Where does financial literacy begin?

What is financial literacy

I have long had the idea to write a separate article on the blog about financial literacy in the broad sense of the term. I am sure that it will be relevant for many readers, especially novice investors. Unfortunately, the stream of errors that I constantly hear from readers prove this relevance. I could not get around the issues of a competent attitude to one’s own, the culture and psychology of investing before, repeatedly touching on various aspects of this issue. For example, in his April post about, as well as in the reviews. Today I will try to approach the problem comprehensively and answer important questions:

• What does the concept of financial literacy include and where does it start?
• How does financial literacy affect investor success?
• How can an investor improve their financial culture and how does this determine your path to financial freedom?

Origin and content of the concept of financial literacy

I have been blogging for over 6 years now. During this time, I regularly publish reports on the results of my investments. Now the public investment portfolio is more than 1,000,000 rubles.

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In order not to blur the subject of conversation, let's start with a definition. The following formulation is closer to me: financial literacy is a level of knowledge and skills in the field of finance, sufficient for a correct assessment of economic processes and for making informed decisions related to savings, investments, insurance, and future pensions.

The concept of financial literacy should also include qualified consumer behavior of a person. It is unlikely that you will argue with the fact that in the former USSR, which relatively recently built communism, most of the population does not even have elementary financial literacy. This historical legacy is difficult to overcome, and it affects even people working in the financial sector. I personally know bank employees who, having good incomes by Russian standards, constantly got into credit dependence and did not have a clear plan.

Alas, even having a higher financial education does not automatically guarantee financial literacy. Of course, the situation is gradually changing, but Russia is still ranked 24th in this indicator, next to Cameroon, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Belarus (S&P study, 2015), and the number of financially literate people is 38%. The population of different countries of the world was surveyed for understanding of three questions:% rate (including), . The study revealed other sad details: Russians, on average, do not know what about 30% of their expenses go to, and 10% of the population plan their family budget for more than a month. 77% of families do not talk to their children about money at all, considering it reprehensible. In a word, in our country there is neither a mass tradition of financial planning, nor a wide dissemination of practical skills.

On occasion, we recall the gloomy stories with the post-Soviet ones - MMM, Vlastelina, Chara-bank, the Russian House of Selenga, Khoper Group, who robbed millions of our fellow citizens, taking advantage of their naivety and frivolous attitude to their own money. It is also true that the Russians are not unique in this: suffice it to recall the sensational company of Wall Street billionaire Bernard Madoff, who bankrupted thousands of gullible investors around the world and went to prison for 150 years in 2008. Unfortunately, in matters of financial education of our children, we cannot rely on the school. Lessons of educational program were introduced only from September 1, 2016, and even then it is optional. Therefore, it is important to constantly work on your financial self-education and set an example for all households. And, of course, to adhere to a managerial attitude to money, as opposed to such a widespread consumer approach (earned - spent).

How financial literacy affects investor success

Investors are a small wealthy part of the country's population, and many of them have typical misconceptions about money. In any case, it is not so easy to overcome them and reach a professional level: it takes time, effort and diligent mastery of useful knowledge and rules of conduct. Thinking about the topic of the article, I asked myself: how do professional financial qualifications and financial literacy in a broad sense relate to each other? Should an investor or experienced trader work on improving their financial culture, or does this only apply to people of other professions and laymen?

The answer is life itself. All of you, one way or another, have witnessed situations when a quite experienced account manager or trader on the stock exchange is not due to force majeure, but under the influence of stress, excitement, lack of where they should be. Often because of elemental greed. We are all living people, but lack of restraint in emotions, impulsiveness, light-hearted attitude to our own investment strategy is a violation of the rules of financial behavior and neglect of risk management. And that speaks to gaps in overall financial competence.

To paraphrase Eastern wisdom: a financially literate person who does not have money will acquire them sooner or later; a financially illiterate person who has a lot of money will definitely lose it.

How can an investor improve their financial literacy?

We approached the question of what methods and means a private investor can improve their own financial literacy, as well as influence the upbringing of their children in the right direction. I offer my own set of rules.

