Hello!
I recently started learning Russian and even though I know that whenever you learn a language, you shouldn't try to copy another language you know and try to speak like Russians would instead of directly translating. However, it is still hard not to do that when you first start learning.
So here is my issue or what I have been wondering about: Is it better to use English as a reference to translate to Russian or would French be better? Gramatically, is Russian, when spoken, closer to French or English? I don't know if this makes sense, I hope it does. But yes, I am studying Russian at an American university and I can't help trying to think in French while the class is in English. I feel like I need to think in only one language if I want to avoid being confused.
Hello) As for me, if you choose to translate, you should translate from your native language. If you think on English - translate from English, if on French - from French. Even if it is Arabic - try to translate from it.
Because if you first translate into one foreign language in your mind and then into other (Russian), your brain does twice as much job and you getting tired very fast. And it doesn't matter what language speaks your professor of Russian when you on class (it seems to me that he or she is native English speaker).
From the grammar point, Russian is much closer to French than to English (I have an experience of learning both of them).
I'm bi-lingual (RUS, ENG) who's just started learning French. I'm quickly finding out that even though there are a lot of French cognates in English (which helps a lot!), there is more in common between RUS and FRE than between FRE and ENG. There are even some idioms and set expressions in RUS that are direct cals from FRE. I've studied German, and some French grammar points are similar to that of German (using the equivalent of "to be" woth verbs of motion, for example). The confusing part of course is gender differences.
I am not agree with the previous answers, I wouldn't say that Russian is closer to French more than English, these languages are different, grammar is different. Yes, english words do not have genders, and words in French do have them, but gernders of russian words are different from those in French. Russian language has many common words with many european and asian languages, and this doesn't mean they are close to each other. Being Russian, I can't say that for French is easier than English, on the contrary, in my opinion, French is more complicated than Spanish, English or German languages. Pronounciation in Russian is different from French pronounciation, in French they always stress last syllables, in Russian we don't do that.
I'd just recommend you to listen and read more Russian, as much as you can, and repeat what you have already learnt. Because, as you said, translation from another non-Slavic language isn't a good idea. And in a while, when you will be used to it, it won't be so hard to make sentences in Russian.
But French is more similar. And there are also quite a lot of french words and phrases in Russian that we took from French (because in the 19th century all the educated and aristocratic people spoke French, and sometimes even as the first language). And French pronunciation is also more close to Russian.
As for me, French is closer in pronunciation and grammar (especially les pronoms personels). Good luck! :)
