Translation of Grammar Nazi is carried out from two languages. In English, the first word means "grammar", and the second in German is "Nazi". We are talking about both a well-known Internet meme and the ironic name (and self-name) of one of the communities on the Internet. More about what Grammar Nazimar means will be discussed in the article.
General concept
The Grammar Nazi online community is notable for treating literacy issues with an extreme degree of pedantry and bigotry. They judge a person only by the level of his language proficiency. And, in particular, about the ability to write competently.
The Internet project "Urbankultura" speaks of Grammar Nazis as a network creature who cares with all the fibers of his soul for the correct spelling of words, punctuation marks and for the purity of his native speech in general. Many members of the Internet community perceive this "creature" as a fat troll who provokes disputes and abuse almost from scratch. It also generates "much ado about nothing".
On the cynical-humorous site "Lurke" Grammar Nazis are defined as national linguists, grammar Nazis, linguo-fascists, literate guardsmen. They are spoken of as aggressive literate people with innate literacy and a heightened sense of beauty. They get very annoyed when someone makes mistakes - spelling or grammatical. They immediately rush to the attack, brandish dictionaries and refer to Gramota.ru.
Ruthlessness GN
The name of the community we are considering goes back to the word "Nazism", which is an allusion to the ruthlessness of its members. Sometimes Grammar Nazis use emblems that contain a large Latin letter "G", stylized as the flag of the III Reich. This emblem shows signs of imitation of the symbols of the Nazis, to which law enforcement agencies have repeatedly shown their reaction.
Among the Wikipedians there is also Grammar Nazi. They spend most of their time correcting errors in articles. The members of the Grammar Nazi are abbreviated as GN, or GN. If a GN follower himself makes a mistake, especially when he denounces the illiterate, one speaks of Grammmar Nazi fail (failure). It must be understood that when GBV are called to exterminate the illiterate, they do not mean the literal embodiment of the action they call. They either make a stern remark, or "turn on the ban."
This is how the linguist Krongauz M.A. writes about the most “severe” Grammar Nazis. According to him, the most radical of the literacy activists are people who neglect communicative interests. They are not engaged in a discussion of the stated topic, but analyze the interlocutor's mistakes made by him in writing. Their characteristic feature is the desire to correct the interlocutor, and not to communicate with him.
Objective Prerequisites
According to a certain part of Internet users, such a phenomenon as Grammar Nazi did not arise from scratch. Today it is no secret to anyone that with the spread of the World Wide Web, a huge mass of people poured into it, whose literacy in large part leaves much to be desired.
As a result, the level at which communication takes place, as they say, does not shine. Both in terms of ethics and in terms of literacy. Nevertheless, there is a circle of people who are well educated, highly intelligent, broad-minded, well-read and erudite.
In the most natural way, the manifestation of widespread ignorance, disrespect for the native language, and sometimes even flaunting such shortcomings, causes a feeling of indignation in some of them. And indeed, "it's a shame for the state."
Is there any benefit?
Is there any benefit from the representatives of this community? According to a number of netizens, it is obvious. By correcting other people's mistakes, they raise the level of literacy on the Internet. Other users express the opinion that there is nothing wrong with the fact that there are errors in the text. The main thing is to understand its essence.
To this, GN respond that the rules in the language do not exist for the sake of beauty, but precisely so that people understand each other. And if everyone writes as they want, then the result will not be a message to the interlocutor, but a “stream of consciousness”.
There is another argument against GN. Language is not a frozen substance, it develops, so making certain life adjustments to it, including in the direction of simplification, is quite acceptable. While the Grammar Nazis persist in their conservatism in vain.
In response to this, GN parry: the language within the life of one generation, as well as the rules existing in it, change very little, so that this could cause some obvious discrepancies. And all reasoning of this kind is from the evil one.
A huge minus is in the methods
If we consider the idea of GN in a very generalized form, then everything, at first glance, does not seem to look so bad. The development of a culture of speech, love for the Russian language, cleaning out mistakes - all this can be called commendable.
However, despite the good intentions of the Grammar Nazis, the methods by which they achieve literacy are sometimes "beyond". This is trolling (bullying), insulting other participants, threats against them.
According to M. A. Krongauz, in practice, everything often comes down to painful poking at everyone who made a mistake. The "linguistic arrogance" displayed by Grammar Nazi is highly inflated and carries a destructive beginning. Pointing out the error is quite simple, but with the constructive it is much harder.
About some incidents
Let us cite cases of the attention that was shown by the authorities to the phenomenon we are describing.
- In Buryatia, in Ulan-Ude, M. Burdukovskaya, an activist of the Young Guard movement, was fined by the court for publishing the Grammar Nazi logo on her VKontakte page in 2014. According to the court decision, she violated the ban on Nazi symbols in Russia.
- In 2015, the head of the Total Dictation Foundation, A. Pavlovsky, was summoned to the prosecutor's office of the Oktyabrsky district in Rostov-on-Don on the issue of possible financing of the Grammar Nazi foundation. This was explained by the fact that the prosecutors decided that it was a pro-Nazi movement.
In order to avoid misunderstandings, in conclusion, I would like to note that the phrase Kazak Grammar Nazi is not related to the concept that was considered in the article. This is the name of the program, within the framework of which in Kazakhstan, starting from 2017, there is a gradual transition to the romanization of the Kazakh language.