1. A thoughtful, serious approach to money. Getting rid of consumer thinking and the transition to the formation of future ones that bring a stable (preferably passive) income.
2. Accounting and planning of personal/family budget. The distribution of finances into revenue and expenditure, with itemized reporting, similar to a balance sheet. Change the family's attitude to this process, make it an exciting quest, convince the family of the benefits and personal interest of everyone. Nothing motivates so much as honestly earned bonuses and gifts, and most importantly, the achievement of a jointly set common goal.
3. Setting long-term financial goals that will motivate you to acquire financial knowledge and skills. It is desirable to provide additional income that allows part of the proceeds (from 10%) to be invested. Even if your current income from your main job allows you not to look for part-time jobs, an additional source can be both profit from investment and savings on existing expenses. The main thing is to start your investment practice as early as possible in order to form sustainable useful skills and thereby increase your financial literacy. I think that this is even more important than the profit received during this time.
4. Building the right relationship with financial institutions: insurance companies, tax authorities, etc. The rules are simple: read the terms and conditions and the contract (even the small print). Do not take consumer loans without special need, do not allow overdue credit and tax debts. Do your own preliminary calculations, since now all calculators are online.

1. Allocation of the budget for self-development (). Self-education, reading, courses, trainings, webinars, paid consultations - all this directly works to improve your financial skills. Much of this can be found online for free, discipline and motivation are more important here.
2. Deal with financial instruments more often: nothing will raise your financial literacy like real activity. It is the lack of practice that makes people financially powerless.

Note that I am not listing here recommendations on how to invest or trade profitably and safely, these are topics for other articles. I'm talking about the norms of behavior, without which the conditions for the continuous improvement of your financial literacy cannot be created. These are critical prerequisites for you and your family to make your way to financial freedom.

To collect statistical data, UNESCO, based on the above position, proposed to consider literate someone who has a minimum level of functional and minimum literacy, where the first refers to the level of literacy that makes it possible for the individual to fully function in the social environment, the second - the ability to read and write simple messages. The definition of the concept of "illiteracy" (illiteracy) is associated with the position of the authors, who either interpret literacy as a competence, or include in the concept the use of these skills in various situations. According to the first, the illiterate is the one who cannot read and write at all. According to the second, those who can read or write only the simplest sentences are included in the same group.
Next, it was necessary to determine the minimum and functional literacy. Thus, Venetsky proposes to replace the word minimal with basic and consider basic literacy as a necessary literacy. He considers that the basic or minimum level of literacy corresponds to what Gray (1925) and Shull (1983) called the second level in developmental schemes, this may be the minimum level that is sufficient for subsequent independent reading for the purpose of self-education.
According to Gray, it is provided by at least four or five years of schooling, which is perhaps true today, when most children in developed countries attend primary school for six years. However, the historical experience of Russia and America shows that it was possible to achieve literacy of the population in a shorter period of study. Thus, according to Venecki, the basic level of literacy ensures the independent development of human literacy, and the necessary literacy, as a level that depends on the social context of a particular country, changes over time as the economic and social situation in the country changes. Thus, he relates the basic level of literacy to the individual, and the required level of literacy to the social sphere of society. In the literature today you can find a number of concepts associated with the term "literacy" (literacy): traditional literacy, functional literacy, survival literacy, marginal literacy, adult functional literacy, cultural literacy, information literacy. Moreover, the word literacy is widely used in English-speaking countries and has essentially become a widely used concept. For example, many educational organizations have Literacy in their names: Literacy Volunteers of America, National Center on Adult Literacy, United Kingdom Literacy Association; it is also common in book titles: "Teaching Literacy from Using Information Technology: A Collection of Articles From the Australian Literacy Educators" Association (Joelie Hancock, Editor 1999). In other languages ​​(German, Swedish, Finnish, Russian) the term "literacy" is not yet unambiguously defined and is used in different meanings.
Functional literacy remains a convenient and widely used term that defines capabilities above basic literacy and allows one to determine the level of human performance using the printed word. The quantity and quality of printed materials a person uses varies over time and varies from country to country. The amount of printed materials and new technological means require an increase in reading speed, speed of understanding and decision making.
The term “adult functional literacy” (Nafziger 1976) immediately raised the question of who should be considered an adult in this case. Again, referring to the recommendations set out in UNESCO documents, adults in the context of the concept of literacy should be considered a person over 15 years old.
If required literacy (or functional literacy) is an ability that manifests itself in a social context, then an adult in every country should be considered the person from whom society expects such behavior. “Adulthood” is regulated by the laws of the country: at what age can a person have a passport, get a driver’s license, start an independent labor activity, join a club, participate in voting, travel independently, when he begins to take part in activities covering his district, city, country. In most countries, this age is determined between 16 and 18 years. Wenecki believes that the word "functional" is superfluous here, because. It's about literacy. Both functional and traditional (or necessary) literacy are almost synonymous concepts, only the first focuses on everyday, and the second - on the labor context of their application. Marginal literacy and survival literacy are specific concepts of functional literacy, defining its lower limit. The concept of cultural literacy defines what each nation considers necessary to include in this concept.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

literacy

literacy, pl. no, w. (book).

Distraction noun to literate in 2 and 3 meanings. His letters show that he is not yet fully literate. Drawing skill. political literacy.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

The absence of grammatical and stylistic errors, compliance with the norms of the literary language.

Possession of the necessary knowledge, information in any. areas.

Education, enlightenment.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

literacy

a certain degree of proficiency in reading, writing in accordance with the grammatical norms of the native language. With regard to the characteristics of the population - one of the basic indicators of its socio-cultural development. The specific content of the concept of literacy is historically changeable, tends to expand with the growth of social requirements for the development of the individual: from elementary skills to read, write, count - to the possession of a certain complex of various socially necessary knowledge and skills that allow a person to consciously participate in social processes (the so-called functional literacy).

Literacy

(from Greek grammata ≈ reading and writing). G. as a certain degree of proficiency in the skills of oral and written speech is one of the most important indicators of the cultural level of the population. The specific content of the concept of "G." changes at various stages of the economic and political development of society along with an increase in its cultural demands. In pre-revolutionary Russia and in other countries with a low level of school education, those who could only read were considered literate; in the developed capitalist countries - persons who have the skills of reading and writing. Questions of the definition of the concept of "G.", its statistical designation during population censuses at the end of the 19th century. and the 1st half of the 20th century. have been repeatedly considered at European and international meetings on demographic statistics and population census programmes. The General Conference of UNESCO (10th session, Paris, 1958) recommended that all countries, when conducting population censuses, consider as literate persons who can read with reading comprehension and write a summary of their daily life. In countries that have reached a continuous population level, the indicator of education is used, and the indicator of leveling retains cognitive significance only in the historical assessment of the development of cultural construction. However, both indicators are used in the international characterization of the cultural level of the population of the countries of the world. In pre-revolutionary Russia, with the inaccessibility of schools for the children of working people, under the prohibition of teaching children of non-Russian nationalities in their native language, in the absence of writing among many nationalities, millions of children were deprived of the opportunity to learn to read and write. According to the 1897 census, which was used by V. I. Lenin in characterizing the civil society of pre-revolutionary Russia, the entire population of the empire included 21% of the literate population, and minus children under 9 years of age, ≈ 27% (in Siberia, respectively, 12 and 16%, in Central Asia ≈ 5 and 6%). The Great October Socialist Revolution gave all peoples of the USSR access to schools with instruction in their native language. By a decree signed by V. I. Lenin on December 26, 1919, the entire population of the country aged 8 to 50 years old, who could not read or write, was obliged to learn to read and write in their native or Russian language - if they wished. The work to eliminate illiteracy among the adult population assumed a massive character, millions of illiterate people were involved in literacy schools organized for them, and preparatory measures were widely carried out to implement universal compulsory schooling (see Universal Education). During the period from 1923 to 1939, more than 50 million illiterate people and about 40 million semi-literate people studied in the USSR. The literacy rate of women almost doubled in 13 years (1926-1939). For a general picture of literacy, see Table. 1 and 2. Tab.

≈ Percentage of literates aged 9≈49

Population

Census years

Urban:

rural:

Urban and rural:

1. ≈ Percentage of literate people and the population of the Union republics at the age of 9-49 years (according to the 1970 census)

   Union republics

   Urban population

   Rural population

   Urban 11 rural population

   Ukrainian SSR

   Byelorussian SSR

   Uzbek SSR

   Kazakh SSR

   Georgian SSR

   Azerbaijan SSR

   Lithuanian SSR

   Moldavian SSR

   Latvian SSR

   Kirghiz SSR

   Tajik SSR

   Armenian SSR

   Turkmen SSR

   Estonian SSR

   Significant successes in eradicating illiteracy have also been achieved in other socialist countries; the population of these countries is almost completely literate. Sufficiently high G. population in economically developed capitalist countries (Great Britain, USA, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, etc.).

