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While Ukraine's efforts are aimed at getting rid of the Russian language, it is still a lingua franca (the language of interethnic communication) not only for all former Soviet republics but also for foreigners who intend to deal with the above states, even if not on Moscow's side. The Institute of Russian Language and Culture of Moscow State University and NEWS.ru held an online meeting with teachers of Russian as a foreign language from Europe and the United States to find out the impact that the special operation had on the willingness of students from the EU and the U.S. to learn Russian.
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Russian has always been regarded as a hard language to learn. However, it hasn't discouraged those who want to master it. According to Stanislav Chernyshov, a qualified teacher of Russian and author of the textbook "Let's go! Russian for Adults", despite the fact that Russian has always been a niche language in Europe, there were many of those who were interested in learning it before 2014. They were usually the people who wanted to pursue a career or, for instance, to do business with Gazprom and other Russian companies operating in Europe. Furthermore, Russian customers were expected by some hotel owners in Italy, as well as experts involved in haute couture fashion in Milan, or, for instance, mountain skiing instructors in Courchevel.
“Our school had a Swiss student who studied Russian. He was a driver. He used to say: "Without Russian, I'm a simple cab driver, whereas with Russian I'm a limousine driver.” It used to be a golden age. However, after 2014-15, when relations between Russia and the West worsened, the majority of such students left," Ькю Chernyshov recalls.
In the early 1990s, after the Cold War, there were many neophyte romantics who wanted to discover Tolstoy and Dostoevsky's Russia. They also became a thing of the past.
According to teachers, February and March of this year were marked by other changes in terms of learning Russian as a foreign language. For example, the collaboration between universities from different countries has already been affected. According to Alla Chernyshova, a teacher of Russian as a foreign language and co-author of the textbook "Let's go! Russian Language for Adults," colleagues from Germany had to cease participation in joint projects with St. Petersburg State University. Furthermore, there have been recent cases where swastika symbols were drawn on Russian language textbooks and the textbooks with such drawings were sent to the teacher.
“In some cases, they openly said, 'I don't want to learn your fascist language." More than one hundred people withdrew from one of the centers where Russian was taught as a foreign language in one week alone," she said.
Also, Russian used to be popular in secondary schools throughout Europe, including the Waldorf schools. It was taught there for the general enhancement of the brain functions as Russian is believed to positively influence the children's development. The research of the French otolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis showed that it has more sound frequencies than German, French, Spanish, or Italian.
Nevertheless, the winner of today's battle between the healthy frequencies and the politics is still unknown. According to participants of the online meeting, there is a possibility that secondary educational institutions in Europe will discontinue to teach Russian.
Seniors who used to learn Russian to support brain functioning, as well as to control Alzheimer's disease, will probably quit learning it, too. One of the reasons they studied the language was to visit Russia later to practice it. However, nowadays Russia is virtually closed, and it is not clear what the future holds.
Another category is well-established people who are not fond of the United States. They can't stand newfangled Western tendencies, all sorts of queer movements, and don't trust Western propaganda. They saw Putin and Russia as a counterbalance to the above, so they learned the Russian language and took an interest in Russian culture. Currently, however, many of them have become disappointed with Moscow's policies.
There is definitely a certain category of professionals who nowadays have practical urgency to use Russian. However, this is mostly the intelligence sector. It is a rather specific group of people that is not that large. So, they obviously do not generate a global demand for learning Russian as a foreign language.
Stanislav Chernyshov recalls that at the time of the confrontation between the USSR and America, Russian language departments in the United States used to say that the more intense the Cold War was, the greater interest in the Russian language they saw.
That time may return, and more students may attend CIA schools like the one in Monterey Bay, California. It was rated as one of the best schools in the world for teaching Russian as a foreign language during the Soviet era.
Benjamin Rifkin, a professor of Russian at Hofstra University in New York, believes that it`s not only intelligence officers who are interested in the great and mighty Russian language.
According to Mr. Rifkin, there are various purposes for studying Russian in the United States.
