('what'; originally a contraction of Genitive чего, but can be used instead of Nominative too)
• когда → када ('when')
• тысяча → тыща ('thousand')

Contracted forms are usually found only in colloquial contexts, but they can occur in poetry.

For example, look at the verse from the Russian translation of Avesta (Mihr Yasht, verse 129):

На колеснице Митры,

Чьи пастбища просторны,

Стрел тыща златоустых

"On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand ... arrows, with a golden mouth."

This contrasts with contracted forms found in colloquial speech in that it is used to keep the original rhythm. The previous verse (verse 128) has a literary form:

На колеснице Митры,

Чьи пастбища Просторны,

Из жил оленьих тысяча

Отборных тетивы

"On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand bows well-made, with a string of cowgut").