   The peoples of Asia and Africa, who have embarked on the path of state and national independence, are making serious progress in the struggle for population growth. However, the level of G. of the population in economically underdeveloped, dependent or for a long time under foreign domination countries continues to be low. According to UNESCO (1962), there are about 120 million illiterate people in Africa (about 80% among adults); in Asia and Oceania (without the socialist countries) about 350 million (over 50%), in the Arab countries about 44 million (about 80%). In most countries of Latin America, the number of illiterates reaches 50-60%. In 1965, according to UNESCO data, there were 750 million illiterate people in the world. The low level of enrollment of children in schools in many countries leads to an increase in the number of illiterates - annually their number increases by an average of 3.5 million people. In 1966, the UNESCO General Conference adopted the proposal of the World Congress of Ministers of Education for the Elimination of Illiteracy (Tehran, 1965) to establish an International Literacy Day (September 8).

   The term "G." also means: a) the availability of relevant knowledge in any area (political literacy, technical literacy); b) the ability to express one's thoughts in accordance with the norms of the literary language (grammatical, stylistic, orthoepic, etc.).

   M. P. Kashin.

Wikipedia

Literacy

Literacy- the degree of a person's proficiency in writing and reading in their native language. Traditionally, the word "literate" means a person who can read and write, or only read in any language. In a modern sense, this means the ability to write according to established norms of grammar and spelling. People who can only read are also called "semi-literate". In the statistics under literacy refers to a person's ability to read, understand and write a short, simple text relating to his daily life. Adult literacy rate- Proportion of literate people aged 15 and over. Literacy index(sometimes called simply literacy) of a given people is the ratio between the number of literate people and the size of the total population. This ratio is usually expressed as a percentage. The literacy index, if it does not measure, then, in any case, characterizes the level of development of primary education.

Literacy is the foundation on which further human development can be built. Opening access to the book, it gives possibility enjoy the treasury of thought and knowledge created by mankind. However, literacy can also act as a tool for propagating one or another ideology in society. What and how literacy serves depends on the conditions in which the public education of a given country is placed.

The degree of spread of literacy is characterized by the degree of participation of the people of a particular country in the mental life of all mankind, but it is characterized only to a certain extent, since illiterate peoples also participate and have participated, although, perhaps, to a lesser extent, in the accumulation of the mental and moral treasures of mankind.

Examples of the use of the word literacy in the literature.

The writer Mikhailo Avramov, who for his time had sufficient literacy, in versification was not very skillful.

And only as literacy began to spread in society, a literary story or story could be compared in popularity with a comedy.

But when a Chinese pilgrim visited India, literacy was already quite common.

Here, in the library, George saw how highly developed literacy in Kievan Rus and how disastrously the collapse of the great state affected it.

It is impossible to compare the possibility of equal and universal access to literacy for those who use hieroglyphs, and for those who use a simple and convenient alphabet.

And book distribution literacy and international relations gave these petty monarchs, these monarchs of property, the opportunity to develop a community of ideas and a unity of resistance, which was not the case in any of the previous periods of world history.

That is why the Orthodox brotherhoods were so persistently concerned about spreading literacy, about education in the native, Russian language.

By translating and printing Bible books, he wanted to make them the first breeding grounds literacy and science in Russia.

He was angry at the Novgorod boyars, at the posadnik, at the citizens who had betrayed him, the son of Alexander, and could not forget these faces, this calm posture of the noble ones, these confident speeches and firm eyes, this wealth is not for show, this dignity in every city dweller, met on tesovaya novgorod pavement, businesslike literacy townspeople, the strict beauty of icon painting, the proud freedom of townspeople.

But the spiral of fate had not yet completed its bizarre turn, and in the thirty-seventh year it forced the policeman Boyko to beat off at the wedding of the red-haired drunkard and thief Pryzhov, the village Soviet clerk, who in the morning, suffering from beatings, a hangover and excess literacy, reported to the NKVD that he personally saw how Boyko wept bitterly when he learned about the execution of the hardened Trotskyist Anufry the Unsurprised, an illegitimate kulachnik who feigned mental illness in order to successfully conduct malicious anti-Soviet propaganda.

The comrade has a great mind and literacy there was no age - either twenty-three years, or fifty-seven years.

For the perception of the material and the attitude of the editor to it will depend ten, twenty, and sometimes fifty percent on the appearance and literacy articles.

However, good taste literacy it was not so much the rigidity of the rules that instilled in the schoolchildren, although this, too, gave positive results in the end.

Suddenly, one of the interlocutors, a man completely devoted to the teachings of Lev Nikolaevich, objected to this that development literacy nothing particularly joyful to represent.

It is only by the uniqueness of his personality that one can: explain the fact that a poorly educated old man, more than modest even in terms of elementary literacy, has always been on top of the situation!

Literacy is a high degree of writing skills in accordance with the grammatical norms of the native language. However, the concept of literacy has historically had other meanings.

The basic, historically original definition of literacy is the ability to read and write ( charter= letter). Some hundred years ago, such a definition was relevant. Indeed, in Russia there were many illiterate people, there was a struggle for literacy (From those times we got the word educational program- liquidation of illiteracy. People, and not only children, but also adults, were literally taught to read and write.

The very word charter(from the Greek grammata) in Russia of the X-XVII centuries meant a written document. A literate person is one who could read a document-letter. And if he could write, then he was a master at all. In all nations in antiquity, the ability to read, and even more so to write, was especially revered.

The Russian title of documents in letters was borrowed from Byzantium, where grammar denoted messages, decrees, written documents in general.

With the introduction of universal primary and then secondary education, the idea of ​​literacy as the ability to read and write became irrelevant. Such a distinctive characteristic simply turned out to be meaningless, since there are practically no people who cannot read and write in a modern civilized country. Since about the 50s of the XX century, the concept of "literacy" in the Russian language has acquired a new meaning. Now we understand by literacy not just the ability to read and write, but the ability to write correctly, that is, without errors, primarily spelling and punctuation (the most regulated and most noticeable).

Accordingly, today literacy is the observance of the basic rules of the Russian language, primarily in writing. A synonym for the word "literacy" in this sense is "spelling".

Human literacy in this sense has an interesting property. When it is, it is invisible. But when a person writes illiterately, it is noticeable immediately and immediately lowers the social status of such a person. From the point of view of a person's personal intellectual qualities, one can build such a consistent chain: literacy - education - enlightenment. Literacy is the foundation of education.

Literacy itself is not a guarantee of success; however, illiteracy may well become a guarantee of failure, especially in the face of growing business competition.

Compliance with what rules determines the level of literacy of a person? What are the rules of the language in general?

rules These are instructions to follow the norms of the language. The relationship between the concepts of “rules” and “norms” is approximately the following: scientists, based on historical trends, develop and fix the norms of the language, and teachers process these norms into rules and teach the rules to students. The norm prescribes the correct use of each speech expression, and the rules summarize the principles laid down in the norms and are the most general, typified presentation of the norms. For example, the norm is to write a after h in the word bowl. And the rule is the injunction stating that after h and sch spelled a.

In other words, the rule is the law, and the norm is each specific case. The generalization of these cases leads to the formation of a law, that is, a rule.

Norms are not always grouped into rules. Many norms require memorization not of the rule, but of the most specific variant of the correct use. For example, there is no rule that a word merchant must write through e; this rule should be remembered in private.

As already shown in previous chapters, one of the important characteristics of a literary language is its normalization.

An important feature of the norm of the literary language is its stability (or stability). Due to the stability of norms, the literary language connects generations. Language norms ensure the continuity of cultural and linguistic traditions. But this sign is relative, since the literary language develops, allowing changes in norms.

How is the norm formed? Many believe that the fundamental source of the norm of the literary language is the frequency of use of the speech variant. As most people say, that's right. This is the wrong approach. A high frequency of use can also be characteristic of speech errors. The most striking example is that most Russian-speaking people put stress on the word calling to the first syllable. But that doesn't mean the majority is right. No, the majority is wrong. The stress in this word should be on the last syllable. So the high frequency of the speech variant does not always or does not immediately cause its transition to the norm.

It is in physics that if certain circumstances lead to the same result, then they are recognized as natural - a consequence of the operation of a certain law. And in linguistics, the repetition of the result is not associated with the manifestation of objective laws. The sign of the norm is not so much the frequency (mass character), but the selection, recognition, obligatory nature (Although, undoubtedly, the frequency of use may sooner or later affect the recognition of a variant as normative.).

Another sign of a literary norm is compliance with an authoritative source - most often the works of famous writers. However, it should also be noted here that in the works of the greatest writers there are also profanity, for example, fragments of colloquial, dialectal or even swear words.

Summarizing these features of the norm, we can derive the following definition.

The literary norm is a relatively stable way of expression, reflecting the historical patterns of language development, enshrined in the best examples of literature and preferred by the educated part of society.

This definition, with all its simplicity, emphasizes another important difference between the norms of the language and the laws, for example, of physics. The norms of the language are something that lives thanks to the preference of people, educated people, the best part of society. In other sciences, especially in exact sciences, such a way of establishing norms (laws) is even impossible to imagine. The law of universal gravitation will never be recognized as such just because Newton insists on it with his authority and the apple. In linguistics, the preferences of authoritative scholars and wordsmiths are critical to establishing norms.

Scientists distinguish several types of literary norms (defining the corresponding rules).

Phonetic norms regulate the correct pronunciation of sounds, the correct use of the articular apparatus for the production of sounds of the Russian language. For example, the normative is the solid pronunciation of the sound [g] in the word city, while in the south of Russia many pronounce softened [g] - that is, they speak incorrectly.

Orthoepic norms regulate the correct pronunciation of words in general. The correct use of oral speech is also regulated by accentological norms - the norms of the correct placement of stresses.

Morphological and word-formation norms regulate the correct use of parts of the word. In writing, these norms form the rules spelling- Correct spelling rules.

Syntactic norms- These are the rules for constructing phrases and sentences. They determine, for example, the appropriateness of using conjunctions or prepositions, the rules for constructing sentences, and so on. For the semantic and intonational organization of speech in the Russian language, as in many others, punctuation marks are used. Therefore, syntactic norms are implemented in the rules for the syntactic combination of words, as well as in the rules punctuation.

Punctuation rules and spelling rules are the most strictly and clearly regulated sphere of the rules of the Russian language. With all their diversity, they are quite simple to learn, they are taught at school. Failure to comply with these rules gives the most conspicuous patterns of illiteracy. We can say that the rules of spelling and punctuation are the minimum, the basis of general language literacy. If a person is already illiterate in this area, then he is illiterate in general.

Lexical norms prescribe the correct use of words to denote certain phenomena. For example, the word impartial often used incorrectly, they say: unpleasant conversation, unpleasant conclusions, referring to unpleasant conversation and unpleasant conclusions. Word impartial is not a synonym for the word unpleasant, although outwardly similar (these are paronyms). Impartial means impartial, objective, fair. Unfavorable conclusions, - these are conclusions that are made "regardless of persons", that is, without taking into account the status of the person in relation to whom they are made. These are objective conclusions, and not at all unpleasant.

Such lexical errors are not uncommon - people sometimes misunderstand the meaning of a word and use it incorrectly. The phenomenon of paronymy in Russian is quite common: lucky - successful, hidden - secretive, patronage - patronage, introduced himself - passed away, present - provide, lagoon - lacuna, venerable - venerable etc. These words are sometimes also called "erroneous" - people often make mistakes when using one of the paronyms, while keeping in mind the meaning of the other. For example, patronage- this is protection, patronage, patronage. BUT patronage- This is medical support, most often during pregnancy. So what does the phrase mean under the patronage of the President? She means that someone confuses the president with a midwife. BUT venerable author- this is the author ... of a good clear suit. because venerable- This is a characteristic of the color of animals. And here venerable- experienced, authoritative, knowledgeable.

Sometimes lexical errors are associated with the incorrect use of obsolete words, when the word is still alive in the memory of the language, but its meaning has been forgotten. An example is the incorrect use of the Old Slavonic word dominate. In ancient times there was a saying: dayvi will overwhelm him with malice, which means: "every day he has enough worries." Dominates meant "enough, enough, plenty." However, in harmony with the word crush people began to use the word dominate in the meaning of "pressure, exert pressure": one thought weighs on him, the burden of responsibility weighs on him. Kind of like a prettier, elevated form of the verb crush. Strictly speaking, this is wrong. However, only great connoisseurs of the language can recognize a lexical error.

Another source of lexical errors is associated with the incorrect use of foreign vocabulary or scientific terminology. For example, the coryphaeus of Russian publicism, Otto Latsis, liked to remind young journalists on occasion that the phrase be at the center of events- ridiculous. Indeed, in geology epicenter is a point on the earth's surface above the center of an earthquake. But not the center of the earthquake. That is, if we strictly follow the transfer of meaning from geology, then be at the center of events- it means to be ... on the surface of events, and not in their center. The venerable publicist, of course, rightly points out the absurdity of this phrase. However, we must also take into account the fact that since the sixties, when this phrase appeared (on the wave of fashion to use scientific terms in everyday life), it has already taken root and is understood in the meaning of “being in the center of events”. The fact is that this phrase has become a phraseological unit. And a phraseological unit can have its own, completely different meaning than the meanings of its constituent words. For example, phraseology shot sparrow does not at all imply either the bird or its execution. So when it appears, the phrase be at the center of events was certainly the result of a lexical error. But, having become a phraseological unit, most likely, it is no longer a lexical error.

