language query

[Ralph Cleminson]

On Fri, 4 Oct 1996 at 16:36:59 -0500, Emily Tall asked:

> As for the word "substandard"
> or "nonstandard," how, then, does one name what Russians call "prostorechie"
> ? I know the word "popular" is sometimes used. What about people who say
> "oni khodiut"?

If one has any sense, one doesn't attempt to use the category of
prostorechie at all.  It is a peculiarly East Slavonic concept,
though my dictionary shows that it has been borrowed by Bulgarian as
well.  (Any Bulgarians listening, I would welcome your impressions as
to what extent it represents a linguistic fact in Bulgarian.  Also,
are prostorichchja and prastamowe anything more than Russian imports
in Ukr. and Bel.?)  The problem is, that although the term is freely
used by Russians, it is never defined.  Is it the colloquial register
used by speakers of standard Russian, or is it the usage of speakers
of non-standard Russian (not, however, identifiable as a specific
regional dialect), or one or more other registers (slang,
professional jargon, etc.) that differ from the literary norm?  It
has certainly been used to refer to all of these, but there is no
consensus at to whether it covers all of them, and if not, which.
For scholarly purposes, therefore, it is best avoided, though of
course one is aware that it exists and covers some form(s) of non-
standard Russian.  Inache govorja, termin "prostorechie" mozhet
upotrebljat'sja v kachestve jazykovedcheskogo prostorechija, no ne
dolzhen vchodit' v normu uchenogo jazyka.

As for the people who say "oni khodjut", a good many of them would
never dream of writing it, and would certainly refrain from saying it
outside certain very informal contexts.  As Ms Horne so rightly
points out, the point of language instruction is to enable
communication, and communication is effected by paralinguistic
factors as well as by language.  (As, for example, a letter, even if
linguistically correct, if not set out according to the accepted
forms might be taken to convey a lack of education on the part of the
writer - or a lack of respect for the recipient.)  Since, to quote Ms
Horne again, what we are teaching is "how to express oneself
appropriately in a given social context", we must teach the standard
language, as this is appropriate for every context (certainly when
used by a foreigner, particularly one not yet perfectly fluent),
whereas the use of non-standard forms can lead to highly
inappropriate, and unintended, communication.

To return to the original question, the answer to the question "Na
kakom jazyke vy govorite?" is of course "Na russkom," without a verb.
Has this whole debate therefore been based on a misapprehension?

I must say I like "po-kakovski" from the Japanese dictionary, but I
have to admit I've never heard it.  I have however heard "Po ako
rozpravate?" in Slovak, though I doubt whether this is standard
(spisovna slovencina).  Any other examples?

R.M.Cleminson, M.A., D.Phil.
Dept of Mediaeval Studies, Central European University
Post: H-1245 Budapest 5, P.O.B.1082
Phone: +361 327 3024   Fax: +361 327 3055
http://www.ceu.hu/medstud/ralph.htm