Should we be studying Russian?

07 July 2005

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A colleague of mine who's a professor of Russian, tells me that whenever he's on an plane he likes to read Russian mystery novels. Typically, the person sitting next to him sees that he's reading something with unusual letters, and says something like:

You teach Russian? But that's so hard! Or maybe: But Russia is so bleak! Or: it's kind of an ugly language, isn't it? Or: What can your students can do with it! Or even: Russian? Don't they spend most of their time drinking vodka?

Let me say a few things about those myths.

First, Russian isn't as hard as you might think. It does have a different alphabet, but if you've been in a fraternity or sorority, or if you studied math in college, you might be surprised at how many of the letters you already know. They’re borrowed from Greek. There are 33 letters, and they take only about 10 hours to learn. And remember that Russian is a cousin of English in the Indo-European language family, so there are many connections. For instance, the root of the verb "to see" in Russian is "vid", related to the English words video, vision, and visual.

As to the second myth, Russia is no sense a bleak country! Yes, it has long winters, but it's a fascinating place. Its villages are a delight. Moscow and St. Petersburg are world-class, cosmopolitan cities. And consider these names as representatives of Russian culture: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pasternak, Chagall, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Prokofiev, to name just a few! If you're not sure of Russia's role in the arts, check out the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Even the Russian subway systems are gorgeous!

As for the third myth, about the sound of Russian, I think it's a beautiful language! But why don't you be the judge. Listen to the closing lines of a poem by the 20th century poet Anna Akhmatova:

[Russian poem excerpt]

In some ways Russian is beautiful because it's spoken by people who are passionate about friendship. People who take the time to learn Russian and travel to the country are always struck by how intense Russian friendships can be. It's a national characteristic.

The fourth myth suggests that Americans who study Russian can't use it professionally. The truth is that demand for speakers of Russian is growing and will continue to grow. The Russian economy is booming, and American companies are investing like never before. Did you know that Russia is the top oil producer in the world, with oil reserves second only to Saudi Arabia's?

And Russia is huge: it spreads across 11 time zones! Roughly 150 million people consider Russian their native language, making it one of the most-spoken languages in the world. And it's also important in the U.S. The latest census reports a half a million speakers of Russian in New York City alone.

And now for the story about vodka. Well, there might be some truth to that one. Legend has it that Prince Vladimir of Kiev chose Christianity as the official religion of the Slavs partly because Islam prohibited alcohol and, as the Prince put it, "drink is the joy of the Russians." On the other hand, not every Russian drinks vodka, but almost every Russian drinks tea. It's definitely the national pastime.

So, if you're ready to start a new language, think about Russian. And the next time you hear someone speaking with a Russian accent, offer him a glass of tea. You might make a friend for life.

That's the linguistic thought for today, which comes from Dr. Benjamin Rifkin, Professor of Russian at Temple University. And this is the Five-Minute Linguist at the College of Charleston, in cooperation with the National Museum of Language. If you have a question about language, visit our website at www.cofc.edu/linguist. And, keep in mind that wherever you are, and whatever you do... language makes a difference.

Comments

Posted by: Mari Gillogly at July 13, 2005 12:57 PM