Secrets of the Russian language Boil porridge, disentangle porridge In the old days, when potatoes were not yet known in Russia, porridge was the main daily dish in peasant families. It is clear, therefore, why many phraseological phrases are associated with porridge: “you can’t cook porridge with them” - they said about a person with whom it was impossible to do a common thing, “I ate little porridge” - young and inexperienced. The porridge was prepared quickly, it did not require much skill. If the porridge turned out to be tasteless, it still had to be eaten (disentangled). "He made a mess" - they said about a person who, without thinking and not calculating the consequences, created a difficult situation for himself and those around him. In order to unravel this situation, it was necessary to "disentangle the mess" - that is, to make great efforts to correct the situation. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) How to look into the water According to our ancestors, a clairvoyant, looking into the water, could find out the fate of a person, foresee the future, warn of impending dangers. The girls, dreaming of marriage, tried to see the image of their betrothed in a bucket of water. To do this, a vessel with water was placed under the bed at night, and to appease unknown forces, nut shells, wax candles, and pieces of food were thrown into the water. Thanks to these divinations, the expression "as if looking into the water" entered our language. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Rose T.V., M., 2009). Like behind a stone wall In the old days, walls were erected around cities to protect against enemies. Walls made of stone or brick were especially reliable: they sheltered from enemy arrows and made it possible to withstand a long siege. Over time, the expression acquired a broader meaning: guardianship, patronage of a high-ranking person, or a document that saves you from unnecessary trouble, could play the role of protection. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) How Arshin swallowed Arshin, as a measure of length, is equal to 16 inches or 71 centimeters. Russian merchants and craftsmen widely used arshins in their business - metal or wooden rulers of the same length. No one tried to swallow such a ruler, but if you imagine it, then a person would be standing in front of you unnaturally straight with unbending arms and legs and not turning his head. This is exactly what is meant in the expression "as a arshin swallowed." Synonyms are also the expressions "stand on the line" and "stretch out to your full height." ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Rose TV, M., 2009) Far Away This expression is often found in Russian folk tales and means "very far." The origin of the expression dates back to the time when in Russia, in addition to the decimal number system, there was also a decimal number system, which was based on the number nine. In fairy tales, to reinforce the described fact, everything was taken in a threefold amount: for distant lands, in a distant kingdom, in a distant state. From folklore, these expressions passed into ordinary colloquial language and retained their figurativeness in literature. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) Plug in the belt The expression is associated with the habit of artisans to put a temporarily unnecessary tool into the belt. In the old days, this expression passed to the relationship of people. In the case of physical superiority, the opponent boastfully promised the other to treat him as an unnecessary thing: hide it in his belt or put it in his pocket. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) Vicious circle There is a popular belief that in the forest the goblin leads a person in a circle, so the lost one returns to the place where he has already been. This really happens to people in the forest and it happens because the step taken with the right foot is wider than the step with the left. In the absence of an accurate reference point, a person walks in circles. In everyday life, sometimes there are situations when circumstances depend on each other and a closed chain is obtained that is difficult to break, then they say that a person is in a vicious circle or in a hopeless situation. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) Slurp for seven miles of jelly An ancient measure of distance - a verst - comes from the verb "twirl". It characterized the distance or length of the furrow from one turn of the plow to another during plowing. A verst was equal to a thousand fathoms, or - in the modern system of measures - almost a kilometer. Kissel was one of the most common dishes in Russia, you could "sip" it at home, and not go "seven miles away", spending a lot of time and effort on it. Therefore, the expression "to sip jelly for seven miles" began to mean "to go far and in vain" ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Rose T.V., M., 2009) To chop on the nose The word "nose" as a protruding part of the body or some -either object has one more meaning: in very ancient times this was called a commemorative plaque or a tag for records. Illiterate people everywhere carried such boards with them and made all kinds of notes (notches) on them as a keepsake. This is how the expression "to chop on the nose" appeared. If they borrowed money, then such boards were sometimes given as promissory notes. In the event that the debt was not returned, then, according to the apt expression of the people, the creditor "was left with a nose", that is, with a tablet instead of money. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) Speak teeth Teeth ached for all people at all times. Some went to doctors, others to healers, who had their own methods of treatment with the help of herbs, conspiracies and spells. It happened that after such a visit, the pain in the tooth subsided and the person was satisfied. Over time, the expression "to speak teeth" began to mean to mislead, to deceive. Other phraseological phrases are also associated with teeth: “put your teeth on the shelf” - that is, starve, “keep your mouth shut” - be silent, “impose in your teeth” - get bored. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Roze TV, M., 2009) Get a barrel organ In the old days in Russia, itinerant musicians walked with a barrel organ. A barrel organ is a portable mechanical organ in the form of a large box with a strap worn over the shoulder. Inside the box was a small disk like a modern gramophone record, on which a popular tune was recorded. The musician turned the handle, which rotated this disk, and the same melody poured out of the box, repeating. The sound of this simple instrument was hoarse and mournful, so the expression "turn on the hurdy-gurdy" soon appeared among the people - that is, it is annoying to talk about the same thing. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Rose TV, M., 2009) Keep your pocket wider In the old days, any bag or sack attached to the outside of a person's clothes or tied to a saddle was called a pocket. They put things needed on the way or hike. When it was necessary to place something large, they asked to open the pocket wider. Most often, it was kept closed so that intruders or thieves "did not get into their pockets." Over time, the expression acquired a derisive ironic connotation and began to mean vain expectations and calculations. ("Big Phraseological Dictionary for Children", Rose T.V., M., 2009)
The Russian language is one of the most difficult. And this is connected not only with vocabulary and syntax, but also with its history. Even for us, native speakers, many things in our native language are still unclear and mysterious.