Translation of Grammar Nazi is carried out from two languages. In English, the first word means "grammar", and the second in German is "Nazi". We are talking about both a well-known Internet meme and the ironic name (and self-name) of one of the communities on the Internet. More about what Grammar Nazimar means will be discussed in the article.
General concept
The Grammar Nazi online community is notable for treating literacy issues with an extreme degree of pedantry and bigotry. They judge a person only by the level of his language proficiency. And, in particular, about the ability to write competently.
The Internet project "Urbankultura" speaks of Grammar Nazis as a network creature who cares with all the fibers of his soul for the correct spelling of words, punctuation marks and for the purity of his native speech in general. Many members of the Internet community perceive this "creature" as a fat troll who provokes disputes and abuse almost from scratch. It also generates "much ado about nothing".
On the cynical-humorous site "Lurke" Grammar Nazis are defined as national linguists, grammar Nazis, linguo-fascists, literate guardsmen. They are spoken of as aggressive literate people with innate literacy and a heightened sense of beauty. They get very annoyed when someone makes mistakes - spelling or grammar. They immediately rush to the attack, brandish dictionaries and refer to Gramota.ru.
Ruthlessness GN
The name of the community we are considering goes back to the word "Nazism", which is an allusion to the ruthlessness of its members. Sometimes Grammar Nazis use emblems that contain a large Latin letter "G", stylized as the flag of the III Reich. This emblem shows signs of imitation of the symbols of the Nazis, to which law enforcement agencies have repeatedly shown their reaction.
Among the Wikipedians there is also Grammar Nazi. They spend most of their time correcting errors in articles. The members of the Grammar Nazi are abbreviated as GN, or GN. If a GN follower himself makes a mistake, especially when he denounces the illiterate, one speaks of Grammmar Nazi fail (failure). It must be understood that when GBV are called to exterminate the illiterate, they do not mean the literal embodiment of the action they call. They either make a stern remark, or "turn on the ban."
This is how the linguist Krongauz M.A. writes about the most “severe” Grammar Nazis. According to him, the most radical of the literacy activists are people who neglect communicative interests. They are not engaged in a discussion of the stated topic, but analyze the interlocutor's mistakes made by him in writing. Their characteristic feature is the desire to correct the interlocutor, and not to communicate with him.
Objective Prerequisites
According to a certain part of Internet users, such a phenomenon as Grammar Nazi did not arise from scratch. Today it is no secret to anyone that with the spread of the World Wide Web, a huge mass of people poured into it, whose literacy in large part leaves much to be desired.
As a result, the level at which communication takes place, as they say, does not shine. Both in terms of ethics and in terms of literacy. Nevertheless, there is a circle of people who are well educated, highly intelligent, broad-minded, well-read and erudite.
In the most natural way, the manifestation of widespread ignorance, disrespect for the native language, and sometimes even flaunting such shortcomings, causes a feeling of indignation in some of them. And indeed, "it's a shame for the state."
Is there any benefit?
Is there any benefit from the representatives of this community? According to a number of netizens, it is obvious. By correcting other people's mistakes, they raise the level of literacy on the Internet. Other users express the opinion that there is nothing wrong with the fact that there are errors in the text. The main thing is to understand its essence.
To this, GN respond that the rules in the language do not exist for the sake of beauty, but precisely so that people understand each other. And if everyone writes as they want, then the result will not be a message to the interlocutor, but a “stream of consciousness”.
There is another argument against GN. Language is not a frozen substance, it develops, so making certain life adjustments to it, including in the direction of simplification, is quite acceptable. While the Grammar Nazis persist in their conservatism in vain.
In response to this, GN parry: the language within the life of one generation, as well as the rules existing in it, change very little, so that this could cause some obvious discrepancies. And all reasoning of this kind is from the evil one.
A huge minus is in the methods
If we consider the idea of GN in a very generalized form, then everything, at first glance, does not seem to look so bad. The development of a culture of speech, love for the Russian language, cleaning out mistakes - all this can be called commendable.
However, despite the good intentions of the Grammar Nazis, the methods by which they achieve literacy are sometimes "beyond". This is trolling (bullying), insulting other participants, threats against them.
According to M. A. Krongauz, in practice, everything often comes down to painful poking at everyone who made a mistake. The "linguistic arrogance" displayed by Grammar Nazi is highly inflated and carries a destructive beginning. Pointing out the error is quite simple, but with the constructive it is much harder.
About some incidents
Let us cite cases of the attention that was shown by the authorities to the phenomenon we are describing.
- In Buryatia, in Ulan-Ude, M. Burdukovskaya, an activist of the Young Guard movement, was fined by the court for publishing the Grammar Nazi logo on her VKontakte page in 2014. According to the court decision, she violated the ban on Nazi symbols in Russia.
- In 2015, the head of the Total Dictation Foundation, A. Pavlovsky, was summoned to the prosecutor's office of the Oktyabrsky district in Rostov-on-Don on the issue of possible financing of the Grammar Nazi foundation. This was explained by the fact that the prosecutors decided that it was a pro-Nazi movement.
In order to avoid misunderstandings, in conclusion, I would like to note that the phrase Kazak Grammar Nazi is not related to the concept that was considered in the article. This is the name of the program, within the framework of which in Kazakhstan, starting from 2017, there is a gradual transition to the romanization of the Kazakh language.
