December 19, 2022

Hold Your Tongue


Hold Your Tongue
Impeccable Russian penmanship. Speak Russian Now, YouTube

The State Duma began reviewing a new law that would restrict the use of foreign loan words in official Russian communications.

This comes amid a rise in nationalism following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Initially introduced to the Duma on October 26, the law considers the use of Russian to be a matter of state, allowing for its regulation. If the law is passed, officials will be required to abstain from the use of foreign words for which there is an equivalent Russian word. The bill also grants the government control over the production and approval of grammar books and dictionaries, in order to make them compliant with "Russian literary language." Authors of the bill claim it will battle the "overuse of foreign words" and improve the level of literacy and the quality of language resource materials.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly suggested to the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the creation of an organization within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to promote Russian language use.

 

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