Message
Linguists have repeatedly noted the acrophonic principle of constructing the Old Russian alphabet and even saw in it a hidden “message to the Slavs”. Each of the Cyrillic letters has its own name, and if you read these names in alphabetical order, you get: “Az buki vede. The verb is good. Live green, earth, and, like some people, think of our peace. Rtsy word firmly - uk furt her. Tsy, worm, shta ra yus yati. One of the options for translating this text is as follows: “I know the letters: a letter is a property. Work hard, earthlings, as befits reasonable people - comprehend the universe! Carry the word with conviction: knowledge is a gift from God! Dare, delve into, in order to comprehend the light of existence!
Which language is closer to the Slavic "ancestor"?
Disputes have long been going on between the patriotic inhabitants of the Slavic countries: what language is closer to the original Slavic? Where did the differences between the dialects on the territory of Eastern Russia (i.e., present-day central Russia), Southern (modern Ukraine) and Western (now Belarus) come from?
The fact is that different elements participated in the genesis of the national languages of these countries. In Russia, in addition to the Slavs, lived the Finno-Ugric tribes, the Balts. Nomads from the southern steppes often visited here. The Tatar-Mongol conquerors not only robbed and ruined Russia, but also left behind a lot of linguistic borrowings.
Swedes, Germans, Poles - European neighbors, also enriched the Russian language with new words. The fact that a significant part of present-day Belarus was historically under the rule of Poland, and that Southern Russia was constantly subjected to raids by nomads, could not but be reflected in the local languages. As they say, who do you hang out with?
But don't get too upset. The fact that our language today is so far from its progenitor is not an accident and not the result of a Masonic conspiracy, but the result of the painstaking work of many talented people who created the Russian literary language in the form in which it exists now. If it were not for the reforms inspired by them, we would not have Pushkin's poetry, Tolstoy's prose, Chekhov's dramaturgy. Who created the language we speak today?
First "dismissal of letters"
In the 18th century, Peter I came to power. He began transformations in all spheres of life, and did not ignore the Russian language. But his reforms concern only the external side, they do not penetrate into the very essence of the language: its syntax, vocabulary, grammar.
Peter I simplifies spelling by getting rid of the Greek letters psi, xi and omega. These letters did not designate any sounds in Russian, and their loss did not impoverish the language at all. Peter tried to get rid of a number of letters of the Russian alphabet: "Earth", "Izhitsa", "Firth", and also removed superscripts, but under pressure from the clergy, these letters had to be returned.
The alphabet reform made life easier not only for schoolchildren of the time of Peter the Great (they had to learn fewer letters), but also for printing houses, which no longer had to print extra characters that were not pronounced when reading.
Lomonosov commented on this as follows: “Under Peter the Great, not only boyars and boyars, but also letters, threw off their wide fur coats and dressed up in summer clothes.”
Why was reform needed?
The real reform is being carried out by the writers and poets of the 18th century: Trediakovsky, Lomonosov, Karamzin. They create the Russian literary language and "consolidate success" with their works. Prior to that, the Russian language, due to constant contacts with Western Europe, was in a chaotic state.
Colloquial forms coexisted in it with bookish ones, borrowings from German, French, Latin were used along with Russian counterparts.
Trediakovsky changes the very principle of Russian versification, adopting and adapting the European syllabo-tonic system - based on a regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Lomonosov divides all the words of the Russian language into three groups: the first included those rarely used, especially in colloquial speech, but understandable to literate people: “I open”, “I call”. To the second - words common to the Russian and Church Slavonic languages: “hand”, “now”, “I read”. And to the third group, he included words that have no analogues in church books, that is, Russian words, not originally Slavic: “I say”, “stream”, “only”.
Thus, Lomonosov distinguishes three “calms”, each of which was used in certain literary genres: a high calm was suitable for odes and heroic poems, dramatic works were written with a middle calm, prose - in general, all works where you need to depict living speech. Low calm was used in comedies, satire, epigrams.
