We spoke with Vitaly Kostomarov, President of the Pushkin Institute of Russian Language, about why the influence of the English language on Russian is weakening, what are the “language tastes of the epoch”, and why Russian should be promoted in the CIS.
– Do you share the opinion that one well-known linguist said – that the Russian language is on the verge of a nervous breakdown?
– No. And I think that Maxim Kronguaz was probably speaking ironically. Russian, as we know well, is in the club of world languages. This club consists of English, German, French, Russian and Spanish. Clearly English occupies the top position. But there are regional trends. The Baltic states, for example, are pushing to teach their populations Swedish – and it is more actively becoming a language of international communication. A similar thing is happening with Arabian and Russian. But there is one difference – Russian is not just being taught in bordering states but throughout the world. At the same time, the number of people studying Russian has decreased, according to various estimates, stands at around 25 – 30 million. This is no small number, but nonetheless smaller than earlier. The Russian language has lost its position, but it is not dying out and is even moving toward a rebound.
– Do you think that the massive invasion of borrowed foreign words is ruining or developing the Russian language?
– We love to panic. Either we are the frontrunners or we are in last place. In reality, Russian isn’t getting lost and isn’t being ruined; there are just certain processes in its development that are progressing at an excessively high speed. Perhaps the development of the language is determined by the development of society in general. Right now there is a very apparent massive Americanization of the Russian language, which simply has been able to digest new words and expressions. We should admit that many of the linguistic processes that we see are very much in the Russian style – excessive and out of control, but this does not disrupt the main trend of gradual development. Borrowed words that immediately become part of the language are typical of the Russian language. Pushkin once wrote of this: “The Russian language is communal and mercurial”.
– And will our language be capable of digesting such an abundance of Anglicisms?
– It has digested much more. Since ancient times it has survived various influences. And they were truly substantial! Greco-Roman, Byzantine, Mongol-Turkish, German, Dutch, French, and in the past decade – massive Americanization. This is tied to the effect of liberalization and the development of the Internet and high technologies. We’ll survive it. Besides, the influence of English is weakening. Internet terms are being Russified. And in this lies an important detail – the unusual flexibility of the Russian language, which is capable of borrowing foreign terms and adapting them according to its own taste.
– Is that why you titled your book The Language Taste of the Epoch?
– I simply wanted to get across the ingenious idea that nothing is being done to the language – either good or bad. Language changes according to its own rules, which do not depend on us. If we are interested in success, a happy life and democracy, then the language reflects these trends. If we are interested in sex, crime and drugs, then the language also reflects where we are headed in the instruments it has available. Language only reflects the condition of the society which today is using the language, and unfortunately today society is pushing the best to the periphery while wretched things, like slang and criminal jargon are becoming more prevalent, highlighting the fact that were are not only observing a foreign influence on our language. And so we need to save ourselves and not the language.
– And so, in light of these internal problems, do you think that interest in the Russian language in the world will increase or decrease?
– It is being studied less, but this is not the end. It is studied less but still studied by an amount similar to those who study German and French, and these are truly interested people and not those who are being forced to study the language. These are people in business as well as those who came out of the same empire as we did. Countries of the CIS, Eastern Europe as well as Mongolia, China and Vietnam are drawn toward the Russian language. Historical ties are not easily broken. In India, for example, they still do not like the British very much, but at the same time, and here is the paradox, they respect and know British culture and the English language. The influence of Russian culture on the post-Soviet area is comparable to that of British culture in India. And our task, it seems, is to help those who want to preserve these ties. But nothing should be forced. We simply must understand the historical and cultural situation. And with this in mind, I would point out that the steps taken by the Russkiy Mir Foundation for the popularization of Russian culture and language have been tactful and correct. The Foundation senses the historical context within which we live. And it is such that we unfortunately do not always adequately react to changes in the language situation: we think that we are either at the forefront or at the very back. We should gradually overcome this worldview, which will require the efforts of multiple generations.
Interviewed by Anton Samarin
