Slavists expressed fear that officials will spoil the Russian language

Krinzhovye bans roflyat in the fight against anglicisms

The changes made to the law on the state language in the Russian Federation will also affect schools. Although initially the draft law referred to the speeches and reports of statesmen, later the wording was expanded. Now education is mentioned, where “compliance with the norms of the literary Russian language” is important. Already today there are calls to reform everything: films, performances, the Internet. It is proposed to rename Moscow City to Moskvagrad without waiting for 2025…

News about the language is one of the most discussed today. While wits on the Web are practicing inventing verbal import substitution: ruble turnover instead of cashback, Horns and Hooves office (startup) or “one-liners”-followers, work is in full swing in bureaucratic committees. After all, the president and the State Duma made it clear that the fight against foreign words-anglicisms should affect the younger generation. And then they came, they speak a mixture of Russian obscenities and English “surzhik” …

“I really hope that before the aforementioned 2025, when the law comes into force, there will be clear regulations and sources from where you can draw information,” says philologist, teacher of Russian language and literature Irina Koneva. Dictionaries first. And they will be compiled by members of the Spelling Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Because non-professionals can do things here. For example, there was an inspector at our school who had not heard of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. “Since his father was Ivan the Terrible, then he is Ivanovich,” the man argued loudly, well, the children had already left and did not hear. Our open lesson was devoted to Pushkin’s “Boris Godunov”…

“MK” wrote a lot about the fact that the professional community of Slavists, in general, is against the reforms. The language is alive, it changes and eliminates the superfluous by itself. If we’ve survived the surge of abbreviations, strange names, and “revolutionary” names of the 1920s, we’ll survive this. In addition, most eye-catching “merchandisers”, “franchises”, “coaching” or “marketplaces” are concentrated in the financial and trading sphere, and not in state rhetoric or education.

On the other hand, the problem of littering the language with Anglicisms is recognized all over the world. Mostly teenagers who are obsessed with social networks and computer games suffer from this. In China, for example, this phenomenon even received a separate name – “Chinglish”. And this despite the fact that in the “country of the Red Dragon” the Internet is censored and limited. And the party periodically opposes the use of anglicisms in the media, on signs and in advertising. With similar restrictions at different times they tried to perform in Turkey, in Eastern and Western Europe. A recent example is the French law of 2022 to combat the dominance of English in video games. As a result, at best, some anglicisms are replaced by others, or everything remains as it is. Scientists study this linguistic phenomenon and even defend works. For example, a philologist, Ph.D. from the Higher School of Economics proves that English, as the language of international communication, inevitably affects national cultures. To avoid the penetration of Anglicisms, it is necessary to stop communications…

“Adolescent and youth slang, like children’s secret language, is an inevitable attribute of growing up,” says family and child psychologist Maryana Razumovskaya. – He, like young people in general, absorbs the trends of the times. In the days of dudes, “dudes” and “dudes” “healed along Broadway”, 40 years later their grandchildren, “kents” and “washcloths” “sausaged at the party”. Today, this niche has been occupied by Anglicisms, but such that the “ancestors” do not understand. All these “crunchy” or “crushing”, “roiling”, “swiping”, “random” or “upgrading skills”… This, on the one hand, is a cultural code by which they identify their own, on the other hand, it is an element of the game, and still protection from the adult world. It is impossible, unnecessary and even harmful to fight such a “bird” language. Because the answer can be not only irritation and loss of trust in the family, but also the departure of young people into subcultures and the underground, as was the case in the USSR.

It is right on the part of adults not to prohibit, but to educate. Find common ground and introduce the national cultural heritage through literature, theatres, cinema, exhibitions. Speak beautifully and competently, if possible, explain the meaning and etymology of words. For example, one colleague analyzes 2-3 interesting words or expressions with children every week, they call it “journey inside the word”. Another option is interactive programs, now many museums have them. Children and teenagers are told and shown how the Russian oven or hut is arranged, how the harness is arranged, how kalachi was baked, where the marshmallow came from, etc. It “comes” not only to children, but to adolescents and adults.