Finally, Karamzin enriches the Russian language with neologisms, he refuses the Church Slavonic vocabulary, the syntax of the language in his works approaches the “lighter” French. It is to Karamzin that we owe, for example, the appearance of the words "love" or "sidewalk".
Difficult letter "Yo"
Karamzin was one of the ardent "admirers" of the letter "ё", but he was not at all its inventor. In 1783, one of the first meetings of the Academy of Russian Literature took place. Its founder was Ekaterina Dashkova. Together with the most famous writers of her time: Derzhavin and Fonvizin, the princess discussed the project of the Slavic-Russian Dictionary.
For convenience, Ekaterina Romanovna suggested replacing the designation of the sound "io" with one letter "ё". The innovation was approved by the general meeting of the academy, Dashkova's innovative idea was supported by Derzhavin, who began to use "e" in his works. It was he who was the first to use a new letter in correspondence, and also the first to print a surname with an “ё”: Potemkin. At the same time, Ivan Dmitriev published the book “And my knick-knacks”, imprinting all the necessary points in it. And, finally, it received wide use after it appeared in Karamzin's poetry collection.
The new letter also had opponents. Minister of Education Alexander Shishkov is said to have furiously flipped through the numerous volumes of his library and with his own hand marked out two dots above the letter. Among the writers, too, there were many conservatives. Marina Tsvetaeva, for example, fundamentally wrote the word “devil” through “o”, and Andrei Bely, for the same reasons, “yellow”.
In printing houses, the letter is also disliked, because because of it you have to spend extra paint. In pre-revolutionary primers, she was exiled to the very end of the alphabet, in the same company as the dying Izhitsa and Fita. And today its place is in the very corner of the keyboard. But not everywhere the letter "ё" is treated with such disdain - in Ulyanovsk, she even erected a monument.
The secret of "Izhitsa"
In the famous decree of Lunacharsky in 1918 on changes in the Russian language, there is no mention of the letter V (“Izhitsa”), which was the last letter in the pre-revolutionary alphabet. By the time of the reform, it was extremely rare, and it could be found mainly only in church texts.
... Even now the Russian language has, in truth, cosmic possibilities - we would only save this wealth from alien interference in the sacred treasures of literature.
Four linguists met at one of the symposiums: an Englishman, a German, an Italian and a Russian. We were talking about languages. They began to argue, and whose language is more beautiful, better, richer, and what language does the future belong to?
The Englishman said: “England is a country of great conquerors, seafarers and travelers who spread the glory of her language to all corners of the whole world. English - the language of Shakespeare, Dickens, Byron - is undoubtedly the best language in the world."
“Nothing of the kind,” said the German, “Our language is the language of science and physics, medicine and technology. The language of Kant and Hegel, the language in which the best work of world poetry is written - Goethe's Faust.
“You are both wrong,” the Italian entered into an argument, “Think, the whole world, all of humanity loves music, songs, romances, operas! In what language do the best love romances and brilliant operas sound? In the language of sunny Italy!
The Russian was silent for a long time, listened modestly, and finally said: “Of course, I could also, like each of you, say that the Russian language - the language of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov - surpasses all the languages of the world. But I won't follow your path. Tell me, could you compose a short story in your own languages with a plot, with a consistent development of the plot, so that all the words of the story begin with the same letter?
This puzzled the interlocutors very much and all three said: "No, in our languages it is impossible." Then the Russian answers: “But in our language it is quite possible, and I will prove it to you now. Name any letter. The German replied: “It doesn't matter. The letter "P" for example.
"Fine, here's a story for you with this letter," replied the Russian.
Pyotr Petrovich Petukhov, Lieutenant of the 55th Podolsky Infantry Regiment, received a letter in the mail full of good wishes. “Come,” wrote the charming Polina Pavlovna Perepelkina, “we’ll talk, dream, dance, take a walk, visit a half-forgotten, half-overgrown pond, go fishing. Come, Pyotr Petrovich, to stay as soon as possible.
Petukhov liked the offer. Figured: I'll come. He grabbed a half-worn field cloak, thought: it will come in handy.
The train arrived in the afternoon. Pyotr Petrovich was received by Polina Pavlovna's most venerable father, Pavel Panteleimonovich. “Please, Pyotr Petrovich, sit down more comfortably,” said dad. A bald nephew came up and introduced himself: “Porfiry Platonovich Polikarpov. Please, please."
The lovely Polina appeared. Full shoulders were covered with a transparent Persian scarf. We talked, joked, invited to dine. Dumplings, pilaf, pickles, liver, pate, pies, cake were served. We had a hearty meal. Pyotr Petrovich felt a pleasant satiety.
