The history of the Russian language dates back to the distant millennia. And the fact that earlier many of the words to which we have long been accustomed, was translated differently or even taken from any other languages, is not at all surprising. But today people are only surprised at the interesting facts about the Russian language.
Words in the letter “Y” exist!
A small but interesting fact that definitely deserves the attention of a Russian person. That there are no words beginning with the letter “S” is a stereotype. They are, although in small quantities. These are geographical names such as Ynykchan (village), Ygyatta (river), Ylylymakh (village), Ynakhsyt (village) and Ytyk-kyuyol (the name of the administrative center of the Tatta ulus of Yakutia). It is interesting that all these geographical features are located in Yakutia.
Considering unusual facts about the Russian language, I want to note that the only word (from a multi-billion dollar list) that has no root is the verb “take out”. And just three nouns starting with the letter “a”. These are “az,” “maybe,” and “alphabet.” But we are talking about native Russian words - the remaining nouns are borrowed from foreign languages.
Habitual words and their origin
Speaking about interesting facts about the Russian language, it should be noted that the famous word “negligence” all of us did not originate from the “robe” at all. In fact, it came from a word like “chalad”. That is cold. Thus, if a person speaks of a negligent attitude, then he means that his opponent is very cool for any business. And the word "doctor" came from the verb "lie." However, this did not mean a lie in those days. This verb was translated as “know, speak” in the modern sense. But “friend” is a word that came from the definition of “another, alien”. Today, on the contrary, people only call their closest personalities that have become literally native. By the way, in almost all Slavic languages, “friend” sounds almost the same. In Czech and Slovak - druh, in Polish - drug, even in Lithuanian it is draũgas.
Longest words
Perhaps, if we talk about the longest words that exist, then the German language will come to mind first. Indeed, a person who does not know his specificity, looking at a text, may be horrified by the length of some nouns or verbs. However, entertaining facts about the Russian language say that we also have very voluminous words. The names of chemical elements can be simply endless. One of the longest such words is “methylpropenylenedihydroxycinamenacrylate” (used in combination with the noun “acid”). Well, from a theoretical point of view, the length of the Russian word can be unlimited. Take, for example, "great-grandmother." After all, if you consider your family tree, then the prefixes "great-" can be a lot. Considering such a topic, I would like to note the word that was registered by the Guinness Book of Records. And this is the definition of “highly discerning”, consisting of 35 letters.
Paronyms and homonyms: hell for a foreigner
Most people, whose native language is Russian, get confused in the use of paronymic words, which is to say about foreigners for whom they become a real hell. Destination and addressee, for example. Almost the same in sound and spelling, but these are absolute antonyms. The addressee is the one who receives the parcel or message, but the addressee is the organization or person sending the notification or the parcel. Similar cases include the words “ignoramus” and “ignoramus”. The last term defines an ill-mannered person, but the first - unknowing, uneducated.
And homonyms? The most popular example is a lock: for keys or as an architectural creation. The word “glass” can mean a leaking fluid or something that is inserted into the window frame. But what if whole sentences are homonyms? Here everyone will get confused, because sometimes you can determine them by writing (if you couldn’t catch the point): “We are with you!” - "We are married"; “Awkward things” - “I bring different things”, etc. The listed examples are also called homophones. Simply put, phonetic ambiguity.
Quotes of the great
Many world famous figures of past years and centuries loved and respected the Russian language, treating it with all respect. Some specially studied it and continue to master it in order to write scientific papers, defend presentations and teach. For example, Jeffrey Hosking, a famous British historian who is a specialist in Russian literature. Or Morje Abhay (Russian from India), Oliver Bullou (British journalist of our time) and many other figures. And one cannot but quote the great words about the Russian language, the author of which is Turgenev: “O great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language”. And I must say, this love of Ivan Sergeyevich can only be surprised. He was sure that a man’s true love for his homeland is impossible without love for his own language. And the great writer was right.
An insult or an old term?
Interesting facts about the Russian language tell us how the word "nonsense" came into its use. It has a very interesting history, which has its roots in the end of the last century. In France, such a famous doctor as Gali Mathieu worked. He treated his patients with jokes! The doctor became so popular that he served people even by mail, sending them healing puns. So the word "nonsense" appeared, on behalf of the great doctor. Then it was interpreted as a healing joke. But now this word is being translated completely differently. Nonsense, nonsense, stupidity, nonsense - these are the synonyms that people pick up when they barely hear “nonsense”.
The wealth of the Russian language - in synonyms
What facts about the Russian language are known to every person? Perhaps, such is the assertion that states that we have the most saturated with synonyms language. And indeed it is. If you ask any Russian person to choose synonyms for any word, then he, without hesitation, will immediately call at least five. Beautiful - attractive, amazing, luxurious, charming, bewitching ... The lists of synonyms for the words of the Russian language can be selected endlessly.
What else interesting should you know about Russian? Perhaps synonymous phrases. Take, for example, not the most pleasant word - "die." It is one of the richest synonyms! What they just do not replace: “give God a soul”, “leave our mortal world”, “go to the next world”, “play in a box”, “give an oak”, “stretch your legs”, “give up”. Expressions that are completely different in emotional coloring and sound, however, mean the same thing. And if in the case of the usual synonyms in foreign languages ​​you can choose a translation, then it is unlikely that the same English can say “he stretched his legs” in relation to the deceased.
Obscene expression or church term?
Unusual facts about the Russian language can tell a lot of interesting things. Many will be surprised, but there is nothing wrong with a word like “dick”. That is exactly what one of the letters was called in the Slavic church alphabet, designated in the letter as “x”. Cross strikethrough was also called this word. And if they deleted any place in the text, then this process was called the term “cheat”. The word has passed through the centuries, and today means a completely different thing. By the way, another interesting point - the expression “suffer from garbage” in Russian is translated as “to suffer from a hernia”. That's because “hernia” is a “hernia” (from Latin). The doctors made this diagnosis to those young men who were children of wealthy philistines and did not want to join the army. So at the end of the century before last, every fifth Russian conscript “suffered from garbage”. These are very interesting facts about the Russian language, having learned which, you can change your attitude to some words and teach others to literate.
Modern Russian language
Interesting facts about the Russian language is an entertaining topic, but a few words should be said about the very global problem of our time. For the sake of justice, it should be noted that today, unfortunately, not all native speakers of the Russian language can correctly use certain words in their speech. They insert terms in sentences that the true meaning of which they do not know, incorrectly place stress, “swallow” letters or pronounce them fuzzily. And some should think about it, since excessive (and, most importantly, massive) abuse of such illiteracy can lead to degradation of the Russian language itself. And this will be a truly global problem.