“I’m not Hachiko who will wait for you in the paddock forever. I’m already in a panic…” While I was thinking about the subject of the column I was asked to write, a song was playing in the taxi. In general, you don’t need to think further: all these “bastards”, “in a panic” and other obscenities that young people have dragged into the Russian language – what is not the reason for the conversation?
It’s a conversation that many people would likely want to conduct in an accusatory tone, from a conservative and protective position. Of course, most readers will say that young people spoil the Russian language. Incomprehensible words and written illiterately (okay, they cut out the introduction of padik and also replaced the vowel). Strange intonations for the Russian language. Tons of jargon and English words being exchanged (we just learned what it was) crash, wobble And exciteand they are already oppressed with might and main imba And imbovi, skuf And sigma, normis And grandpa insiderthe second is in no way related to an elderly relative). Unimaginable structures with incorrectly chosen prepositions (why Open panic, because everyone who is literate knows there must be an excuse V). Checkmate through the word. And the cherry on the cake is wild He said what will happen next? in its place he said he would come.
In fact, all these reactions – resentment, anger, disgust, fear for the fate of the native language – can be understood as quite natural and human. At the same time, it is worth remembering that the feeling that young people are ruthlessly and shamelessly corrupting the language is repeated from generation to generation. “Old people almost always dreamed (and still dream) that their children and grandchildren (especially great-grandchildren) deformed correct Russian speech” – these words of Korney Chukovsky’s magnificent book “Living Like Life”, published in 1962, are relevant for any era.
So what will happen to the linguistic phenomena that make the elderly so angry? Some become familiar after a while and cease to be annoying, while others disappear without a trace. So, according to Chukovsky’s memoirs, in the 1950s and 1960s, the elderly did not like when young people used the expression “goodbye” instead of “goodbye”, the expression “I’m worried” without an addition in the meaning of “I’m worried”. ”, management “to address” instead of “to address”. The elders of that time were shocked by this remark. children in its place kids when addressing children. So who now will call all these words and combinations a corruption of the language?
But in the 1950s, young people who were scolded with a brash “goodbye” instead of a decent farewell grew up, became parents themselves, and their children indoctrinated them with the jargon of the 1970s, when Anglicism was in full bloom.
Then, almost half a century ago, linguists called it “an unusual phenomenon in the history of the Russian language” (see, for example, the article “Modern youth jargon” in the magazine “Russian Conversation”, No. 5, 1980).
This is what terrified the adherents of the purity of the Russian language of the Brezhnev era: boy, man (man, young), driver, chef (taxi driver), maser (mother), phaser and even phaser (father), old people, parents (parents), japanese ( tourists from Japan), record (gramophone record), muzik (music), taper (recorder), clock (wristwatch), car (taxi), dragster (pharmacy), session (youth party), apartment (where the party is held apartment). By the way, apartments can be one-room (one-room).
Young people of that time did not know these words. relax, flexible And rufflebut less vivid verbs were not in use: kamat (to walk), ringanut (to call), spichit (to talk), sheykovat (to dance).
Surprisingly, at that time the well-known verb “like” already existed and was used in the sense of “like”. And the word “case” was used by our parents, but of course not in its current sense, “case” is close to “case example”: for them the case is just a briefcase. The word “waifa” now appears to be a misspelled name, but in 1970s slang “waifa” simply meant a wife.
And all this richness/ugliness (appropriately underlined) was present in the language during those years of stagnation, which many now miss as a period of the highest flowering of the Russian language.
So where did all these Japans and Parents and Vochs and Dragsters go? He disappeared without leaving a trace. There is no doubt that the same fate awaits much of modern youth slang.
Of course, the youth of the 1970s was mercilessly scolded, ridiculed with numerous feuilletons and scrutinized in the press for polluting the beautiful Russian language with phonetically, orthographically and ideologically alien words.
“The emergence of jargon using English loanwords was apparently the result of some young people imitating the Western way of life,” they wrote ominously in 1980. “From foreign radio programs, books, foreign films (mostly of poor quality, but glorifying the so-called luxurious life in the West), these young people acquired their own, often distorted, ideas about the foreign world.” (How can you not remember the common expression that Russia is a country where everything can change in 20 years, but nothing can change in 200 years!)
And again a few generations have changed, the young people of the 1970s have become grandparents and now they hate the speech of their grandchildren (without using this word, of course). There is no doubt that today’s 20-year-olds will nostalgically remember the wonderful Russian language of the early 21st century, cruelly distorted by the children of the 2050s.
And if each generation invents its own language, as different as possible from the language of adults, if complaints about illiterate and ill-mannered young people are repeated from century to century, then does it not follow from this that we are completely faced with this? normal and natural process?
And instead of calling the language of young people simple and primitive, shouldn’t we take a closer look at it and try to understand why young people sprinkle their speech with words and constructions that seem specially chosen to annoy and alienate older people? ?
There are several reasons for the emergence of youth slang. First of all, the pressure, enthusiasm and courage of youth require this. How can you not remember the famous words of A. Gornfeld: “Who was the first to sing the smoking room, the canteen, the Mariinsky Theatre, the lighter, the piercing? Of course, he is not an old person, with a calm temperament, a protective attitude, and careful with his language; a lively, young in spirit, impetuous, full of life person.”
Secondly, this is the goal: to alienate adults, isolate yourself from the world of these boring people, build your own world. This is how any jargon works; it is a “friend or foe” identification system.
Third, the normal childhood and youthful desire for linguistic creativity emerges here. As the linguist Irina Levontina writes, in adolescence, a child wants to really master the language, understand it, feel that he is his native, that he owns it, and “for this he needs to somehow crush his language, stretch it, see where its boundaries are. extensibility, because we can only do this with our native language.”
And by the way, jargon (any jargon, including youth jargon) is one of the sources of enrichment of the literary language: there are many examples of words and expressions that were once considered slang, colloquial, regional, and then became neutral. A classic example is the noun “working”, which was categorically not accepted by literate, educated people at the beginning of the 20th century. Linguists say even “that what” may be a new subordinate conjunction compound that will become a literary norm over time.
Therefore, it is stupid and strange to demand from young people to speak a pure, sterile Russian literary language in lively, relaxed communication, especially since adults themselves constantly jump out of this framework. But “fathers” who do not understand and do not accept the speech of “children” should also not be considered a dusty regression: they have the right to be angry when they hear it. sposik in its place Thank you.
Different generations speak slightly different languages; Neither is better or worse than the other. Both grandmothers and grandchildren know the word social security, for some it is an institution where they can apply for social benefits, and for others it is an abbreviation for interview. Both have the right to exist.
Let me summarize. Youth jargon is a completely normal and natural part of the language, one of the indicators of its healthy development, one of the sources of enrichment of the literary language. Children will play and grow with language, leaving this fascinating linguistic pastime to future generations. Still, it is worth taking a closer look at the conversations of young people: sometimes it works like a time machine and allows you to look into the future without any DeLorean (DeLorean is a time machine from the science fiction series “Back to the Future” – socialbites.ca). About the literary norm of the coming decades What should be learned?
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.