After eating, after a hearty snack, Polina Pavlovna invited Pyotr Petrovich to take a walk in the park. In front of the park stretched a half-forgotten, half-grown pond. Ride under sail. After swimming in the pond, we went for a walk in the park.
"Let's sit down," suggested Polina Pavlovna. Sit down. Polina Pavlovna moved closer. We sat down, were silent. There was a first kiss. Pyotr Petrovich got tired, offered to lie down, spread out a half-worn field cloak, thought: it came in handy. Lie down, lie down, fall in love. “Pyotr Petrovich is a prankster, a scoundrel,” Polina Pavlovna habitually said.
“Let's get married, let's get married!” whispered the bald nephew. “Let's get married, let's get married,” boomed the approaching dad. Pyotr Petrovich turned pale, staggered, then ran away. Having run, I thought: “Polina Petrovna is a wonderful party, it’s enough to take a steam bath.”
The prospect of obtaining a beautiful estate flashed before Pyotr Petrovich. Hastened to send an offer. Polina Pavlovna accepted the offer, and later they got married. Friends came to congratulate, brought gifts. Passing the package, they said: "A beautiful couple."
Interlocutors-linguists, having heard the story, were forced to admit that Russian is the best and richest language in the world!
... Each reader is free to determine for himself what is closer to Truth-Truth: the official historical myth about the Russian People (which is now bursting at the seams, living out its last years), or what other sources testify to. At different times, there were always people, whether they were foreigners (Fadey Volansky, burned by Polish churchmen at the stake from his own books “Monuments of Slavic writing before the birth of Christ”; Mavro Orbini is an Italian historian who in 1601 wrote a study called “The book of historiography, the beginning of a name, glory and expansion of the Slavic people and their Kings and Rulers under many names and with many Kingdoms, Kingdoms and Provinces ... "), or Russian researchers (V.N. Tatishchev, M.V. Lomonosov, E.I. Classen P P. Oreshkin, M. L. Seryakov, G. S. Grinevich, V. M. Kandyba, O. M. Gusev, K. K. Bystrushkin), convincingly and strictly scientifically showing in their writings that the true past of the Russian People goes back thousands of years.
It is this view of the history of the Russian People (and hence the history of all mankind) that allows us to consider the history of mankind not as a movement from savagery to civilization, as official history teaches, but quite the opposite: from Unity with the World and God to complete savagery and self-destruction, from the Single Language of the Soul's feelings, to the single language of mind-logic, from Conscience and Justice to legalized domination, from will to bondage.
Let's start with an excerpt from the work of O. Gusev "The Magic of the Russian Name":
"... To declare that the Russian people before the adoption of Christianity was "unliterate and cultureless", means to recognize them as incapable of developing their own philosophical and ideological concept in their views on the world around them, on the processes taking place in the Cosmos. How then did it survive on Earth? Orthodox philosophers teach: the Old Slavic language (and after it the Russian language) is "an artificial language created thanks to the genius of two peoples: Greeks and Jews" Doesn't Christianity take on too much? The peoples of the yellow race, for example, did without Christianity and have their own view of the world. Maybe a thousand years ago we, Russians, were at least equal with them in terms of our intellectual development? Are the Arab, Chinese, and Indian languages the representation of the universe by Arabs, Chinese, Indians? Yes, Any linguist will tell you about this. Why don't we hear anything that the same thing is inherent in the Russian language? Like Arabic, Chinese and all other languages of the world but they have nothing to do with the "genius of two peoples: Greeks and Jews", just as the great Russian language has nothing to do with this "genius" ...
As for Russia, then, says V.N. Tatishchev, we “have had letters for a very long time, because before Rurik there was a written law ... Oleg mentions letters and letters of travelers in an agreement with the Greeks ...” ... we are surprised we read that world Slavic studies have long established the fact that the Russians had their own written language before they adopted Christianity. The debate is about whether we had a literary language and literature. Some researchers are convinced that our pre-Christian books were written in a simple and understandable language that differed little from the modern colloquial... . But why is the "Lay of Igor's Campaign" also written incomprehensibly? Perhaps the author of The Lay did not use the colloquial, but the literary “language” that had already been finally established by the time of his life, imposed by the reformers of the “enlighteners of the Slavs”? Then V.N. Tatishchev, M.V. Lomonosov, V. Trediakovsky, V. Zhukovsky and A.S. Pushkin saved our literary language from the “gift” of Cyril and Methodius!?
Here it is important for us to show that it was not the Greeks, Jews and Romans who brought us enlightenment, thereby leading us out of the state of savagery. But quite the opposite. The Russian People has always carried the torch of knowledge to other peoples after the once united human community broke up into many peoples, tribes and nationalities, which at the same time forgot the single language and writing, and to varying degrees fell into the state of the so-called "primitive communal system". Another thing is that the Russian People itself failed to fully resist the forces that destroy humanity and there was a constant splitting off from the Russian Tree of certain families and clans, which, as they moved away from it, distorted both the language and the worldview. The last such splitting was the splitting of the Ruses into the steppe, Polabian, Pomeranian, Gorodets and Siversky. The steppes are now known as Ukrainians, Polabas as Yugoslavs, Pomeranians were destroyed during the Crusades, Gorodets partly formed Belarusians, and partly together with the Sivertsy formed the current Russian people. There were earlier divisions, but this is in a separate work. But already on the example of the Slavic division of the Rus, it is clear how this happened before. For us, it is important to show that it was the Russian People who enlightened the Greeks and Romans, since then it becomes clear why they subsequently needed to distort history (there were genuine earthly ones), up to the “vice versa”.
...Unique archaeological finds in the Kemerovo region lead to the idea that once there was a developed civilization that gave rise to the Slavic tribes and the Russian language.
The Russian language is one of the most difficult. And this is connected not only with vocabulary and syntax, but also with its history. Even for us, native speakers, many things in our native language are still unclear and mysterious.
Message
Linguists have repeatedly noted the acrophonic principle of constructing the Old Russian alphabet and even saw in it a hidden “message to the Slavs”. Each of the Cyrillic letters has its own name, and if you read these names in alphabetical order, you get: “Az buki vede. The verb is good. Live green, earth, and, like some people, think of our peace. Rtsy word firmly - uk furt her. Tsy, worm, shta ra yus yati. One of the options for translating this text is as follows: “I know the letters: a letter is a property. Work hard, earthlings, as befits reasonable people - comprehend the universe! Carry the word with conviction: knowledge is a gift from God! Dare, delve into, in order to comprehend the light of existence!
Which language is closer to the Slavic "ancestor"?
Disputes have long been going on between the patriotic inhabitants of the Slavic countries: what language is closer to the original Slavic? Where did the differences between the dialects on the territory of Eastern Russia (i.e., present-day central Russia), Southern (modern Ukraine) and Western (now Belarus) come from?
The fact is that different elements participated in the genesis of the national languages of these countries. In Russia, in addition to the Slavs, lived the Finno-Ugric tribes, the Balts. Nomads from the southern steppes often visited here. The Tatar-Mongol conquerors not only robbed and ruined Russia, but also left behind a lot of linguistic borrowings.
Swedes, Germans, Poles - European neighbors, also enriched the Russian language with new words. The fact that a significant part of present-day Belarus was historically under the rule of Poland, and that Southern Russia was constantly subjected to raids by nomads, could not but be reflected in the local languages. As they say, who do you hang out with?
But don't get too upset. The fact that our language today is so far from its progenitor is not an accident and not the result of a Masonic conspiracy, but the result of the painstaking work of many talented people who created the Russian literary language in the form in which it exists now. If it were not for the reforms inspired by them, we would not have Pushkin's poetry, Tolstoy's prose, Chekhov's dramaturgy. Who created the language we speak today?
First "dismissal of letters"
In the 18th century, Peter I came to power. He began transformations in all spheres of life, and did not ignore the Russian language. But his reforms concern only the external side, they do not penetrate into the very essence of the language: its syntax, vocabulary, grammar.
Peter I simplifies spelling by getting rid of the Greek letters psi, xi and omega. These letters did not designate any sounds in Russian, and their loss did not impoverish the language at all. Peter tried to get rid of a number of letters of the Russian alphabet: "Earth", "Izhitsa", "Firth", and also removed superscripts, but under pressure from the clergy, these letters had to be returned.
The alphabet reform made life easier not only for schoolchildren of the time of Peter the Great (they had to learn fewer letters), but also for printing houses, which no longer had to print extra characters that were not pronounced when reading.
Lomonosov commented on this as follows: “Under Peter the Great, not only boyars and boyars, but also letters, threw off their wide fur coats and dressed up in summer clothes.”
Why was reform needed?
The real reform is being carried out by the writers and poets of the 18th century: Trediakovsky, Lomonosov, Karamzin. They create the Russian literary language and "consolidate success" with their works. Prior to that, the Russian language, due to constant contacts with Western Europe, was in a chaotic state.
Colloquial forms coexisted in it with bookish ones, borrowings from German, French, Latin were used along with Russian counterparts.
Trediakovsky changes the very principle of Russian versification, adopting and adapting the European syllabo-tonic system - based on a regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Lomonosov divides all the words of the Russian language into three groups: the first included those rarely used, especially in colloquial speech, but understandable to literate people: “I open”, “I call”. To the second - words common to the Russian and Church Slavonic languages: “hand”, “now”, “I read”. And to the third group, he included words that have no analogues in church books, that is, Russian words, not originally Slavic: “I say”, “stream”, “only”.