If we take the idea of “grammar-Nazism” in an extremely generalized form, then everything looks good: we need to develop a culture of speech, love the Russian language, clean out mistakes from it and rejoice in the fact that we have a great, powerful, truthful and free with a rich history. In practice, everything comes down to particulars, namely to the liver of every mistaken person. The destructive beginning of any professional "linguistic arrogance" (in the words of Maxim Krongauz) is very great, because it is easier to point out a mistake if you spotted it. But constructive, alas, almost none.
On the other hand, what can be constructive in this area, what can one ordinary person do? Create free education courses? No one will go to them except for those who are already well versed in the Russian language and want to either bring it to perfection, or once again amuse their pride in their own impeccable knowledge.
Of the good moments, one can note movements like "Secret Spelling Police" who, from scourging colleagues and pen pals, switched to quite specific and useful actions.
They seek out and correct errors in public texts - on signboards, monuments, tablets, thereby preventing even greater linguistic connivance from spreading.
The grass used to be greener
Each generation is sure that the young people who follow them are much less literate and knowledgeable. This was complained about thousands of years ago, nothing has changed now. You can even feel like a hero of pseudo-Nolan's linguistic "Beginning". Here is a good modern linguist Maxim Krongauz, who complains that the Russian language has now become smaller, and points to the brilliant work of Korney Chukovsky “Alive like life”. In this work, Korney Chukovsky complains that in 1961 the language became completely smaller and quotes the best linguists of the late 19th century.
What linguists wrote at that time is not difficult to guess: yes, the language has completely become smaller, if such disgrace continues, then Russian-speaking people will degrade and will be explained by gestures and blows with a club.
Indeed, the language changes over time, but the real progress in it is almost invisible to the unprofessional eye. You can read about such tiny finds, which we ourselves would never have thought of, in Irina Levontina's book “What is it about” (“Russian with a dictionary” is a little more interesting, but there is a slightly different topic). For example, we missed how the new meanings of the words “effective” (now you can say this about a person) and “adequate” (a positive connotation appeared), how the word “ambitious” lost its negative meaning. Times are changing, the world is changing - and the language reflects this, but quietly and in halftones.
Grammar Nazis and other overly active champions of the purity of speech notice more and more bright, what is in plain sight, that is, slang. At the same time, youth slang is the most short-lived thing that will quickly leave the language, only one word out of a hundred will remain in memory.
Try to read examples of how dudes or hippies spoke slang. If you insert this into speech now, it will come out artificially and strained, like jokes in Yeralash about young old men.
In a couple of decades, no one will remember all these little things, they will remain in the archives, like annual rings, by which it will be possible to recognize the era.
As for the egregious mistakes that make even the most tolerant person bleed from the eyes, there is little to correct. It is necessary from the very beginning to learn correctly, to develop "innate literacy", which is not innate, but always acquired. Mostly reading books. Now they are reading more and more copy-paste on the Internet, which are not always proofread, therefore the general level of people with “innate literacy” is falling. Only reforms at the level of general education will help here.
In addition, do not forget about optical illusions.
You go on the Internet and see that only illiterate teenagers live in the country and users of Odnoklassniki, who are equally dubious from a linguistic point of view, are of a fair age. But it is not the quality of education that has changed, but the mode of access to information resources.
Previously, all these categories of semi-literate citizens could not be published to a wide audience, no one saw their writings, if there was any at all. At best, schoolchildren kept a diary in a common notebook, and then a dozen years later they re-read it with surprise - how, did I really write so badly, like a literate person! Now on the Internet, which remembers everything, anyone can write, which is why it seems that there are more errors and the overall level of literacy is falling.
Three pillars of reliability
There are three sacred strongholds of Grammar Nazis: Zaliznyak, Rosenthal and Gramota.ru. A simple test for those who consider themselves an expert in linguistics: 1) remember the name of Zaliznyak; 2) remember the name of Rosenthal and how this name-patronymic is written; 3) Guess how the experts of the most competent organization in terms of the Russian language speak of Grammar Nazis.
Correct answers: 1) Andrey Anatolyevich; 2) Ditmar Elyashevich; 3) “For the Grammar Nazis, language is divided into black and white, right or wrong. But this is not the case in language.
There are so many transitions, so many options: from less desirable to more desirable, this is preferable, this is acceptable, and this is also possible, and this is not very desirable, but in common parlance it seems to be not scary.
And so on. That is, there is no such thing in the language to be able to divide. And grammatical Nazism, like any Nazism, it divides into those who are with us and those who are against us ”(from any interview, for example, given by Ksenia Turkova, who herself recently released the book“ Russian Without Load ”with excellent advice and the unread first edition, from which the grammar-Nazis wheezed and beat with their hooves).
Language is a living organism that breathes and develops. What was the norm before, gradually dissolves and leaves.
If you read the books of linguists of the 60s, for example, Boris Golovin, you can notice two trends. First: half of the mistakes are eternal.
In the middle of the last century, there were still problems with the stress in the word “more beautiful” and “ringing”, they still confused one and two “n” and the endings “-tsya” and “-tsya”. Second: exactly half of the mistakes will sink into oblivion.
