Today, the Russian language as a developing phenomenon is rarely considered. Everyone got used to it, they use words automatically, sometimes without even thinking. And this is understandable, because we are native speakers of the Russian language. However, proceeding from the same, one should at least sometimes be interested in its history and specifics. Over the centuries, it underwent changes, old words were eradicated, new ones were added, the alphabet became different. The Russian language as a developing phenomenon is a completely unique cultural heritage.
Connection with the story
For many centuries, the current Russian language is separated from the language spoken by our distant ancestors. During this time, much has changed. Some words became completely forgotten, they were replaced by new ones. Grammar has also changed, and the old expressions have acquired a completely different interpretation. Interestingly, if a modern Russian man met with one of our distant ancestors, would they manage to talk and understand each other? Definitely yes, even though the fast-moving life has changed with the language. A lot of it turned out to be very stable. And the speech of the ancestors could be understood. Philologists conducted an interesting and painstaking experiment - they compared Ozhegov’s dictionary with the “Dictionary of the Russian Language of the XI-XVII Century”. In the course of the work, it turned out that about a third of medium and high-frequency words are identical to each other.
What influenced the changes
Language as a developing phenomenon has always existed, from the very moment people began to speak. The changes taking place in it are an inevitable companion of the history of the language, and absolutely any. But since it is one of the richest and most diverse, it’s more interesting to observe how the Russian language develops. I must say that mainly the conditions for the functioning of the language were changed due to political cataclysms. The influence of the media has grown. It also influenced the development of the Russian language, made it more liberal. The attitude of people changed accordingly. Unfortunately, in our time, few adhere to literary norms, more and more informal communication is spreading . As a result, the peripheral elements of genres have become the center of the entire language system. Colloquial, slang and jargon are meant.
Dialecticism
It is worth noting that language is a developing phenomenon in all regions of our vast country. And new norms of lexicology appear both in nationwide speech and in individual regions of Russia. This refers to dialectisms. There is even a so-called “Moscow-Petersburg dictionary”. Despite the fact that these cities are quite close to each other, their dialects are different. A special dialect can be observed in the Arkhangelsk and Vyatka regions. There are a huge number of words that actually mean completely ordinary concepts. But as a result, if you use these expressions, then a resident of Moscow or St. Petersburg will not understand such an interlocutor better than if he spoke the Belarusian language.
Slang and jargon
Language as a developing phenomenon could not avoid introducing slang expressions into it. This is especially true for our time. How is language developing today? Not in the best way. It is regularly updated with expressions that are most often used by young people. Philologists believe that these words are very primitive and do not have a deep meaning. They also assure that the age of such phrases is very short, and they will not live long, as they do not carry any semantic load, are not interesting for intelligent and educated people. Such words will not succeed in crowding out literary expressions. However, in reality you can observe the exact opposite. But in general, this is already a question regarding the level of culture and education.
Phonetics and alphabet
Historical changes cannot affect any one aspect of the language - they affect completely and completely everything, from phonetics to the specifics of constructing a sentence. The modern alphabet is descended from the Cyrillic alphabet. The names of the letters, their styles - all this was different from what we have now. Of course, because in ancient times the ancient Slavic alphabet was used. Its first reform was carried out by Peter the Great, who excluded some letters, while others became more rounded and simplified. Phonetics has also changed, that is, sounds began to be pronounced differently. Few people know that a soft sign was voiced in those days! His pronunciation was close to “Oh.” By the way, the same can be said about a solid sign. Only he was pronounced as “E”. But then these sounds disappeared.
Vocabulary
The Russian language as a developing phenomenon has undergone changes not only in terms of phonetics and pronunciation. Gradually new words were introduced into it, most often borrowed. For example, in recent years, the following sayings have firmly entered our everyday life: file, diskette, show, movie, and many others. The fact is that not only language is changing, changes are taking place in life. New phenomena are being formed that need to be given names. Accordingly, words also appear. By the way, old expressions, which have long sunk into oblivion, have recently revived. Everyone has already forgotten about such an appeal as “gentlemen”, calling their interlocutors “friends”, “colleagues”, etc. But recently, this word has again come into Russian colloquial speech.
Many expressions leave their habitat (that is, from professional languages ​​of a certain profile) and are introduced into everyday life. Everyone knows that computer scientists, doctors, engineers, journalists, cooks, builders and many other specialists of a particular field of activity communicate in “their own” languages. And some of their expressions sometimes begin to be used everywhere. It should also be noted that the Russian language is enriched also due to word formation. An example is the noun “computer”. With the help of prefixes and suffixes, several words are formed at once: computerization, computer programmer, computer, etc.
The new era of the Russian language
Be that as it may, all that is being done is for the better. In this case, this expression is also suitable. Due to the freedom of forms of expression, a tendency towards the so-called word-making began to appear. Although it cannot be said that it always turned out to be successful. Of course, the officialness that was inherent in public communication has weakened. But, on the other hand, the lexical system of the Russian language has become very active, open and “lively”. Communicating in simple language makes it easier for people to understand each other. All phenomena have made a certain contribution to lexicology. Language, as a developing phenomenon, continues to exist to this day. But today it is a bright and original cultural heritage of our people.
Increased interest
I would like to note that the Russian language is a developing phenomenon that interests many people today. Scientists all over the world are engaged in its study and cognition of the specificity that is peculiar to it. Society is developing, science is also moving forward by leaps and bounds, Russia is exchanging scientific developments with other countries, cultural and economic exchanges are being carried out. All this and much more causes the need to master the Russian language among citizens of other countries. In 87 states, special attention is paid to its study. About 1640 universities teach it to their students, several tens of millions of foreigners are eager to master the Russian language. This can not but rejoice. And if our Russian language as a developing phenomenon and cultural heritage causes such interest among foreigners, then we, its native speakers, should own it at a decent level.