Thus, Lomonosov distinguishes three “calms”, each of which was used in certain literary genres: a high calm was suitable for odes and heroic poems, dramatic works were written with a middle calm, prose - in general, all works where you need to depict living speech. Low calm was used in comedies, satire, epigrams.
Finally, Karamzin enriches the Russian language with neologisms, he refuses the Church Slavonic vocabulary, the syntax of the language in his works approaches the “lighter” French. It is to Karamzin that we owe, for example, the appearance of the words "love" or "sidewalk".
Difficult letter "Yo"
Karamzin was one of the ardent "admirers" of the letter "ё", but he was not at all its inventor. In 1783, one of the first meetings of the Academy of Russian Literature took place. Its founder was Ekaterina Dashkova. Together with the most famous writers of her time: Derzhavin and Fonvizin, the princess discussed the project of the Slavic-Russian Dictionary.
For convenience, Ekaterina Romanovna suggested replacing the designation of the sound "io" with one letter "ё". The innovation was approved by the general meeting of the academy, Dashkova's innovative idea was supported by Derzhavin, who began to use "e" in his works. It was he who was the first to use a new letter in correspondence, and also the first to print a surname with an “ё”: Potemkin. At the same time, Ivan Dmitriev published the book “And my knick-knacks”, imprinting all the necessary points in it. And, finally, it received wide use after it appeared in Karamzin's poetry collection.
The new letter also had opponents. Minister of Education Alexander Shishkov is said to have furiously flipped through the numerous volumes of his library and with his own hand marked out two dots above the letter. Among the writers, too, there were many conservatives. Marina Tsvetaeva, for example, fundamentally wrote the word “devil” through “o”, and Andrei Bely, for the same reasons, “yellow”.
In printing houses, the letter is also disliked, because because of it you have to spend extra paint. In pre-revolutionary primers, she was exiled to the very end of the alphabet, in the same company as the dying Izhitsa and Fita. And today its place is in the very corner of the keyboard. But not everywhere the letter "ё" is treated with such disdain - in Ulyanovsk, she even erected a monument.
The secret of "Izhitsa"
In the famous decree of Lunacharsky in 1918 on changes in the Russian language, there is no mention of the letter V (“Izhitsa”), which was the last letter in the pre-revolutionary alphabet. By the time of the reform, it was extremely rare, and it could be found mainly only in church texts.
In the civil language, "Izhitsa" was actually used only in the word "miro". In the tacit refusal of the Bolsheviks from the "Izhitsa", many saw a sign: the Soviet government, as it were, refused one of the seven sacraments - chrismation, through which the Orthodox are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, designed to strengthen him in spiritual life.
It is curious that the undocumented deletion of "izhitsa", the last letter in the alphabet, and the official liquidation of the penultimate - "feet" made the final alphabetic letter - "ya". The intelligentsia saw in this another malicious intent of the new authorities, who deliberately sacrificed two letters in order to end with a letter expressing a human personality, individuality.
"The Tale of Bygone Years" is the oldest of the officially recognized chronicles. Disputes about Nestor and whether he wrote it still go on.
Reading Nestor
I do not think that I will violate the "copyright" of the chronicle if I post a link to it.
So, we will talk about the year 6406th.
“When the Slavs were already baptized, their princes Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel were sent to Tsar Michael, saying: “Our land is baptized, but we have no teacher who would instruct us and instruct us, and explain the holy books. For we know neither Greek nor Latin; some teach us in this way, and others in another way, because of this we do not know either the outline of the letters or their meaning. And send us teachers who could interpret for us the words of the book and their meaning.
Hearing this, Tsar Michael called all the philosophers and gave them everything said by the Slavic princes. And the philosophers said: “There is a man in Selun named Leo. He has sons who know the Slavic language; two of his sons are skilled philosophers. Hearing about this, the king sent for them to Leo in Selun with the words: “Send your sons Methodius and Constantine to us without delay.”
Hearing about this, Leo soon sent them, and they came to the king, and he said to them: “Here, the Slavic land sent messengers to me, asking for a teacher who could interpret the sacred books for them, because this is what they want.” And the king persuaded them, and sent them to the Slavic land to Rostislav, Svyatopolk and Kotsel. When (these brothers) came, they began to compose the Slavic alphabet and translated the Apostle and the Gospel. And the Slavs were glad that they heard about the greatness of God in their own language. Then they translated the Psalter and the Octoechos, and other books. Some began to blaspheme Slavic books, saying that "no nation should have its own alphabet, except for the Jews, Greeks and Latins, according to the inscription of Pilate, who wrote on the cross of the Lord only in these languages."
Nestor writes that there were two men from Selun who knew the Slavic language and were sent to compose the Slavic alphabet in order to translate the Apostle and the Gospel to the locals, since no one knows Greek and Latin and “we don’t know either the lettering or their meaning ".