For example, Golovin gets angry at the newfangled word “cinema” and sternly asks why people did not like the beautiful word “movie picture” or “cinema”? Why spoil the reduction? As they say, what will you do with the abyss of free time?
The weakest link
The Achilles' heel of grammar-Nazism as a phenomenon is the fragility of its foundations. Today you denounce the losers in righteous anger, and tomorrow you accidentally put a comma in front of the wrong word and ended up at the pillory yourself. In addition, the most violent speeches can be heard from people who are far from professional knowledge. Proofreaders are silent in a rag and do not poke anyone in the nose with their professional suitability. But those who have memorized a couple of triggers and breaks down on them themselves cause a lot of irritation.
The aggression of usually calm people is difficult to understand - fragile young virgins, who in life will not offend a mosquito, suddenly demand to quarter those who just do not remember some information about the spelling of words. Internet users constantly collect "hit lists" of words and expressions, where, in addition to really eye-catching jambs, common mistakes also fall. Tell me, do you want to correct a person if he suddenly says “ringing” with an emphasis on “o” in front of you? And if the word “drills” (hello, neighbor with a drill!) with an emphasis on “e” or “turns on” on “u”? Meanwhile, this is the same mistake, in both words you need to emphasize the ending. But “ringing” became the star of the execution lists, and the rest of the verbs did not receive such an honor.
Internet etiquette
What should you do if you see a monstrous mistake somewhere in a blog, post, comment or other Internet space? First of all, congratulate yourself, you are well done and attentive. This is really good quality. You can even poke your finger at the screen and chuckle smugly if no one is around. Internet etiquette does not apply to your behavior in front of the screen. You can even read all the materials of The Knife (or even without them!) even in your shorts - and none of our editorial staff will say a word to you until you start sending photos.
But do not immediately expose the fools in a caustic letter. If the blood has already rushed to your head and the ashes of Ozhegov have pounded into your heart, think about the following probabilities:
The author is not a fool, he simply does not care about these rules, because he does not consider them important. Someone does not consider it important to iron their clothes or washes their hair three times less than, in your opinion, they should, and someone draws caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
People have made rules for themselves, and people tend to break them. Until these rules become laws, the fight against violators is as effective as writing a philosophical treatise with a finger on the surface of a river.
The author is not as literate as you, but he understands other things better than you. Imagine: you wittily expressed your “fe” to him for systematic neglect of the rules of syntax, and he took and cracked your password, which consisted of the year of your birth and the name of your girlfriend. And who is the idiot now?
The co-authors of the text on your favorite niche site proofread it badly because they don't have the budget for a proofreader, and the editor's choice was between "hire a proofreader" or "pay for hosting and issue royalties." An armchair perfectionist-consumer can babble with a complete sense of his own rightness, and an editor, exhausted by the struggle for the survival of his beloved offspring, at least in some form, can go berserk and ban the impudent one. No one will be better.
If a blunder disgraces a major publication or the website of your favorite brand, write about it in neutral tones at the contacts indicated for communication. Most likely, you will be thanked, and in this case you will do a good deed. If you behave like the worst of the Grammar Nazis and start publicly scourging the author with screenshots attached, be prepared for the fact that you may be asked to take the three fastest black horses and ride them to the bath or worse. Because aggression, according to the laws of society, almost always gives rise to only aggression, even when it is masked by good intentions.
It's always good to remember that everything passes - and this too shall pass. Before, the word “sausage” meant “loitering about”, but who remembers this meaning now? It is possible that the mistakes that are now triggering the linguistic regime of the berserker will not be remembered in fifty years. As well as about the exploits of the nameless Grammar Nazis.
Recently I have come across a few Memo on the Russian language, prepared by Irina Belyaeva from the subtitling team
information programs. The document seemed extremely curious to me, and I saved it and tweaked it a bit for myself. I will post my version here, and if someone needs the original, then look for yourself - I have provided you with all the necessary information for the search.
Today I would like to touch on the topic of the Russian language. I want to warn you right away that I myself am not an ardent Grammar Nazi, despite the title of the entry. But I must admit that I love literate texts. Unfortunately, the trend is that the literacy of young people is rapidly declining. I've seen this in every company I've worked for. It is especially surprising for me to observe the total illiteracy of webmasters, marketers and other people whose work is related to text.
I do not consider myself a very literate person, although I studied very well and have a certain degree of innate literacy. My self-esteem of knowing the Russian language plummeted when I started writing my first book for a publisher. You probably know that any text, even the most famous writer, is checked by a proofreader and editor. So, when I sent the accumulated material to the publishing house, I received my work back, completely corrected in red. Entire paragraphs, sentences and words were underlined on almost every page. For each correction, the editor left his comments, which he eagerly absorbed. A whole new world opened up for me. The following books were easier for me. Since then, I have been stricter in my tests, trying to keep the bar at a certain height.
And I always correct the mistakes I noticed in old records. It's no secret that sometimes recordings are made spontaneously and in haste. The spell check built into the browser does not always help. And rereading old records, sometimes you come across typos and errors. I am also always grateful to those who send comments on the texts. At the same time, other people often get offended when I point out mistakes to them. This has happened to many co-workers. Imagine, a person spent the whole day typing a large document, then it was approved by the authorities, converted to PDF and posted on the site. And here I declare that in the word robot error. Naturally, one does not really want to correct a single mistake that most people will not even notice when reading. But I always correct my mistakes, because I feel embarrassed in such a situation.
