Do you speak English? (1 photo). Do you speak Russian? Are you ready to take the Russian language proficiency test?

The one who speaks wisely - he wisely manages. Both the first and the second are not always given to Volgograd officials. At least only a few can speak beautifully and correctly even during public speaking. Which is not surprising - this is happening all over Russia. To eradicate this misfortune, the authorities themselves are proposing to introduce an exam for knowledge of the Russian language among civil servants and courses in rhetoric. Will it help, in the radio studio "Komsomolskaya Pravda" 96.5 FM presenters Sergei KOROVIN and Ekaterina SIMOKHINA discussed with Dmitry ILYIN, Ph.D.

“Eeeeeee, so…”

D. I. (Dmitry Ilyin):- Unfortunately, the current officials know Russian disgustingly. Not all, but most. And they hardly have an idea about the lexical riches that are embedded in the Russian language. I watch their performances on TV, listen to them on the radio and am horrified. Politicians are not able to complete a speech they started on a piece of paper in their own words. They are enough for about 6 - 7 words, and then “uh”, “means”, “maybe”, etc. begins. Therefore, I am deeply convinced that the exam, in whatever form it is conducted, is a classic exam or test for knowledge of the Russian language, state people need.

E. S. (Ekaterina Simokhina):- I think it's very embarrassing. Maybe it is worth introducing an exam, but only when applying for a civil service.

D.I.:- Ignorance is dangerous. Officials and other statesmen issue illiterate circulars. Recently, one of the presidential candidates announced that it is necessary to create a special group of specialists who would translate the law written in official bureaucratic language into normal human language so that people understand what they want from them, what is expected of them and what from them require.

Dmitry Ilyin: "Current officials speak Russian disgustingly."

Let's shift the situation to another area. You will come to the hospital, and there the doctors also speak their “bird language”, and you lie and do not know what will be cut out or cut off from you, etc. But you want to know! Similarly, with officials, with deputies, with administrations of all other ranks. We need to know and understand what they are doing. In the meantime, unfortunately, this is not observed, including due to poor knowledge of the Russian language.

S.K. (Sergey Korovin):- It seems to me that if the exam is introduced, it will turn into a fiction. It's just that employees and deputies will later have a reason to boast: “We know Russian, we have a five. You are an illiterate people."

D.I.:- I do not agree. In many countries, such tests have already been introduced. Here, for example, in Tatarstan, 207 twos last year were received by officials of the Kazan mayor's office for an exam in their native language. The administration obliged all "losers" to attend special free courses. Civil servants of Kazakhstan now and then visit the Office for the Development of Languages ​​with selective checks. Examinations, as a rule, include dictation and translation. Dictation officials most often write in a solid three, and during the translation, the subjects now and then apply the words “client” and “manager” in the Kazakh manner, which, according to the rules, are not translated. Today, only 33% of officials speak the state language at an intermediate level. And in Ukraine last summer, the Cabinet of Ministers created attestation commissions to test knowledge of the state language.

More public speaking

S.K.:- And yet I am against introducing such an examination. In fact, politicians and officials are becoming more and more not functionaries, not business executives, but talkers. The same Zhirinovsky has been "flooding" for 20 years. And what did he end up doing? I don't see it, but the politician is successful.

Ekaterina Simokhina: "Loquacity does not depend on whether you know Russian well or badly."

E.S.:- Talkativeness does not depend on whether you know Russian well or poorly. This is some kind of character trait, temperament. The question is whether he speaks well or not.

D.I.:- It is not so difficult to organize a special program or courses where the Russian language, oratory, the basics of business style, and so on will be taught. We conduct Russian language testing for migrants. For the sake of interest, I gave the same test intended for migrants to a person who holds a high position in the regional administration. He could not fulfill it, although there are elementary requirements at the school level. This is a guard!

E.S.:- It seems to me that officials and politicians themselves will come to this, they themselves will want to improve their literacy. In 2011, all heads of districts were forced to report to their residents. Public speaking is serious business. So, I am sure that our officials, our heads of administrations themselves are worried about their speech.

S. K:- What matters to me is what the manager does, not how he says it. He can speak correctly, beautifully and competently, but if he does nothing for the city, this politician is no longer interesting to me.

Sergei Korovin: "I care about what the manager does, not how he says."

D.I.:- Everyone should be competent in their field. We do not force a person who plows on a tractor to pass an exam in the Russian language. He doesn't need him. But if you want to manage people, and officials and deputies really want this, then you must manage them competently. Including your speech, too, you need to build correctly.

