klass

[Beyer, Tom]

Just a brief note to say I think the certainty and clarity of word usage in
Russian has disappeared. Whether here or there one is likely to hear things
that shock our more conservative ears. The language has no doubt picked up
lots of English words. The Academy of Science no longer reigns supreme in
prescribing standard usage.
At the least these instances can call for a discussion of registers-what one
can or should say to whom when and where.
Increasingly I try to be descriptive-not prescriptive in my own classes
(that I still call zanjatija)

> ----------
> From:         Emily Tall
> Reply To:     SEELangs: Slavic & E. European Languages & literatures list
> Sent:         Sunday, April 11, 1999 4:15 AM
> To:   SEELANGS at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
> Subject:      klass
>
> Ben Rifkin's posting has reminded me of something I've been wondering
> about. My emigre students all say they are going to "klass" and "shkola."
> I know "shkola" is wrong and I try to make them say "zaniatiia," but now
> I've heard a visiting teacher of Russian use it as well. Is it used in
> Russia at all to speak of college classes? Several of them have used
> "ikhnii" and "lozhit" (instead of kladyot) as well. Is the sanest approach
> just to point out
> that those are "unacceptable" forms and leave it at that? When I do point
> it out they give me these strange looks...Emily Tall
>