Russian Purists Against Western Loanwords: Shared Characteristics Through Time
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2016
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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Abstract
The following analyzes the opinions of Russian language purists, those who wish
to preserve Russian language from change, and their opinions on loanwords from
Western Europe and America. It compares the logic of purists from various time periods
before the fall of the Soviet Union to that of purists writing after 1991 to the present day.
In each previous time period, Pre-Revolutionary Russia, the Early Soviet Period, and the
Mid-Soviet Period, the main arguments against loanwords correspond to arguments used
against loanwords today.
Purist opinions arise in times of sizable social change and increased levels of
loanword creation. In the Imperial Period (1682-1917), the reforms of Peter the Great
forced upper class Russians to conform to European norms in order to make Russian
culture appear more civilized in the eyes of Western Europe. Many loanwords entered
the language at this time, the majority of which became part of the educated dialect.
Purists of the time dismissed loanwords as unnecessary and incomprehensible. In some
cases the loanwords had a synonym of Russian-origin, like the more Russian sounding
mokrostupy "galoshes" instead of the foreign galosy "galoshes". Purists of the time
pushed for the use of the Russian word over the foreign equivalent.
In the Early Soviet Period (1917-1929), the Bolshevik govermnent made language
policy decisions that resulted in the increased use of new social, political, and economic
loanwords amongst the educated elite. The loanwords, such as privilegia "privilege",
were used frequently in the newspapers, which caused frustration amongst the
uneducated population, who did not understand them. There was a less monumental
purist movement in this time period due to the fact that the govermnent ignored their
complaints about the new language and forced the uneducated to learn these new words.
In the Mid-Soviet Period (1940s-1960s) there appeared a subculture called the
stilyagi, a group of young people who valued individualism over the Soviet ideal of
communalism. This manifested itself in conduct that the mainstream Soviet would not
approve of, such as wild dancing, jazz music, and eccentric clothing all based on
perceptions of American culture. The stilyagi's slang mostly consisted of loanwords, and
Soviet purists feared that their slang was permeating too far into the speech of the
educated populations.
Modern language purists are those who write after the fall of the Soviet Union.
This time period is marked by the increased influence of Western culture on Russia after
the drawing of the Iron Curtain. Along with the plethora of loanwords that have come
into Russian language there are many arguments against their use. Purists today also
argue on the subject of the harm of using loanwords when there is a Russian equivalent,
of the incomprehensibility of loanwords, and of slang being used in formal situations.
Even though these movements are separated by time, they are not unique and
show a pattern of how nationalists react to language changes, and therefore cultural
changes.