Is the Russian language awaiting a revolutionary reform of spelling – Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Brand or brand? Trend or trend? The media exploded with headlines about new spellings, and social networks of specialists with reports of “linguistic disaster.” Cause? The text of the draft government decree “On the approval of the rules of Russian spelling”, prepared by the Ministry of Education of Russia, has appeared on the Internet. About why we are so afraid of spelling changes, our conversation with a member of the Spelling Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences and editor-in-chief of the portal “Gramota.ru” Vladimir Pakhomov.
Vladimir Markovich, is it really time to deal with the insidious trinity “glass, pewter, wood”?
Vladimir Pakhomov: When people hear the words “new rules”, they start to worry: they have come up with something again, there will be a reform, and we, who have been cramming spelling at school for so many years, will become illiterate. I hasten to reassure everyone who was excited by the news: we will not write “cow” through “a”! And all the usual exceptions to the rules will remain in the textbooks.
It’s just about that. And here are the questions, how to write borrowed words with the first part “internet”, “media”, “business”? Through what letter – “brand”, “trend”? There are a lot of complicated words. It is clear that in the 1956 rules they do not develop.
Are these missing rules being developed now?
Vladimir Pakhomov: Yes. All the spellings we are talking about in their modern dictionaries have long been fixed and regulated – you just need to write them down in the rules.
According to the developers of the project, there is a request in society not only for a single complete reference book of rules, but also for their theoretical justification. Do I understand correctly, they will explain to us scientifically why “zhi-shi” should be written with “and”?
Vladimir Pakhomov: We are talking about short rules, the most relevant, necessary for those who write in Russian. Moreover, all the spellings by linguists are not simply invented. They create on the basis of deep Russian writing. For example, brand “brand”, “trend”, “cache”, “flash” are written with the letter “e”, although we pronounce them firmly. This happens because there is a general pattern of Russian spelling: at the beginning of the root after consonants in foreign words, we do not write the letter “e”! It is found only in a very limited number of words (“mayor”, “peer”, “sir”) and in highly specialized ones. Recently, this circle of exceptions has expanded with the appearance of the words “fantasy”, “sandwich”, “feng shui”, rap, racketeering, plein air … But linguists are trying to hold back the barrage of exceptions. The vast majority of new words of this type are of the type with the letter “e”. This is the theoretical basis of why, for example, in the word “karate” we write “e”. There was no such rule. Now will be.
The school curriculum will have little effect on the novelties. They are more for proofreaders, officials
Who is working on the new Code?
Vladimir Pakhomov: Linguists from various scientific centers are working on the rules in question. But all proposals of scientists will be discussed, specified, refined in the Spelling Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I emphasize that the draft Code is under development.
But now they will accept him. For whom will it become the law?
Vladimir Pakhomov: It will be required for anyone who wants to write correctly in Russian. However, the school curriculum of the innovations will not affect much. Teachers don’t have to worry about rewriting familiar rules and changing textbooks. Rather, it is relevant for editors, proofreaders, officials.
Agree, everything that considers school rules is perceived by society very painfully. This summer, your teacher, an outstanding scientist Vladimir Lopatin, passed away. He was the chairman of the Spelling Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which, it was rumored, was also preparing a revolutionary reform of the Russian language …
Vladimir Pakhomov: She only suggested thinking about single, point changes in the rules. Not in order to “simplify for the sake of illiterate poor students”, as they wrote then, but in order to make some rules more systemic, more logical and harmonious. They were going to remove only what violated the basic principles of Russian spelling.
For example?
Vladimir Pakhomov: Of the most notable – “parachute”, “jury”, “brochure” suggested writing through “y”, “fried potatoes”, either with mushrooms or without mushrooms with one “n”. It was suggested to write “gender-” as the first part of complex words with a hyphen in all cases. Now we write half an orange, but half a mandarin. This is not very logical. Or words like “fireworks” and “player” write without “th”. And this would not be a simplification, the elimination of an exception from the syllabic principle of Russian graphics.
The Spelling Commission of Lopatin was given a specific task: to create a Code of Rules for Russian Spelling, relevant for the end of the 20th century. And this job was done. All proposed changes were scientifically substantiated and reasoned. The Spelling Commission proposes a global reform. The work has stopped. However, its results, fortunately, were not in vain, but were published as the Complete Academic Handbook “Rules of Russian Spelling and Punctuation” edited by Lopatin. This guide does not have the character of a generally binding code.
As still remains the 1956 Code of Practice. By the way, his project was ready back in 1939, then in 1940 it was updated and specified. And further work was prevented by the Great Patriotic War. And only in the 50s it became possible to return to this. There was a long discussion on the pages of the magazine, for example, “Russian language at school”. And in 1956 these rules were approved.
We will not write “a cow” through “a”. And all the usual exceptions to the rules will remain in the textbooks. It’s more about complex loan words
Agree, a person who grew up under the teacher’s recitative: “parachute” – through “u”, the jury – through “u”, it is difficult to reconcile even with the most competent justifications of “u” in these words. Was it an attempt to turn in the direction of “as it is heard, so it is written”?
Vladimir Pakhomov: Back in the 50s and 60s of the last century, there were ideas to eliminate exceptions in words, where vowels after sibilants. Linguists never claim to simplify for the sake of simplification. And in a specific case, it is required to eliminate an exception that is not very justified by the Russian spelling system.
From my short-term experience of being a Russian at school, I know that there are children who make 15 mistakes per line. Are their “records” being analyzed in the process of updating the rules?
Vladimir Pakhomov: Necessarily. Before the failed reform of 1964, there were many studies of the literacy of schoolchildren in Moscow and the Moscow region. Now it is so interesting to read their results almost 60 years ago. It turns out that modern schoolchildren experience the same problems in Russian language lessons and make the same mistakes as their grandparents. The top is: “o” or “e” after hissing, one or two “n” in the attached, as well as in the participles. Everything is the same as now the difficulties.
The code only concerns spelling, but we also have a problem with commas today. Judging by the texts on social networks, did they die at all?
Vladimir Pakhomov: One of the most important tasks of the Spelling Commission is to prepare a complete set of spelling and punctuation rules, as well as submit it in electronic form, connecting it with an electronic academic spelling dictionary. Make a universal base for everyone.
Help “RG”
The government commission on the Russian language was created in August last year on behalf of Vladimir Putin. It included 43 people. The commission was edited by Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov.