M.V. Lomonosov is not only an excellent poet, but also a talented scientist whose contribution to science can hardly be overestimated. He was not limited to any one scientific field or direction in art. One of the biggest contributions is considered to be the creation of the basics of Russian grammar. Below we will briefly talk about the theory of the "three calm" Lomonosov, thanks to which the language received a stylistic design. Of course, this teaching itself is not a discovery, but it was Mikhail Vasilievich who was able to systematize the Russian language with his help.
The theory of "three calm" Lomonosov: a summary
This doctrine itself belongs to the rhetorical field, and it was used in ancient Roman, medieval literature. But the merit of Lomonosov is that he adapted this theory to the peculiarities of the Russian language. The three styles that are the basis of the teachings were the following: high, medium and low. A summary of Lomonosov’s three-calm theory will be considered in the table.
The scientist found that the style depends on the topic of presentation. Accordingly, a sublime subject must be discussed in a high style; similarly, other styles are chosen by analogy. The essence of this theory is that the main role in the literary language should be played by written and colloquial speech, in which most of the society communicates. And in order for it to remain understandable and correct, it was necessary to ensure that the language was not overloaded with Old Slavicism and borrowed words, which are not always appropriate in speech.
High style
In a story about the theory of "three calm" Lomonosov should briefly write about the features of each style. The high calm consists of words that are used in ordinary Russian and Church Slavonic; it also includes words that are used only in church speech. But one condition was mandatory - all words should be in Slavic.
Middle style
The scientist was more loyal to this species. An indicator of such an attitude is that, in contrast to the high calm, a combination of Church Slavonic and popular colloquial parts is acceptable in this. It combines elements of low and high style. If the tall one had clear morphological and phonetic boundaries, then this one is inconsistent, so it is difficult for specialists to establish these indicators.
Low style
This variety is characterized by the use of vernacular, common words, which implies the impossibility of using Church Slavisms. A distinctive feature of the low style is the ability to include words and expressions that are not in the Slavic language. Below will be presented briefly the theory of "three calm" Lomonosov in the table.
| "Styles" | Used words | Literary genres |
| Tall | Church Slavism and words of Slavic origin | Glorifying heroes and heroic deeds of a poem, ode, tragedy |
| Average | Words of Russian origin, and a small part of church words that are understandable to everyone | Dramas, satires, letters to friends, elegy |
| Low | Common words, common words | Comedy, Songs, Fables |
Why did the language need this theory
Also, in the theory of Lomonosov’s “three calmnesses” in brief, it is necessary to talk about the prerequisites for the reform. Before the scientist systematized the lexical and grammatical levels, the literary language had a mixture of all kinds of linguistic elements. It consisted of obsolete words, the meaning of most of which was already incomprehensible to society, and borrowed, which became more in the time of Peter the Great. As a result of this, the Russian language lost its individuality, it was full of various barbarisms and had a syntactic construction that was difficult to perceive. A language devoid of national characteristics, without a clear structure and systematization could not be the language of science and culture. Therefore, reform was necessary.
But Mikhail Vasilievich not only gave the Russian language a stylistic design, but also defined the framework in which this or that variety can be used. The introduction of this reform caused a public outcry; the public debated on the theme of the "old and new syllable." And before Lomonosov, the question was being discussed that the Russian language needed changes. But it was the famous scientist who found the method that was most effective in overcoming bilingualism, which had already outlived itself and prevented the development of literary speech.
Lomonosov's contribution to the development of the Russian language as a science is enormous, because it was he who tried to consider literary speech from a scientific point of view. In the future, many poets and writers relied on this doctrine. Middle style was the language of enlightened people, so it is so inconsistent, includes elements of two other styles. But it was considered unacceptable to mix high and low styles. Therefore, on the one hand, such rules made it possible to preserve the purity of the language, on the other hand, writers were pretty much limited. And let, despite the mixed assessment of the contemporaries of the scientist, this teaching was a big step forward in the development of the Russian literary language.