To begin with, that inborn literacy does not happen in principle, this is a myth. It's all about the wrong terminology. Itâs more correct to say âlinguistic instinctâ. It helps to write everyday texts without errors. It can be developed in a child from childhood, for this specific requirements are developed. Adults are also taught and call it "innate literacy courses." But this is a different service sector, these are charlatans.
Linguistic sense
Sometimes this phenomenon is called even more beautiful: a linguistic type of intelligence. There are many people who possess it. They often say about themselves that they never learned any rules of the Russian language, because they do not need it. They read a lot and, thus, remember how the words look. Often, in order to decide which spelling of a word is correct, it is enough for them to write both options. They will immediately see which one is faithful. Visual memory works - an excellent assistant if you are dealing with simple and routine texts.
But if a complex text is found, then no linguistic flair will save. Without knowledge of the rules and subtleties of the language, nothing will work, miracles do not happen. There is only labor.
About the features of Russian spelling
Russian is one of the most difficult languages ââfrom a grammatical point of view. The reason for this is three completely different spelling principles:
- The main morphological principle is the same spelling of the main part of the word (morpheme). It is thanks to this principle that we were forced from school to check the correctness of an unstressed vowel with the same root word, where this vowel is stressed. For example, a minx - prank, young - youth, a pig - pigs, etc.
- The phonetic principle is the most confusing for modern man. On the one hand, he says that you need to write as you hear. Then, according to the logic of things, instead of "city" you need to write "gorat", or "embellished" instead of "beautiful." But no, this was only in the Old Russian texts. Only language remains in our language. For example, semolina with one "n" from semolina with a double "n". Or crystalline with one âlâ and crystallization with two âlâ from the crystal with again double âlâ ... Regarding the rules and exceptions on the phonetic principle, the best answer to the question âwhyâ will be only one: âbecauseâ. No system, in a word.
- A historical principle with a group of words and expressions, the spelling of which has developed historically. There are "lone words" such as sand or host without any kindred historical words. Or a rule from the category of "do not believe the ears of words", according to which "zhi" and "shi" must be written through "and". The rule came from the Old Slavonic soft pronunciation of words with these letters. Again, no system.
- Everyone who writes in Russian should know not just a huge number of rules and exceptions. We must remember when and which of them is applied, and which of the three existing principles should be guided in each case. Unfortunately, the instinct of innate literacy is not an assistant here.
When "linguistic intelligence" can hurt
If visual memory is silent, intuition can easily suggest a wrong decision. Such a situation is often encountered if a person with a linguistic instinct encounters an unusual word. He does not know the rules; it is easier for him to trust the âinner voiceâ.
Congenital literacy is in many ways similar to innate knowledge of traffic rules. There are drivers who are well oriented on the road, understanding the prohibitions, permissions and the best ways to maneuver. But there are difficult road forks or situations that can only be resolved using rigorous rules.
Shock on the total dictation
People with "innate literacy" often fall into a state of shock after the total dictation they wrote.
Total Dictation is a magnificent project dedicated to literate writing in Russian. This is an annual written test in which volunteers write dictated.
Total dictation is never simple. Therefore, many participants are immensely surprised when their visual habits do not help to master the modern literary text in Russian. The usual "I always wrote without errors" in this case does not work.
What to do with commas: punctuation literacy
Punctuation is even more difficult, commas and other punctuation marks in the Russian language do not always coincide with the pauses and intonations of spoken language. âFeeling a commaâ is simply impossible, you need to know its semantic role and rules of use.
Punctuation literacy can only be learned by disassembling and forming persistent punctuation marks in the writing process. One direct speech in Russian, which is worth the rules of its design. So with quotation marks, commas and other signs there is no other way.
Quackery and magic courses
If you are invited to take classes in congenital literacy for students or adults, you have charlatans of pure water.
Firstly, we agreed that there is intuitive literacy acquired in childhood. Inherent literacy does not happen in fact, it is a consequence of incorrect terminology.
Secondly, even if we allow the possibility of the existence of a congenital phenomenon, then you cannot teach anything innate. As, for example, you canât be taught to sing with a magnificent soprano, because this is an inherent property of the voice.
Charlatans don't care. âThe ultra-modern megacourse of the extra classâ - this is the only way their wonderful courses are called. âNeuro-linguistics, an unconscious level and the launch of a program in the brainâ are the favorite expressions and arguments of the organizers of this type of service. Unfortunately, they find their consumers, the demand for "innate literacy courses for students" still exists.
What really works
The phenomenon of innate literacy has been well studied, therefore, the factors of its formation have long been identified:
- Ethnicity of the family in which the child grows. This refers to the dialect spoken by the parents. For southerners, for example, intuitive literacy is less common: their phonetics is different from classical spelling.
- The famous Russian teacher Ushinsky always opposed the study of a foreign language in early childhood. The argument was that when using a second (non-Russian) language in everyday conversations, innate literacy was less common. âBilingualismâ in the family also interfered.
- The language environment for the child: the more diverse and literate the speech of the parents, the more connections and patterns are formed in the childâs brain. This also includes reading to the child aloud - a great and affordable tool for raising linguistic intuition.
- Of course, independent reading. It is important that the books and texts in them are of high quality.
- Letter, letter and letter again. Even simple text rewriting. In this case, the most powerful kinetic is added to the visual memory mechanisms.
Parent Tips
From scratch, linguistic flair will not grow. Here, imaginative thinking, tenacious children's memory and the ability to visual perception will be useful. In a word, the child needs to be seriously considered. From a very young age, we observe the following rules, which can be denoted as a whole by the "methodology of innate literacy":
- We are not lazy to talk with the child, we follow the speech.
- We read the child aloud as much as he asks (and even more).
- We filter books, we select only valuable sources from the artistic and stylistic points of view.
- We do not stop reading aloud, even if the child has learned to read by himself (the most important rule).
- We learn and speak poetry, we ask you to retell read books.
- We initiate an independent letter manually: postcards for the holidays, wall newspapers, thick beautiful notebooks in the form of diaries, etc. - if only the child wrote.
We deal separately with children who already have a sense of language. Usually they do not want to learn the rules and do not see the benefits in them. These children usually have problems with punctuation. The best method for students with innate literacy is from example to rule (the opposite is taught at school). You need to parse several similar phrases with conclusions and a rule that will appear by itself, according to the logic.
And do not stop ourselves, the Russian language must be studied all his life. Such a language ...