Brat ’ ili ne brat’?

[John Dunn]

Richard Robin's  question is worth looking at from a slightly different, more eurocentric angle.  The switch to a 4 + 2 system of higher education is a consequence of Russia having signed up to the Bologna process, a Council of Europe initiative which is supposed by this year to have created a common higher education space throughout Europe.   The effect of this on the Russian language will presumably be the adoption of some of the semi-standardised 'Bologna-type' vocabulary: бакалавр [bakalavr] and магистр [magistr] have already (re-)entered the language, though I'm not sure if брать курс [brat' kurs] will fall into this category.  It would also be reasonable to expect that some specifically Russian terminology (диплом [diplom], кандидат наук [kandidat nauk]) will in due course start to fall out of usage or survive with a different meaning.   But being already retired, I don't have to try to predict a time-scale for this!

John Dunn.
  
Honorary Research Fellow
SMLC (Slavonic Studies)
University of Glasgow

Via Carolina Coronedi Berti, 6
40137 Bologna
Italy
John.Dunn at glasgow.ac.uk
johnanthony.dunn at fastwebnet.it

________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Robin [rrobin at GWU.EDU]
Sent: 13 August 2010 22:19
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Brat’ ili ne brat’?

Брать курс may be an English calque, but it is catching on quickly, and I
suspect it is just a matter of time before it enters the general language. I
usually hear this phrase plenty of times in Russia, but always from those
who are talking about experiences in the U.S., e.g. Когда я была в
Вашингтоне, я брал курсы по... Whenever I hear брать курс, I always ask, "Is
this a fully accepted phrase yet?" The answer is usually something like:
"Yes, to describe an American college experience."

The question is, as Russia moves to a more generalized four-year system of
higher education, will брать курс become legitimized for the Russian
experience? I bet yes, but not before I retire.


Richard M. Robin, Ph.D.
Director Russian Language Program
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-7081
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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