“There are those students who have fallen in love with Russian literature, especially Dostoevsky. They study Russian because they want to read fine literature in its original language. Unfortunately, there are many of them who do not recognize the complex nature of this endeavour. So, they do not master the language to the level required to achieve this admirable goal. The second group includes those who intend to use the Russian language for work in government agencies or businesses. As a result of global developments, the options to use Russian in the U.S. private sector have dropped dramatically. However, we can anticipate more demand among those who intend to work in one of the federal or international organizations,” he says. “The third group includes students who have Russian-speaking grandparents. This group could be quite big. However, it is actually small because students with Russian-speaking grandparents are often not enthusiastic about learning the complex language of their ancestors. They lack appreciation for the cultural treasure of the language that is their cultural heritage. Then there is the fourth group, namely the "love group". The Russian-speaking population in the United States is very large. So Russian is also studied in American universities by students who have fallen in love with a Russian-speaking person. I see with my own eyes that this group keeps expanding. It makes me very happy. Is there anything better than love as a reason to learn any language?”
Despite his optimism, even Mr. Rifkin is somewhat uncertain about the future.
According to him, interest in the Russian language is declining in the United States, and there is no telling how the younger generation will be responding to current developments and how these current developments will affect them.
Russian will still be a lingua franca
Nevertheless, the aforesaid does not imply that Russian will be no longer studied abroad.
First of all, there has been too little time since February 24 to draw any specific conclusions. Participants of the discussion arranged by the Institute of Russian Language and Culture and NEWS.ru believe that many things depend on how the situation will develop.
“For one thing, there will still be fans of the Russian language and culture who perceive them separately from politics," says Alla Chernyshova.
Moreover, there is a new unanticipated trend. It appeared literally in February - March 2022.
“People want to learn Russian to assist in working with Ukrainians. It turns out that Ukrainian refugees speak Russian - there are many of them from Russian-speaking regions of Eastern Ukraine," said the expert.
Russian is still the lingua franca for the entire territory of the former Soviet Union and for those who want to work in this territory regardless of political, religious, or other views.
"In 2002-2003 I saw an Islamist brochure that was intended for an audience from the North Caucasus. It was about the war against disbelievers. The brochure was published in Russian as it is the only shared language for the people of that region," Stanislav Chernyshov agrees.
Furthermore, we may expect an increased interest in the Russian language in China, India, and other countries that are likely to develop relations with Russia now.
According to Valery Chastnykh, Deputy Director for Development of the Institute of Russian Language and Culture, no mass exodus of foreigners has been observed so far. Only a few people opted out of continuing their studies, and they did it politely. However, the main influx is provided by China, and the Chinese do not really care about the events in Russia unless such events affect them directly. One other thing is that their parents pay for their education, and the question is what their parents think about the current developments. Another danger is that if Russian diplomas are no longer in demand around the world, it will trigger an exodus of students studying Russian. The reason is that for many of them a diploma that is recognized internationally is a chance for a good job, not necessarily in China, but in any part of the world. So, if there are complications with diplomas, the number of Chinese students may decrease.
On the other hand, Chastnykh points out that the All-Chinese Advanced Training Course for Russian Language Teachers commenced on April 9. It was arranged at the initiative of the Joint Russian Chinese center for advanced training of teachers and tutors of the Russian language at the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Beijing Pedagogical University. The effort has brought together over 600 specialists in Russian philology from 280 schools in various China provinces. That is, the interest in Russian in China is quite strong.
Simona Berardi, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna in Italy, a teacher of Russian as a foreign language, and the co-author of several Russian language textbooks believes that there has been no change in the perception of the Russian language by her students. Before the online meeting, she conducted a special survey. It revealed that the students did not have any radical attitudes at all.
“There has been no decline of interest in the Russian language. Students also understand very well that Russian culture cannot be eradicated. Yes, currently there is a certain reduction in the number of applicants but that happens from time to time. So we cannot assume that the current reduction is related specifically to the special operation of the Russian Federation. Besides, I have over forty political scientists on my course and most of my students point out that the process of isolating Russia began a long time ago," says Signora Berardi.
According to her, students in Italy believe that it is simply impossible to isolate Russia and that there will always be a demand for specialists that can understand Russia and deal with it. When Signora Berardi asked them what would happen next, they replied that the West, by isolating Russia, would lose the chance to re-establish dialogue.
Russian source: NEWS.ru