At the moment, there are not so many really competent sites and blogs with a normal literary language. The Internet has created a new culture where everyone can express their thoughts. But not everyone does it beautifully. When the number of blunders on the pages is too much, then being on such a site is unpleasant.
To keep errors to a minimum, I'm posting a revised memo here. In the original memo, at first it was about the long-suffering letter Yo. In principle, I understand people who avoid it - this letter is very difficult to type, it is somewhere on the top side and it is difficult to reach it even with touch typing. Usually, in letters or when communicating online, I do not use this letter. But recently I decided to use it in my notes as a sign of respect for the Russian language.
And here is the altered memo itself, so that it is always at hand.
PUNCTUATION MARKS
- At the beginning of a sentence BUT comma is not separated.
- A dash is placed before this is, it is, this means, here if the predicate is attached by means of these words to the subject.
- In the names of tracks like Simferopol - Yalta, a dash with spaces is required, quotes are not needed. The conditional names of the highways are enclosed in quotation marks: the Don highway.
- In complex conjunctions, a comma is placed ONE times: either before the whole union, or in the middle: in order to, especially since. At the beginning of a sentence, compound conjunctions are usually not broken down: In order to get seedlings , you need to fill out the coupon and send it to the address.
- If the union HOW has the meaning "as", then before HOW a comma not put. For example: I speak as a writer (as a writer).
- A subordinating sentence without a main one is not used, therefore it is impossible to break a complex sentence with a dot. For example, incorrectly: “The fire could not be extinguished. Because there was no helicopter.
- A colon is placed in a complex sentence if words can be inserted in place of the colon: what; namely; because, and saw/heard/felt. I ask you one thing (namely): shoot quickly. I also remember (that): she liked to dress well.
- A dash in a complex sentence is placed if it can be inserted between parts: union and, but or a, that's why, like, this is. A dash is also placed if you can insert before the first part: when, if. Ignat pulled the trigger - (and) the gun misfired. I'm dying - (so) I don't need to lie. (When) I was driving here - the rye began to turn yellow. (If) It will rain - there will be fungi.
DIFFERENT
- The pronouns you and your are capitalized as a form of polite address to one person. For example: I ask you ..., We inform you ... When referring to several persons, these pronouns are written with a small letter. For example: dear colleagues, your letter ...
- "... in the amount of 50 rubles." Preposition B is not needed!
- Right: power lines
- Unions ALSO and TOO are written together if they can be replaced with each other. If such a replacement is impossible, then these are not unions, but combinations of the demonstrative pronoun TO or SO with the particle SAME, which are written separately. Particle SAME in this case, you can often just omit it.
- Pretext DESPITE spelled together: We hit the road, despite the rain.
- It is not advisable to use collective numerals (two, three) with words denoting the type of activity, position or title. Those. it is better to write two presidents, three academicians (rather than two presidents, three academicians).
- That's right: put on the agenda, but stay on the agenda.
NUMBERS, SIGNS, ABBREVIATIONS
1. Ages are indicated by Roman numerals.
2. The sentence does not start with numbers.
3. Signs No.,% of the number are not separated by spaces.
4. Accretion (letter case ending) is used in recording ordinal numbers: 11th grade student; 1st car from the center; 5th level of difficulty; take 2nd and 3rd places; in the early 90s. The increment should be one-letter if the last letter of the numeral is preceded by a vowel: 5th (fifth, fifth), 5th (fifth), and two-letter if the last letter of the numeral is preceded by a consonant: 5th, 5th.
5. The international standard for designating time, adopted in Russia as well - separated by a colon: 18:00.
6. To designate large numbers (thousands, millions, billions), combinations of numbers with the reduction of thousands, millions, billions are used, and not numbers with a large number of zeros.
7. After the cuts MN and BILLION, the dot is not put, and after THOUSAND. - is placed.
8. The word "university" is written in small letters.
9. Some abbreviations use both uppercase and lowercase letters if they include a single-letter conjunction or preposition. For example: Labor Code - Code of Labor Laws; MiG - Mikoyan and Gurevich (aircraft brand).
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES
1. Instead of "Chechnya" is written "Chechen Republic".
2. The variant "Republic of Tyva" is prescribed in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
3. Correct spelling of Sharm El Sheikh.
4. Correctly write the Gaza Strip.
5. Used only "from Ukraine/to Ukraine".
6. It is preferable to use the options “authorities of Estonia”, “universities of Europe”, etc. instead of "Estonian authorities", "European universities".
7. That's right: in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, in the city of Moscow, in St. Petersburg, in the city of Vladivostok, in Vidnoye, from Vidnoye, but: in the city of Vidnoye, from the city of Vidnoye; in Velikie Luki, but: in the city of Velikiye Luki.
8. Toponyms of Slavic origin in -ov (o), -ev (o), -in (o), -yn (o) are traditionally inclined: in Ostankino, in Peredelkino, to Strogin, in Novokosin, from Lublin.
9. In the name of the "Moscow River" type, both parts are inclined: the Moscow River, the Moscow River, the Moscow River, the Moscow River, about the Moscow River.
SMALL/CAPITAL LETTERS AND QUOTATION MARKS
1. The names of the higher elective institutions of foreign countries are usually written with a small letter. For example: Riksdag, Knesset, US Congress, Bundesrat, Sejm, etc.
2. The first word of elective institutions of a temporary or single nature in the historical literature is written with a capital letter. For example: the Provisional Government (1917 in Russia), the States General, the State Duma, the III Duma.
3. Articles, prepositions, particles van, yes, das, de, del, der, di, dos, du, la, le, background, etc. in Western European surnames and given names are written with a small letter and separately from other components . For example: Ludwig van Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci.
4. The components of Arabic, Turkic and other oriental personal names (aga, al, al, ar, as, ash, bey, ben, zade, ogly, shah, el, etc.) are usually written with a small letter and are added to the name with a hyphen. For example: Zayn al-Abi-din, al-Jahm, Harun ar-Rashid, Tursunzade.
5. The names of the countries of the world are capitalized when they are used instead of geogr. titles. For example: the peoples of the East (i.e., Eastern countries), the Far East, the countries of the West, the Far North.
6. In the names of the republics of the Russian Federation, all words are capitalized. For example: Republic of Altai, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Republic of North Ossetia.
7. In the names of territories, regions, districts, the generic or specific concept is written with a small letter, and the words denoting an individual name are written with a capital letter. For example: Primorsky Krai, Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug.
8. In the names of groups, unions and associations of states of a political nature, the first word is written with a capital letter, as well as proper names. For example: Asia-Pacific Council, European Economic Community (EEC), League of Arab States (LAS).
9. In the names of the most important international organizations, all words are written with a capital letter, except for official ones. For example: Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, United Nations Organization (UN), UN Security Council.
10. In the names of foreign news agencies, all words, except for the generic one, are capitalized, and the name is not enclosed in quotation marks. For example: Agence France Presse, Associated Press.
11. In the proper names of academies, research institutions, educational institutions, only the first word is capitalized (even if it is a generic name or a name indicating a specialty), as well as proper names included in a complex name. For example: Russian Academy of Sciences, Air Force Academy. Yu. A. Gagarina, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.
12. In the names of entertainment institutions (theaters, museums, parks, ensembles, choirs, etc.), only the first word is capitalized, as well as proper names included in the name. For example: State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia, Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army, Moscow State Conservatory. P. I. Tchaikovsky, State Armory.
13. The names of foreign firms, companies, concerns, banks, etc. are transcribed in Russian letters and enclosed in quotation marks. With a capital letter in these names, they write the first word in quotation marks and their own names. For example: United States Steel, General Motors, Peugeot, Rolls-Royce, Coca-Cola, United Fruit Company. It is undesirable to print the names of foreign companies in the language of their national. or Mrs. accessories.
14. In the names of firms, joint-stock companies, plants, factories, etc. with a code name in quotation marks with a capital letter, the first of the words in quotation marks is written, while the generic name and the name indicating specialization are written with a lowercase letter. For example: the Krasny Oktyabr confectionery factory, the research and production company Rossiyskaya Neft, the joint-stock company Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines.
15. Abbreviated names, made up of parts of words, are written with a capital letter if they denote single institutions, and with a small letter if they serve as generic names. They are not enclosed in quotes. For example: Goznak, Vnesheconombank, but: special forces.
16. The names of firms, companies, banks, enterprises, which are compound words and abbreviations, are not enclosed in quotes if there is no generic word: LUKOIL, Gazprom, Russian Railways, NTV. If there is a generic word, the name written in Cyrillic is enclosed in quotation marks: the company "LUKOIL", JSC "Gazprom", JSC "Russian Railways", TV channel "NTV".
17. The first word and proper names in the full official names of parties and movements are capitalized. For example: the All-Russian Confederation of Labour, the Women's Union of Russia, the Democratic Party of Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
18. Names of an unofficial character are written with a small letter (including similar names of pre-revolutionary parties in Russia). For example: the Conservative Party (in Great Britain and other countries), the Menshevik Party, the Cadets Party.
19. The names of parties, movements of a symbolic nature are enclosed in quotation marks, the first word is written with a capital letter. For example: the party "People's Will", "Democratic Choice of Russia", the movement "Women of Russia", the Islamic movement "Taliban", "Al-Qaeda".
20. The names of the movements Fatah and Hamas are abbreviations, so they are written in capital letters and are not enclosed in quotation marks. These words bow!
21. The highest positions of the Russian Federation are capitalized only in official documents (laws, decrees, diplomatic documents): President of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. In other cases - with a small one !!! For example: The meeting was attended by the President of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the State Duma, ministers.
22. The highest honorary titles of the Russian Federation are capitalized: Hero of the Russian Federation, as well as honorary titles of the former USSR: Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor.
23. Other positions and titles are always written with a small letter: assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, governor, mayor, marshal, general, Nobel Prize winner.
24. Names of higher and other state. positions are written with a small letter. For example: Emperor of Japan, Queen of the Netherlands, President of the French Republic.
25. The titles of senior positions in the largest international organizations are written with a small letter. For example: Secretary General of the League of Arab States, President of the UN Security Council.