DIRECT SPEECH

Are you ready to take the Russian language proficiency test?

Alexander Potapov, head of the LDPR faction in the Volgograd Regional Duma:

I'm not sure I'll do well. But I am ready to additionally work out self-education and, if there are gaps, fix it. In general, of course, I want to correctly express my thoughts, clearly and understandably for others. This is probably one of the most important qualities for a politician. By the way, "illiterate" today are not only politicians. And this is to blame for the deterioration in the quality of education. If you have money, go and get an education.

Irina Guseva, deputy of the Volgograd Regional Duma, teacher with great experience:

Ready. And I agree that officials and politicians should be fluent in Russian. I came across a surprising example not so long ago. Documents came to the Regional Duma from the Education Committee of the Administration of the Volgograd Region. There were so many mistakes! We corrected them with a red pen and sent them back. My fellow deputies not only laughed, but were shocked. In general, I like the option proposed by our new governor Sergei Bozhenov. To get a job in the administration, applicants will go through a competition and an independent audit. Probably, a test for knowledge of Russian should also be included here.

Georgy Goryachevsky, deputy of the Volgograd City Duma, active blogger:

I would love to take this exam. In my work, I came across the fact that officials communicate and talk with people, among themselves, they answer our requests from deputies in a language that only they themselves understand. The language is dry, legal, replete with various foreign terms that are difficult to understand. It should not be.

“The Russian language is losing its position in terms of prevalence in the world and by 2025 it may become even less popular than Bengali or Portuguese,” according to data from the Center for Sociological Research of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, obtained by RIA Novosti.

"About 225,000 schoolchildren study the Russian language in Western European countries today (before the early 1990s, over 550,000). In higher education in Western Europe, 28,500 students learn Russian," the materials of the Ministry of Education and Science say.

The Russian language is still the fourth most widely spoken language in the world. The leader is Chinese - 1.35 billion people, English - over 650 million, Spanish - more than 330 million.

"It is assumed that in 10 years the number of those who know the Russian language may be reduced to 212 million people, and it will be overtaken by French, Hindi, Arabic," the document says.

By 2025, when, according to sociologists, the number of those who know the Russian language will be reduced to approximately 152 million people, Portuguese and Bengali will overtake it.

The Ministry of Education and Science notes that the policy of most of the CIS and Baltic countries in relation to the Russian language leads to the fact that in the first years of independence it could be considered native, then second native, then the language of interethnic communication, then the language of national minorities and, finally, one of the studied by choice or even an optional subject.

"The Russian language made a similar evolution in the Baltic States, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan," the materials say.

Compared with the Soviet period, the number of secondary schools with instruction in Russian has decreased in the CIS and Baltic countries by an average of two to three times. Russian as a foreign language is also beginning to lose ground in school curricula, giving way to English.

A similar situation is observed in Europe. According to Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov, the number of French people who study Russian is declining from year to year. Russian classes are being closed in some lyceums and colleges."
Yeah, most of my acquaintances have already gone to study Chinese for courses ... They say that this is the inevitable future of Russia - cooperation with China and, as a result, the integration of the economy into Russia, from which you can "make good money." I wonder who teaches Russian to their children? Is it difficult for a child to live in Italy and learn the language of mom and/or dad? There are lovers of Chinese in Italy (not cuisine))) language and culture...)?

Our "support and support", our "truthful and free Russian language", as I.S. called it. Turgenev, in the mouths of our compatriots, is less and less like that.
We heavily clog it with foreign words. And not because there are few words in our language. We still have more than 130 thousand of them. But for some reason, we really like to use foreign vocabulary. And especially actively we use English words in speech.

We in English have become directly obsessed in the bad sense of the word. We do not just study it and apply it where it is appropriate. And inappropriately mix it with Russian speech.

Of course, everyone is used to such a word as, for example, “manager”. Forgetting about the Russian equivalent "manager". No, managers are required everywhere. Especially "pleasing" to the eye "clean-manager". Why not a cleaner? Probably because to say: "I work as a cleaning manager" is more prestigious than to say: "I am a cleaner." In general, it seems that the main reason for the clogging of the language with anglicisms is the desire to look cool. It seems that you know a foreign language, you can screw a word or another into speech. But why can't you be proud of knowing your native language? Wide vocabulary? Instead of "cool" and "super" use "fine", "wonderful", "great"?

