International Mother Language Day is celebrated worldwide on February 21st. This date was chosen for a reason: students, who protested in defence of their native language, Bengali, were killed by police in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, on February 21, 1952. The students demanded to recognize this language as one of the state languages of the country. Later, on November 17, 1999, this holiday was proclaimed by the General Conference of UNESCO and has been celebrated annually since 2000. On the importance of preserving native language, its specifics in understanding cultures, and the difference between the Russian language and the native language, spoke a linguist, academic staff member of the SUSU Department of Russian Language and Literature, and Director of the Centre for Editorial and Proofreading Services Larisa Vybornova.
– How many languages are there in the world right now? Is each of them native to a particular state?
– Scientists say that it is difficult to determine the exact number of languages in the world, so the data given by different researchers range from 3 thousand to 10-12 thousand languages. At the end of the 20th century, there were approximately 7 thousand living languages worldwide.
There is no such definition as native language of a state, but there are the definitions of state language and language of interethnic communication. The definition of language of interethnic communication is very important for such multinational countries as Russia. In Russia, the state language and the language of interethnic communication is Russian; it is spoken and used as a means of communication by representatives of different nations.
The issue of multilingualism is resolved differently in various countries. For example, in Finland there are two official languages: Finnish and Swedish, and in India they speak almost 800 languages, but the official languages are Hindi and English, which serves as the language of international communication in that country.
– We know that such a subject as the Native Russian Language was introduced in schools several years ago. What is the fundamental difference from just the Russian Language?
– A regional component, the study of native languages in national republics, was introduced for schools by the Federal State Educational Standards, therefore, in regions where Russian is the only language among the indigenous population, the subject of the Native Russian Language was established.
Russian Language and Native Russian Language are two different subjects. The first one is when a language is studied as a system, school pupils learn about such branches of linguistics as phonetics, morphemics and word formation, lexicology, morphology and syntax. Special attention is paid to the development of speech, mastering spelling and punctuation. And the course of the Native Russian Language is rather a simplified course of stylistics, history of the language and separate words, a story about people who contributed to the development of the language. In addition, the course includes the study of speech norms (phonetic, lexical, grammatical) and rhetoric.
The introduction of this course is certainly important because it helps language teachers do what they do not have time to do in the main course: talk about the beauty, capacities of language, awaken children’s thoughts and emotions about the wealth they own and teach them how to correctly express their thoughts and feelings.
– Why is this holiday important for our country?
– I think it is important for every country, and for every person. The relevance of this issue is confirmed by the fact that International Mother Language Day is still a young holiday, introduced by UNESCO only in 2000. Its importance cannot be overestimated because the level of development of the language, its weight in the life of the country, the people who speak it, determine the sphere of the language spreading and the scope of functions it performs.
– As we all know, the Russian language is distinguished by its richness. What other associations come to your mind when it is mentioned?
– Russian language is different, it is bold, open, sensitive, dynamic, it has an attitude...
I believe it is impossible to say about it better and more accurately than the brilliant Russian writers said. Everyone knows the words of Ivan Turgenev: “...Oh great, mighty, truthful and free Russian Language...”, the words of Nikolai Gogol: “Behold the great Russian Language!” or “... There is no word that would be so sweeping, lively, would burst out from under the very heart, would seethe and vibrate so vividly, like a well-spoken Russian word.”
–In our opinion, why is it important to preserve your native language?
– Language is not just a means of communication or recording and transmitting information. Language is closely connected with history, with the culture of the people. It is a reflection of the mentality of people, their identity, and at the same time, the linguistic thinking of the people determines their behaviour, their basic cultural and ideological attitudes. Through our native language we discover the world, we learn and teach. It is the bridge between generations and namely language ensures the unity of people.
– We know that such a subject as the Native Russian Language was introduced in schools several years ago. What is the fundamental difference from just the Russian Language?
– A regional component, the study of native languages in national republics, was introduced for schools by the Federal State Educational Standards, therefore, in regions where Russian is the only language among the indigenous population, the subject of the Native Russian Language was established.
Russian Language and Native Russian Language are two different subjects. The first one is when a language is studied as a system, school pupils learn about such branches of linguistics as phonetics, morphemics and word formation, lexicology, morphology and syntax. Special attention is paid to the development of speech, mastering spelling and punctuation. And the course of the Native Russian Language is rather a simplified course of stylistics, history of the language and separate words, a story about people who contributed to the development of the language. In addition, the course includes the study of speech norms (phonetic, lexical, grammatical) and rhetoric.
The introduction of this course is certainly important because it helps language teachers do what they do not have time to do in the main course: talk about the beauty, capacities of language, awaken children’s thoughts and emotions about the wealth they own and teach them how to correctly express their thoughts and feelings.