We read on Wikipedia: “The first translations of the Bible into Russian were published at the beginning of the 19th century. Prior to this, only Church Slavonic translations of the Bible, dating back to the translation works of Cyril and Methodius, were used in church and household use. By decree of Empress Elizabeth, in 1751, a carefully corrected Church Slavonic Bible, the so-called "Elizabeth" Bible, was published (work on this edition was started back in 1712 by decree of Peter I) ... In 1815, after returning from abroad, Emperor Alexander I ordered "to deliver to the Russians a way to read the Word of God in their natural Russian language ...".
Only in 1876, already under Alexander II, did the complete Russian Bible come out of print for the first time.
The clergy themselves did not allow the sacred texts to be released to the people. It was believed that the Bible should be in the hands of the clergy, and people should not be allowed to read and study it on their own. It is understandable to those who have read the Bible.
Let's rewind. The clergy oppose the fact that the Slavs could read the Bible on their own. At least from 1712 to 1876, sabotage work was carried out in order to “blur” this matter: for 164 years from the moment Peter’s decree was issued, allegedly fearing another church schism; during the 61st year since the issuance of the decree of Alexander I on translating it into Russian, allegedly wanting to observe everything thoroughly and as accurately as possible in translation.
But first Methodius and Constantine are sent to the Slavs to translate the texts. Moreover, the Slavs are already living baptized, that is, those who believed in Christ and perform church rites, but, due to ignorance of other languages, they did not read the Bible, and not just did not read it, but it turns out nonsense - they did not know anything about Christ, since they asked Tsar Michael send at least someone "to interpret the words of the book and their meaning."
One could assume that someone who knew the Bible could preach it to the Slavs, but then what does it mean "... our land is baptized, but we have no teacher ..."? If no one had preached it before, then how could Russia be baptized? And who are these "... some teach us this way, and others differently ..."?
Official version
The following remark is interesting: “.. even before baptism (988) there were churches in Russia, and the Bible was read in the translation of the apostle brothers ...”. What language was it translated into and what alphabet was read “even before baptism”?
The full chronology is as follows:
- Bible of Cyril and Methodius- translations of Cyril and Methodius became widespread among the Slavic tribes, including in Russia.
- Gennadiev Bible- some books of the Gennadiev Bible were borrowed from the Bible translated by Cyril and Methodius, and from translations into Russian made in the 15th century, others from its Bulgarian translation, and several books were translated from Latin for the first time. The Gennadiev Bible is considered the first complete Slavic Bible.
- Maxim Grek (Explanatory Psalter)- a large number of errors have accumulated in the handwritten books of the Bible. Therefore, in the first half of the 16th century, an attempt was made in Moscow to correct church books.
- The first printed "Apostle" and the Ostrog Bible by Ivan Fedorov. - Ivan Fedorov, together with Peter Mstislavets, began to create the first printed book "Apostle" (Acts of the Apostles and epistles).
- Moscow early printed Bible- Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to send several educated monks to correct the Russian Bible according to the Greek lists, which, together with Nikon's innovations, leads, by the way, to a church schism.
- Petrine-Elizabeth Bible.
- New Testament of the Russian Bible Society- it was decided to start translating the Bible into modern Russian, but in 1825 Alexander I died, and work on the translation was suspended until 1856.
- And finally, the synodal translation of the Bible- The Holy Synod adopted a resolution on the beginning of the translation of the Bible into Russian. Learn more about the history of Bible translation.
Cyril (Konstantin) and Methodius “began to compose the Slavic alphabet and translated the Apostle and the Gospel,” but they translated and compiled them in such a way that the Slavs still could not read this - this is understandable. And it’s ridiculous to talk about wide distribution among the tribes, because it is precisely in the idea that only the elect, in this case, the clergy, can carry the Word of the Lord, and this was diligently observed all the time until 1876. Yes, even today, since the church stubbornly “mumbles” services in the old church language, supposedly Cyril and Methodius, but in fact it turns out in a language formed, as it were, from Greek.
By the way, churchmen believe that the Russian language was formed by the Church Slavonic language!
So, if Cyril and Methodius created a really understandable alphabet, then there would simply be no need to translate into Russian, as well as diligently postpone the translation into the normal language of the Bible.
And here is a clear substitution: not the Russian language came from Old Slavonic, but the alphabet of Constantine and Methodius - from Russian. Moreover, if these guys really existed once in history, the task was not in inventing an alphabet for stupid Russ, but in introducing a language that was understandable only to a minority, but which made it difficult for the majority to get acquainted with the Bible. And, according to Nestor, even this caused a lot of discontent, because "no nation should have its own alphabet, except for Jews, Greeks and Latins."