Stylistic norms prescribe the correct, appropriate use of language means in accordance with the situation. For example, a stylistic mistake is mixing words of different styles (if this is not an artistic device): Today I programmed to go to the optometrist. It is necessary to focus the attention of children on this issue. Pavel Vlasov rallied his like-minded people even more. A stylistic mistake, assessed as a manifestation of unculturedness, will be the use of socially understated vocabulary in a solemn speech or in an official situation.

Compliance with the whole complex of norms of the literary Russian language is the basis speech culture.

The term "culture" (from the Latin culture - cultivation) originally means some kind of artificial creation, cultivation, ordering of something (originally it was about the cultivation of the land). It is a kind of effort that makes the wild cultivated. Therefore, culture is, first of all, the limitation of wild nature by human effort. Culture is always the result of effort.

The culture of speech is the cultivation of speech, bringing it to some kind of the best model that corresponds to literary norms and the idea of ​​​​beautiful speech.

The correctness of speech is ensured by the observance of the norms of the literary language. This is in many ways really a technical skill, achieved, like other skills, by training. “The ability to speak correctly is not yet a merit, and inability is already a shame,” the Roman orator Cicero believed, “because correct speech is not so much the dignity of a good speaker, but the property of every citizen.”

However, the culture of speech implies not only the technical skill of the correct use of language means, but also the mastery of using all the wealth that is inherent in the native language. Therefore, the culture of speech is determined both by the correctness of speech and the richness of the inner world of a person, the level of his education, his erudition, and also - and above all - his desire to follow the patterns of beauty and create them. Or at least imitate them.

Thus, the culture of speech is associated not only with normativity, compliance with the rules of the language, but also with the beauty of speech. If we imagine a certain computer giving out perfectly correct speech (and today this is already a reality), then one can hardly say about such a computer that it has a culture of speech. To realize the idea of ​​a culture of speech, some more spirituality is needed, some kind of creative ability to endow speech with a special meaning, external and internal beauty.

A high level of speech culture becomes a competitive advantage for a manager. It is necessary to improve one's own educational level, the level of knowledge of the humanities, as well as acquire special skills and knowledge in the field of rhetoric, speech etiquette, stylistics, communication science, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. The main provisions of these sciences, which are important from the point of view of the culture of speech and the effective use of speech in business practice, will be discussed in the following chapters.

Since ancient times, literacy has been considered the degree of education of a person and the level of his culture. Qualities, you see, are very important for an individual and for society as a whole.

Everyone who is aware of his level of development as lower than that of the people around him, seeks to overcome this barrier, learning and engaging in self-improvement.

This is characteristic of people who are ambitious, with self-esteem and healthy ambitions. In addition, only a literate and educated person is able to talk about important things and objects and look at the world more objectively.

The concept of "literacy" literally means the ability to write and read, observing the grammatical canons and spelling rules. Simplistically, in the everyday sense, literacy is interpreted as the ability to read, write and perceive small texts.

Today, even an elementary level of literacy, including a small vocabulary and knowledge of basic grammar rules, allows a person to move forward. Therefore, children tend to be taught to read and write early.

During the Enlightenment, only nobles were literate. Any girl from a noble family could speak French, knew Latin, knew how to read and write perfectly in her native language. People belonging to the poor class were very illiterate.

And in the earlier Middle Ages, even the nobility could not boast of their literacy. Writing and reading were entrusted to specially trained scribes and readers. Seniors and nobles only needed to make assertive and impressive speeches.

Before our era, different peoples differed greatly from each other in the level of literacy. At the beginning of our era, the Jews were the most literate. Each Jewish city had its own school.

A high level of literacy for that time was also among the inhabitants of Greece. Boys were sent to schools there, girls were taught to read and write by nannies and mothers.

In India, it was considered a disgrace for a woman to be literate. Only priests and some men could read and write there.

But still, literate and educated people have always been recognized as more developed and smart in most countries. Therefore, we always have something to strive for. There are no boundaries for perfection!