26. In the names of historical epochs and periods, revolutions, uprisings, congresses, congresses, the first word and proper names are capitalized. Eg: Renaissance, High Renaissance (also: Early, Late Renaissance), Renaissance, Middle Ages, Paris Commune; Great October Socialist Revolution, Great French Revolution, Copper Riot; All-Russian Congress of Soviets, Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation.
27. The names of historical eras, events, etc., which are not proper names, are written with a small letter: the ancient world, civil war (but as a proper name: Civil War in Russia 1918-1921), feudalism.
28. Ages, cultures, geological periods are written with a small letter. For example: Bronze Age, Stone Age, Ice Age, Jurassic.
29. In the names of ancient states, principalities, empires, kingdoms, all words are capitalized, except for the generic concepts of principality, empire, kingdom, etc. For example: Eastern Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt, Kievan Rus, Russian land.
30. In the names of significant dates, revolutionary holidays, major mass events, the first word and proper names are capitalized. For example: First of May, World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, Year of the Child (1979), Constitution Day of the Russian Federation, New Year, Victory Day, Happy Birthday.
31. In the names of some political, cultural, sports and other events of national or international significance, the first word and proper names are capitalized. For example: World Economic Forum, Peace March, World Festival of Youth and Students, Olympic Games, World Cup, Davis Cup.
32. In titles with an initial ordinal number in digital form, the word following the number is written with a capital letter: May 1, March 8, XI International Tchaikovsky Competition. If the numeral is in verbal form, then only it is written with a capital letter: First of May, Eighth of March.
33. That's right: blue chips.
34. That's right: a round table (without quotes).
NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH RELIGION
1. The word God (in the meaning of a single supreme being) and the names of gods in all religions are written with a capital letter. For example: Jehovah, Hosts, Yahweh, Jesus Christ, Allah, Brahma, names of pagan gods, for example: Perun, Zeus. The proper names of the founders of religions are also written. For example: Buddha, Mohammed (Mohammed, Mohammed), Zarathustra (Zarathustra); apostles, prophets, saints, for example: John the Baptist, John the Theologian, George the Victorious.
2. All the names of the persons of the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) and the word Mother of God are written with a capital letter, as well as all the words used instead of the word God (for example: Lord, Savior, Creator, Almighty, Almighty) and the words Mother of God (for example: Queen of Heaven, Most Pure Virgin, Mother of God), as well as adjectives formed from the words God, Lord, for example: the Lord's will, the will of God for everything, the temple of God, the Divine Trinity, the Divine Liturgy.
3. In stable combinations used in colloquial speech without direct connection with religion, one should write god (and also the Lord) with a small letter. For example: (not) God knows; God (God) knows.
4. Words denoting the most important concepts for the Orthodox tradition are written with a capital letter. For example: the Cross of the Lord, the Last Judgment, the Holy Gifts.
5. The first word in the names of various denominations is written with a capital letter. For example: Russian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, Armenian Apostolic Church.
6. In the names of religious holidays, the first word and proper names are capitalized. For example: in Christianity: Easter, Christmas, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the Baptism of the Lord; in other religions: Eid al-Adha, Ramadan, Hanukkah.
7. The names of posts and weeks (weeks) are written with a capital letter: Great Lent, Peter's Fast, Bright Week, Holy Week, as well as the words Maslenitsa (Maslenitsa), Christmas time.
8. In the names of church administration bodies, the first word is written with a capital letter. For example: the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Council of Bishops, the Moscow Patriarchate, the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia.
9. In the names of spiritual ranks and positions, all words are capitalized, except for official and pronouns, in the official names of senior religious officials. For example: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Pope of Rome, but: During the conversation, the president and patriarch ... The names of other spiritual titles and positions are written with a small letter. For example: Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yuryevsky, archbishop, cardinal, abbot, priest, deacon.
10. In the names of churches, monasteries, icons, all words are capitalized, except for generic terms (church, temple, cathedral, lavra, monastery, seminary, icon, image) and service words. For example: Kazan Cathedral, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Church of the Conception of the Righteous Anna, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
11. The names of cult books are capitalized. For example: Bible, Holy Scripture, Gospel, Old Testament, Koran, Torah.
12. The names of church services and their parts are written with a small letter. For example: liturgy, vespers, mass, procession, vigil.
NAMES RELATED TO MILITARY THEMES
1. In the most important military names of the Russian Federation, types of troops, the first word is written with a capital letter, as well as proper names. For example: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Strategic Missile Forces, the Ground Forces, the Air Force.
2. In the names of departments and subdivisions of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the first word is capitalized, as well as proper names. For example: the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Main Headquarters of the Ground Forces.
3. In the names of military districts and garrisons, the first word is capitalized. For example: Moscow military district, North Caucasian military district, Saratov garrison.
4. In the proper names of wars, the first word and proper names are capitalized. For example: Balkan Wars, Patriotic War of 1812, World War I, but: Great Patriotic War (traditional spelling); Afghan war (1979-1989).
5. In the names of battles, battles, directions, the first word is written with a capital letter (in case of hyphenated spelling, both parts of the name). For example: Berlin direction, Battle of Borodino, 1st Ukrainian Front, Southwestern Front.
6. In the names of military units, formations, proper names are written with a capital letter. For example: Vyatka Regiment, Red Banner Baltic Fleet, Siberian Cossack Army, 1st Cavalry Army.
