Курсовая работа: Intercultural communication of Russian and English languages

Even in ancient times Old English as many other German languages had a number of words which went back with the roots of words Slavic in origin. It is obvious that they were already borrowed in XII century. They are: “мед” – meodu (Old English) and mead (contemporary English), “молоко” – meolk (Old English) and milk (contemporary English), “плуг” – ploz (Old English) and plough (contemporary English) and others. Professor A.I.Smirnitsky have distinguished a more early Slavic borrowing in Old English language: the word “syrce” (рубаха, панцирь, кольчуга) which goes back to the Old Slavic “sork” which can be compared with Russian “сорочка”.

It is interesting that there are the same Slavic borrowings in both Old English and Scandinavian languages and it is hard to find out weather they were borrowed from Slavic language into each separately or they penetrated directly from Slavs into Scandinavian and then to Anglo-Saxons.

2.3.2 The second period

This period (XVI-XVII centuries) is well-observed by means of three sources:

1. «Словарь московитов» (French-Russian, 1586);

2. «Записнаякнижка» - Richard James’ Russian-English dictionary (1618-1620);

3. «Русскаяграмматика» by Henry Ludolf (Oxford, 1696).

Stable relations between Russia and England nations were settled only in XVI century. This time is characterized by lasting commercial and diplomatic relations between England and Muscovy and by real interest of London merchants in maintenance of business connections with Russian nation. On the other hand the ignorance of foreign languages, including English in Moscovy was at that time an extremely important motivation towards the studying Russian languages by foreigners. Consequently, owing to the development of capitalism in England and the expansion of traffic by sea England was very interested in communications with Moscovy. English government in XVI-XVII centuries took care of permanent trainings for translation staff from Russian language.

The most of Russian borrowings of this period penetrated into English by writing – over the different reports, diaries and descriptions of Englishmen who visited Russia. In most cases they were nominations of marketing articles, household goods, officials’ names, geographical names and others.

1. Names of officials, subordinate people and governors, nominations referred with the state arrangement: tsar, voivode, knes, bojar, mouzhik, Cossack and others;

2. Measures of weight, distance and currency: verst, arshin, pood, rouble, copeck, chervonets;

3. Objects of clothing and food which were exotisms for Englishmen: shuba, kvas, shchi, borshch, calash, vodka, nalivka, bliny, okroshka and many others;

4. Household goods: troika, izba, telega, balalaika, samovar, tarantas, droshki, kibitka, makhorka;

5. Geographical peculiarities and animals: steppe, tundra, taiga, suslik, borzoi;

Later on English language borrowed another words like: kokoshnik, khorovod, beluga, obrok, zolotnik, otrezok, vedro, matrioshka. Thus for example the word “mammoth” was borrowed by English language as the name of prehistoric animal which was founded in Russia.

word english russian language

2.3.3 The third period

This period is characterized by the developing of industry and at the same time the working class. The struggle of leading people against tsarist government, the growth of people's democratic liberation movement and further strengthening revolutionary movement in XIX and the beginning of XX centuries were reflected in borrowing of such Russian words as: nihilist, nihilism, nihilistic, intelligentsia.

The word narodnik and narodism appeared in English language as a result of the narodnik movement’s development.

The English lexical system is rapidly enriches itself by many new neologisms which express social concepts. From the latter half of the XIX century Russian literature became the matter of interest for deep and serious studying in Occidentals. Thus, the word “nihilist” penetrated into English after the translation of the novel «Отцыидети» by Turgenev.

Undoubtedly, the roots of such words as “Decembrist” or “intelligentsia” are Latin and there already existed words of the same root, but, nevertheless, it is absolutely correct to treat them as Russian because their new meanings were acquired in accordance with the Russian reality of that days. The word “Decembrist” refers to the range of political ideas, which appeared as a result of armed revolt against autocracy and serf-ownership which took place in Saint-Petersburg on the 14 of December 1825.

In the very beginning of the XX century the words “duma”, “pogrom” were borrowed by English language.

2.3.4 The fourth period

The language is directly connected with the human activity and as the result it reflects all changes in industry, society, politics and other spheres. As more significant the event, occurred in one country, so much attention it stimulates in other countries.

As far as the XX century begun, the new Socialistic state was formed in Russia. Russian political terms became well-known in the whole world, they entered into international usage and filled up the word-stock of many languages.

Such words as “Bolshevik”, “Menshevik” and others became widespread. This fact shows the interest of English nation to the political situation in Russia. The grate number of Marxist-Leninist terminology was borrowed by many languages, including English after the victory of the Great October Socialistic revolution.

Words which were borrowed from Russian language in this period are called sovetisms which serves to denote the ideas, concepts and institutions appeared owing to the revolution and appearance of the first socialistic state - the Soviet Union.

For example the word “Soviet” was fixed by English dictionaries in 1917 and was very common in English and American periodical press and literary in 1918-1919 years. However, the Russian word “совет” has an appropriate equivalent in English - “council” with the meaning of administrative, social organ (e.g. Council of ministers – Советминистров), but it did not became established as it could not express the whole range of concepts which were included in this notion.

This period is characterized by appearance of such words as: sovkhoz, kolkhoz, Komsomol, Leninism, bolshevism, commissar, collectivization, industrialisation, subbotnik and many others.