Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

мe´ры, to take measures ). Both authors deplore the ubiquitous use of the vague fillers кaк бы and ти´пa, sort of/like , e.g. ти´пa сдa´ли в aрe´нду, they sort of rented it out ; кaк бы рeформи´руeм систe´му обрaзовa´ния, we’re like reforming the education system ; кaк бы рок-гру´ппa, ‘ like, a rock group ’. Indeed it has become possible to talk of кaкбыи´зм as a phenomenon emblematic of the debasement of which defenders of the

standard complain.

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1

Varieties of language and register

Those who deploy the language in advertising are held by

Khlebts óva to be particularly culpable, on the grounds that they

promote the use of absurd epithets (сa´мaя огнeопa´снaя комe´дия, the most inflammable comedy ; супeрды´шaщиe подгу´зники, superbreathable nappies ), inflated exclamations (Попро´буй удово´льствиe нa вкус!, Try the taste of pleasure! ), and youth slang (Oттяни´сь со вку´сом! or Oторви´сь по по´лной! Have a good time! Have fun! ). It is a further source of concern to such commentators that words that were

formerly taboo, i.e. words denoting sexual organs or describing bodily functions, have become commonplace in the language of light

broadcasting and journalism and popular entertainment. They also

complain that an anglicised, or rather americanised, less respectful, more aggressive manner of addressing the listener, viewer or reader is often adopted. This alien manner may extend to use of a rising

intonation at the end of an utterance in place of the falling intonation that is characteristic of statements (as opposed to questions) in Russian.

The purists recommend various means of combating the poor

linguistic usage of which they complain. (These means might seem to

Westerners more or less impracticable and unlikely to produce the

results that the purists desire; in fact the purists, like all conservatives in times of rapid change, run the risk of appearing jaundiced and

outmoded.) They argue, for example, that Olympiads and other

competitions should be organised and given publicity, and that prizes should be awarded for success in them, in order that kudos might be

attached to those who demonstrate command of the language. In

addition Ivan óva proposes the following measures: that the linguistic competence of people applying for jobs in which they will use the

language in a professional capacity be tested; that advertising be

scrutinised with a view to eliminating orthographic and logical errors and the use of an aggressive tone; that the language of sections of the media be permanently monitored and that linguists be invited regularly to analyse and comment on the results of this monitoring; that the use of vulgar language, slang, demotic vocabulary or low borrowings from other languages be somehow prohibited in public discourse; and even

that editors be fined for poor linguistic usage in the media that they manage.

It is important, finally, to emphasise that although the Russian

language has recently changed in significant ways that are examined in this book under such headings as the language of the internet (1.3.6)

and neologisms (5.1) it has not undergone fundamental grammatical or for that matter lexical change as a result of the political, economic, social and cultural transformation of Russia in the post-Soviet period.

The most important change to which we draw attention here is of a

socio-linguistic nature. It is that registers that were once seen as relatively formal, such as the registers of political discourse,

broadcasting and journalism on current affairs, have been invaded by the habits and phenomena of colloquial and demotic speech. It is

primarily to this redefinition of the boundaries within which varieties 30

1.6

Current debate about standard Russian

of language are used that those concerned with the ‘ecology’ of the

language seem to be objecting, although of course they also fear that unless the norms they advocate are disseminated they will in time be altogether forgotten.

Notes

1. The population has decreased slightly, by almost two million, since 1989, when the last Soviet census was carried out. Nevertheless the Russian Federation is the seventh most populous country in the world, after China, India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan. The census also reveals that: almost three-quarters of the population live in towns (although the process of urbanisation has ceased); women are in the majority; the average age of the population is increasing; the literacy rate (which in any case was very high in Soviet times) has increased; and the birth rate is declining.

2. Many other languages besides Russian and the minority languages already mentioned above are spoken by the numerous ethnic minorities in Russia itself, especially various Finno-Ugric languages (e.g. Karelian, Komi, Mari, Mordvin, Udmurt), Caucasian languages (Abkhaz, Georgian, Ingush,

Lezgi), Turkic languages (Iakut, Kirgiz, Turkmen), languages of the

Mongolian group (Buriat, Kalmyk), and Tadzhik (a language of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family).

3. It should be noted that some linguists use the term ‘style’ to designate ‘a variety of language viewed from the point of view of formality ’ and the term ‘register’ to designate ‘a variety of language determined by topic, subject matter or activity, such as the register of mathematics, the register of medicine, or the register of pigeon fancying’ (Trudgill in Bex and Watts).

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2 Passages illustrating register

All the passages presented below have been edited. Three dots

(многото´чиe; see 11.15 below) may indicate either a pause in the original text or our own omission of a passage from it.

2.1

R1: from a TV show

The following passage is an excerpt from a popular TV show in which

people are confronted, in the presence of a studio audience, by

members of their family, partners, friends or enemies about problems in their lives. The context of this excerpt is that a young man (Anton) takes a young woman whom he wants to marry to meet his parents in

a provincial town outside Moscow. However, he has to leave her on

her own with his parents because he is called back to Moscow by his

employer. When he returns a week later he finds that his parents and his girl-friend (Marina) are not talking to one another. When Anton

and Marina get back to Moscow Marina tells Anton she is breaking off their relationship. Anton tells the presenter that he has tried to find out from his mother (Ella Georgievna) what has gone wrong.

Aнто´н: Я спрa´шивaю у мa´мы. Ma´мa чeго´-то нeпоня´тноe мнe

отвeчaéт, никa´к то´лком нe мо´жeт скaзa´ть.

Beду´щий: A дaвa´йтe спро´сим дeйстви´тeльно у мa´мы. Ba´шa мa´мa

– Э

´ллa Гeо´ргиeвнa. (Bхо´дит Э´ллa Гeо´ргиeвнa) здрa´вствуйтe,

5

присa´живaйтeсь, пожa´луйстa. (Aнто´ну) Cпроси´ у мa´мы.

Aнто´н: Ma´мa, вот объясни´ мнe нaконe´ц, что произошло´.

Э

´ллa Гeо´ргиeвнa: дa, я слы´шaлa . . . всё. знaéшь что, вот и хорошо´, что онa´ уe´хaлa. Xорошо´, что онa´ уe´хaлa. Я пря´мо ужeé´лe