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The Russian language
itself is one of the central identifying features of Russian national
identity. Despite a certain hyperbolism, Mikhail Lomonosov's comments on
the qualities of his language, are shared by many Russians: "The
Holy Roman Emperor Carl the Fifth used to say that one should speak
Spanish with God, French with one's friends, German with one's enemies,
and Italian with the fair sex. But had he been skilled in Russian he
would of course have added that it would be appropriate to speak with
all of these in it, for he would have found in it the greatness of
Spanish, the liveliness of French, the force of German, the tenderness
of Italian, and, in addition, the richness and strong terse
descriptiveness of Greek and Latin."
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Although
Russian as a modern cultural language is relatively new, with
the vast majority of classic work having been produced in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the wealth of the Russian
cultural heritage in literature, visual art, theater, opera,
instrumental music, and ballet is enormous. And while it is
possible to gain some appreciation for such authors as
Dostoevsky and Tolstoy in English translation, no true
understanding of the immense richness of Russian culture can be
acquired without a thorough knowledge of the language. In
particular, Russia has produced one of the world's most vibrant
and exciting poetic traditions--including the works of poets
like Pushkin, Lermontov, Blok, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Tsvetaeva,
Pasternak, and Brodsky--and this is almost totally inaccessible
to the English reader. Despite the upheavals caused by the fall
of communism, Russian literary culture remains vibrant, and only
a fraction of this fascinating contemporary work is available in
translation.
In addition, from a linguistic point of view, Russian is
particularly intriguing because of the immense changes it has
undergone in the course of the twentieth century. As the authors
of one recent study of the language have put it: "The
recent changes that have taken place in the Soviet Union and its
successor states conclude a dramatic period in the history of
the country and, probably, in the history of the world. The
conclusion of this period, which spans over seven decades,
offers an incredible opportunity to a linguist: to follow the
changes in a language partially determined by sociological
factors and to see abrupt changes evolve into continuous
tendencies, coming to a logical completion with the end of the
political age."
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