7. In the names of orders that are not in quotation marks, the first word is written with a capital letter, except for the word order. For example: the Order of Courage, the Order of Friendship, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Order of St. George. In the names of orders and insignia of the former USSR, according to tradition, all words are written with a capital letter, except for the word order, for example: the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the October Revolution.
8. In the name of orders, medals and insignia, allocated in quotation marks, the first word of the name in quotation marks and proper names are written with a capital letter. For example: the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", the medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow".
9. In the names of awards, the first word is written with a capital letter, except for the word award. For example: Nobel Prize, International Peace Prize, Grand Prix, but: Golden Mask Prize (with the title in quotation marks).
DOCUMENTS, PRINTING WORKS, MUSICAL WORKS, ART MONUMENTS
1. In the titles of documents with a preceding generic word not included in the title, the generic word is written with a small letter, and the title is enclosed in quotation marks and written with a capital letter. For example: the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On measures to improve public finances", the law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations", the program "Partnership for Peace".
2. The names of documents without a preceding generic word standing outside the name (charter, instruction, etc.) are usually not enclosed in quotation marks and begin with a capital letter. For example: the Treaty of Versailles, the UN Declaration, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Treaty on Public Accord, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen. If an incomplete or inaccurate title of the document is given, then the spelling with a small letter is used, for example: At the next meeting, the law on pensions was not approved.
3. In the titles of books, newspapers, magazines, etc., in quotation marks, the first word and proper names are capitalized. For example: the comedy "Woe from Wit", the novel "War and Peace", "New World". The same rule applies to foreign books, newspapers and magazines. For example: Al-Ahram, The New York Times.
4. The names of TV channels that are not abbreviations are enclosed in quotation marks: "Russia", "Domashny". The names of TV channels, which are abbreviations, are enclosed in quotation marks if there is a generic word: NTV channel. If there is no generic word, then the spelling without quotes is correct: NTV, TNT.
5. Foreign-language names of organizations, institutions represented by abbreviations are not enclosed in quotation marks: BBC, CNN.
6. The names of organizations and institutions written in Latin are not enclosed in quotation marks: Russia Today.
GENERAL NAMES OF PRODUCTS AND VARIETY OF PLANTS
1. Conditional names of grocery, perfumery, etc. goods are enclosed in quotation marks and written with a capital letter. For example: Russian cheese, Little Red Riding Hood sweets, Inspiration chocolate.
2. Conditional names of species and varieties of plants, vegetables, etc. are marked with quotation marks and are written with a small letter. For example: strawberries "Victoria", apples "Pepin Lithuanian", cucumbers "Golden Cockerel".
3. Common plant names are written with a small letter without quotation marks. For example: aloe, antonovka, white filling.
SHIPS, TRAINS, PLANES, CARS
1. Conditional individual names are enclosed in quotation marks and capitalized. For example: the cruiser "Aurora", the plane "Maxim Gorky", the schooner "Running on the waves".
2. The names of industrial brands of technical products (including cars) are in quotation marks and written with a capital letter: Moskvich-412, Volga, Volvo cars, Boeing-707, Ruslan aircraft. However, the names of these products themselves (except for names that coincide with their own names - personal and geographical) are written in quotation marks with a small letter, for example: "Cadillac", "Moskvich", "Toyota", but: "Volga", "Oka" ( coincide with proper names, so they are written with a capital letter). Exceptions: "Zhiguli", "Mercedes" (coincide with proper names, but are written with a small one).
3. Serial designations of machines in the form of initial abbreviations, combined with numbers, or without numbers, are written without quotes. For example: An-22, BelAZ, ZIL, GAZ-51, Il-18, KamAZ, Tu-104, Yak-9, Su-30.
4. The conditional names of the means of space conquest are enclosed in quotation marks and written with a capital letter. For example: the artificial satellite of the Earth "Kosmos-1443", the spacecraft "Vostok-2", the shuttle "Endeavour", the orbital station "Mir".
Internet slang appears, which is becoming fashionable among young people. It has such features as a special spelling distortion (“preved”, “cho”, “malyffka”, etc.), as well as a tendency to shorten words (“norm”, “sps”, etc.). Internet users are divided into those who believe that it is necessary to be literate both online and in life (such people are nicknamed “grammar nazi” or grammar nazi online) and those who do not consider it important to follow the rules of the Russian language .
Common features
It is necessary to distinguish the concept of a literate person from the concept of grammar nazi. As a rule, ordinary literate people do not boast of their literacy online and do not try to teach the surrounding participants of forums and chats how to spell. The opposite applies to representatives of this Internet movement. They try to point out to everyone their blunders in spelling, punctuation, and even style. Such people often succumb to provocations from other participants in forums and chats, because of which they get angry, and communication descends to mutual insults.A related “Grammar Nazi” trend is called purism. Its participants oppose the presence in their native language of words borrowed from other languages.
The situation with the Ukrainian language
In Ukraine, more than half of the population speaks Russian. But often leaves much to be desired. Due to the close integration of the Russian and Internet sectors in the network, bickering is not uncommon between the Russian-speaking population, for whom Russian is the main language, and Ukrainians, for whom Russian is not. Therefore, "grammar Nazis" can appear both from the Russians and.A classic example of mixing languages is the so-called surzhik, which is a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian language norms. It is typical for the eastern parts of Ukraine and the western regions of Russia.
