'kushat''

[Igor Silantev]

1.                                              "Babochka-krasavitsa,
                                                Kushaite varenje!
                                                Ili vam ne nravitsa
                                                Nashe ugoshchenje?"

                               Kornej Chukovsky, _Mukha-Tsokotukha _

2.                  "Kushat' podano - sadites' zhrat', pozhaluista!"

                                   From the film _Gentl'meny udachi_

Dear colleagues,

Excuse me please for these quotations in the style of anti-epigraph,
and for the second message in succession. I think that the speech
status of the verb kushat' can be considered from the point of view of
pragmatics. Let me explain my words in Russian, not to lose some
details of meaning.

1. Rech' v semije.

1.1. Dannyj glagol obychno upotrebliajets'a v razgovorakh vzroslykh s
det'mi (osobenno s malen'kimi) i v samoj detskoi rechi. V ramkakh etoi
situatsii glagol est' takzhe upotrebliaets'a, no, kak pravilo, s
ottenkom nekotoroi kategorichnosti. Naprimer, ia zovu svoego syna k
stolu: "Alesha, idi kushat'", no v trerij ili v chetvertyj raz ia
govoriu emu uzhe strogo: "Alesha, idi est'!" Rozental' pochemu-to
pishet tol'ko o 3-m litse, odnako na samom dele ispol'zuetsa vs'a
paradigma glagola. Spravochnik pod redaktsiej L.Rachmanovoj, o kotorom
pishet Frank, konechno, daet bolee tochniju formulirovku: "po
otnosheniju k detjam, a takzhe v rechi detej".

1.2. Sootvetstvenno, v semije, gde est' malen'kije deti, upotreblenie
glagola kushat' chastichno rasprostraniaetsa i na rech' samikh
vzroslykh, t.e. okhvatyvaet ves' diskurs etoj semji.

1.3. Imenno semejnaia rech' (p. 1.2) vystupaet istochnikom
upotreblenija glagola kushat' v rechi molodykh liudei - ne vsekh,
konechno, a tol'ko tekh, kto ne preodolel v svoei rechevoi praktike
ostatki iazykovogo infantilizma. Eto, kak mne predstaviaets'a,
kak raz to, o chem pishet Jerry, kasajas' problemy 'heritage speakers'.

1.4. Krainij sluchai - eto upotreblenije glagola kushat' v NEITRAL'NOJ
rechi vzroslymi liudjmi VMESTO gladola est', chto govorit o polnoi
stilisticheskoi glukhote cheloveka.

2. Vprochem, situatsija meniaets'a, kogda my perekhodim v sferu
vezhlivoi rechi. Zdes' glagol kushat' dovol'no umesten, no ne v
sluchae priamogo priglashenija k trapeze (kak eto soversheno tochno
zamechaet Prof. Israeli)- see also second 'epigraph', no v rechevoj
situatsiji S POVYSHENNOJ TONAL'NOSTJU OBKHODITEL'NOSTI (naprimer, v
rechi, obrashchennoi k inostrantsam - eto sluchai, o kotorom pishet
Peter). Drugoi sluchai, uzhe is istorii jazyka, kasaets'a rechevogo
otnoshenija slug k gospodam. "Gospoda pokushali" - privodit primer
Dal'

3. Eshche odna situatsija, v kotoroj svobodno ispol'zuets'a kushat'-
eto obshchenije v ironicheskoj tonal'nosti. Otsiuda, mezhdu prochim, i
ironicheskij perenos znachenija v slove "nakushat's'a". Poniatno, chto
Spravochnik pod redaktsiej L.Rachmanovoj, kotoryj tsitiruet Frank,
sostavlials'a puristami, no vse zhe: dlia vsiakogo "nositelia" zhivogo
russkogo jazyka ochevidno, chto slovo "nakushat's'a" po otnosheniju k
vzroslomu muzhchine oznachaet nechto sovsem drugoe, nezheli
"dostatochno poest'", i poetomu po otnosheniju k zhenshchine voobshche
ne upotrebliajetsa.

4. I poslednee: v druzheskom obshchenii (no ne v
vezhlivo-obkhoditel'nom! - see p. 2) vse zhe umestnee skazat',
naprimer, "Davaj, perekusim", ili "Davaj, poobedaem vmeste
(pouzhinaem)", potomu chto "pokushat'" s ego ochen' sil'nym
konnotatativnym fonom 'semeinykh, blizkikh otnoshenij' (see p.1) srazu
zhe neskol'ko smutit vashego sobesednika - druga ili prijatelia.

Excuse me for this too long and tedious message, but in fact I would
like to stress the only one thing: as a rule, dictionaries and
handbooks on a foreign language are not sufficient for reconstruction the
using of a word in real variety of language life (I am a "victim" of
the same situation with my English dictionaries, too). Of course, ten
or more years of living in a country of the language can solve the
problem, but is there any other and more effective way (method)? May
be, the time has come to write dictionaries which are oriented more to
pragmatics of language, than to its semantics and grammar only? Can
anyone tell me if there is such a dictionary or handbook in American
and British tradition of Russian teaching? And, of course, it would be
very interesting (perspectively) to write at least several trial
entries of such a dictionary (kak govorits'a, "ruki cheshuts'a").

Yours sincerely,

Igor Silantev

________________________________________

Igor Silantev
Novosibirsk State University

Pirogova 11, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
tel. +7 3832 397451; fax. +7 3832 303011
email silantev at sscadm.nsu.ru
web http://www.nsu.ru/ssc/siv/

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