Life of Constantine (Cyril)
“... For Rostislav, the Moravian prince, instructed by God, after consulting with the princes and Moravans, sent to Caesar Michael to say:“ Our people rejected paganism and followed Christian teaching, but we do not have such a teacher who would explain the Christian faith to us in our language, so that other countries, seeing this, become like us. Send us, Vladyka, a bishop and a teacher like that. After all, a good law always comes from you in all countries ... "
“... The Caesar gathered advice, called Constantine the Philosopher and let him listen to these words. And he said, “Philosopher, I know you are weary, but it is fitting for you to go there. After all, no one else can do this work like you do. The Philosopher answered: "Both tired of the body and the sick will gladly go there, if they have writing for their language." The emperor said to him: “My grandfather and my father and many others tried to find them, but they did not find them. So how can I find it?" And the Philosopher said: “Who can write down a conversation on the water or want to acquire the nickname of a heretic?” The emperor answered him again, and with Varda, his uncle: “If you want, then God can give you that which gives to all who ask without a doubt and opens to all who knock.” The Philosopher went and, according to his former custom, turned to prayer together with other helpers. And soon God appeared to him, listening to the prayers of his servants. And then he composed letters and began to write gospel words: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and God was the word” and so on ...
Delving deeper into the topic, it turns out that there is not even a firm opinion about who these guys Cyril and Methodius were. Either Slavs, or Greeks, or Bulgarians. Yes, and Cyril is not Cyril, but Constantine, but Methodius (in Greek, “following the trail”, “searching”) - Michael. But who cares?
Here is what is important: “My grandfather and my father and many others tried to find them, but did not find them,” Tsar Michael says about the Slavic alphabet. Is this true? We look again at Wikipedia, what is on the topic "Glagolitic".
Glagolitic
“The Glagolitic alphabet is one of the first Slavic alphabets. It is assumed that it was the Glagolitic alphabet that was created by the Slavic educator St. Konstantin (Kirill) Philosopher for recording church texts in Old Church Slavonic.
Oops! This means that the Glagolitic alphabet was created to record church texts! For those who are not in the subject, I recommend to see how it looked ...
Correct me if Glagolitic is in any way similar to Greek or any other known language. Unless the letters "Yat" and "Shta" are the same as in the Slavic alphabet. And, if Cyril and Methodius created the Glagolitic alphabet, then why does our church not adhere to the Glagolitic alphabet? And how, tell me, did the Glagolitic alphabet pass into the letters known to us, for example, as Nestor wrote?
This whole version of the appropriation of what is alien to oneself, which is ubiquitous among these comrades, lovers of deriving everything from Adam, is bursting at the seams. Even Wikipedia is unable to support this nonsense and further writes: “A whole series of facts indicates that the Glagolitic alphabet was created before the Cyrillic alphabet, and that, in turn, was created on the basis of the Glagolitic alphabet and the Greek alphabet.”
Well, well, well! Wait, not so fast. Either Vasya or not Vasya! It's like: “My grandfather and my father, and many others tried to find them, but did not find them,” says Tsar Michael, but at the same time, Cyril and Methodius make up the Slavic alphabet based on the Glagolitic alphabet? Suddenly found? It could be assumed that the Glagolitic alphabet has nothing to do with the Slavs, and just like the Greek alphabet, for some reason it was taken as the basis for writing the Slavic alphabet. But this version "doesn't roll", since the Glagolitic alphabet is actually the modern Russian language! Having learned the symbols, you can read these texts quite tolerably, since the words there are Russian / Slavic. Try to translate at least the title of the Zograf gospel, which is above, using this table and you will see for yourself that this is a Russian text.
True, I have one more assumption that the Glagolitic alphabet is based on the Slavic language, like, say, a church crypto-language, and was common among a narrow group of Slavs, for example, Bulgarians, but was never widely used.
Features and cuts
In the museum of Ryazan, I saw with my own eyes a sinker from a spindle, on which it was written with these features that the sinker belongs to such and such.
That is, a spinner, or whoever she was, in ancient times, in old Ryazan, signed her things, which means that other spinners should also be able to read! Spinners sat down to spin yarn in one hut, worked, sang songs, and so that the next day no one “stole” their good, or, in order not to simply look, they signed where someone else was. If the spinning wheels, in themselves, were with different patterns, and were noticeable to the eye, then it was not stupid to sign such trifles.
If Cyril and Methodius did not write the Slavic language from scratch, then Nestor either slightly "blundered" or concocted in advance not a chronicle, but a dummy, or maybe not even him.
Why such a stubborn rejection of even accepting the possibility of the existence of writing in Russia and a passionate desire to derive the Russian alphabet from the Greek? Did Nestor casually let it slip here, pointing out that “No people should have their own alphabet, except for Jews, Greeks and Latins”?
