difficulties of pronunciation is the difficulty of
accentuating the proper syllable. In this respect Russian is like Greek;
you can rarely tell a priori on what syllable the accent falls. But
it is more puzzling than Greek, for two reasons: firstly, it is not
customary to print Russian with accents; and secondly, no one has yet
been able to lay down precise rules for the transposition of the accent
in the various inflections of the same word, Of this latter peculiarity,
let one illustration suffice. The word ruka (hand) has the accent on the
last syllable, but in the accusative (ruku) the accent goes back to the
first syllable. It must not, however, be assumed that in all words
of this type a similar transposition takes place. The word beda
(misfortune), for instance, as well as very many others, always retains
the accent on the last syllable.

These and many similar difficulties, which need not be here enumerated,
can be mastered only by long practice. Serious as they are, they need
not frighten any one who is in the habit of learning foreign tongues.
The ear and the tongue gradually become familiar with the peculiarities
of inflection and accentuation, and practice fulfils the same function
as abstract rules.

It is commonly supposed that Russians have been endowed by Nature with
a peculiar linguistic talent. Their own language, it is said, is so
difficult that they have no difficulty in acquiring others. This common
belief requires, as it seems to me, some explanation. That highly
educated Russians are better linguists than the educated classes of
Western Europe there can be no possible doubt, for they almost always
speak French, and often English and German also. The question, however,
is whether this is the result of a psychological peculiarity, or of
other causes. Now, without venturing to deny the existence of a natural
faculty, I should say that the other causes have at least exercised a
powerful influence. Any Russian who wishes to be regarded as civilise
must possess at least one foreign language; and, as a consequence of
this, the children of the upper classes are always taught at least
French in their infancy. Many households comprise a German nurse, a
French tutor, and an English governess; and the children thus become
accustomed from their earliest years to the use of these three
languages. Besides this, Russian is phonetically very rich and contains
nearly all the sounds which are to be found in West-Eu