Well, we are used to managers and even put up with them. But why continue to pollute? At the same time, it is continued in most cases (not in all, of course) by those who carry out the language to the masses - journalists in newspapers, on TV, radio and especially on the Internet.

On TV, when talking about the fashion industry, they began to use the word "bow", which means "image" (from the English look - look, appearance). A synonym in Russian can completely replace this word. Moreover, in our head, “onion” is more associated with a vegetable from which tears flow. Although it’s true, you hear a lot of these “bows” and you want to cry.

But recently, in our large shopping center "MEGA", a certain event "Street Couture" was held, where ordinary buyers took part. And the presenter, who, in theory, should have excellent spoken Russian, said: “So, all the participants are ready.” Which means that they are, in fact, ready (from the English ready - ready). It sounded funny. And most buyers just didn't understand the words. And the participants, judging by their faces, were themselves surprised that they were somehow “ready”.

There is an example from radio journalism. On Mayak Radio on Saturday morning, the presenter said: “So, let’s discuss all these trends ... yes, trends ... oh, I feel that today we will use this word!” She wanted to say that they would use this word a lot times (from the English use - use, use) I heard the same verb, new to our language, in the speech of the inhabitants of the city, when the girl asked her friend to “use her mirror”.

All these words are practically rooted in our language. But journalists do not stop there. They, especially on the Internet, offer more and more Anglicisms. For example, on the Macintosh laptop website, there was an article about a competition with prizes, where various companies chose the most commonly used word "IT". IT people are just programmers (from the English IT - information technology). So soon the journalists themselves will become “journalists”. Did the article itself suggest such words? how to “google” (i.e. search for information through the Google search engine), “exploit” - as a replacement for the word “use” (from the English exploit - use, use) and, attention, “unlock” - that is, “unblock” (from English lock - lock, lock). Why these unnecessary replacements?

And Internet users are already preoccupied even with the spelling of these anglicisms. For example, on the [email protected] portal, a certain Ilya Demyanovich asked the question “How would it be correct to say: “google” or “google”. And then he even explained: “I still thought it was right to“ google ”, and today, to the question:“ Where can I download Chinese rap ”, my classmate answered“ google. Of course, there were also humorous answers that it’s right to “google” or “google” in general, but still the most popular was: “It would be right to“ enter a query into the Google search engine. Here, people who stand for the purity of the Russian language have not died out, apparently.

Although there are fewer of them. A survey was conducted on the website headhunter.ru “How often do you use English terms in speech? 57% answered all the time, 40% - sometimes / from time to time, 7% - very rarely. The column "never" did not even appear.

Maybe someone will say that there is nothing wrong with that, and in our integrating world it is normal to use foreign words. I doubt. Especially so intense. Still, the identity, individuality of cultures is needed, and it is not least preserved through language. And so, little by little, English, maybe even replace Russian?

Do you speak Russian?

Still, they knew. Of course they did. Otherwise, how did they come to me so instantly? Someone passed. But who? Second-hand bookseller? Or someone you know? To whom did I speak? Or maybe they just grazed the book dealer? And wow, how activated the brain, when you just need to run, run, and run. Though it's probably all connected. The faster the brain works, the faster the legs carry. Right here. For this building. Crap!
I think they fired! Oh kay guys. So we were ordered not to gossip. What are the remedial courses? Clap, and order. Variwell. No hassle.
Alex, a thirty-year-old man, an ordinary modest employee, popped around the corner and sped up his run. The feds followed suit.
It's good that there are only two of them, Alex thought, speeding up to the limits of his capabilities, there is a chance to leave. Although, probably, all the patrol capsules are already flying here, and in about five minutes, there will be nowhere for an apple to fall, except perhaps on the head of one of these patrolmen. Oh, damn it, endure the hard one!
He jumped out around the next corner, hewing a concrete wall with his shoulder, and was surprised to see the open entrance door. Rushing recklessly towards it, like a hunted animal that found a loophole, he only had time to frightenedly assume that this could be a trap, but there was nowhere to go. The door is the only salvation. Not a single entrance door is open after nine in the evening. This is the law. Breaking the law is out of fashion these days. Not those times. Sniffing like a mouse into a hole into the darkness of someone else's entrance, he closed the door behind him and froze. Trying to hold his breath made his heart clench and vomit. Alex sat down on the floor and listened. The silence of the night allowed him to distinctly hear the clatter of two pairs of heavy boots, a savory spit, and an evilly thrown phrase in state language.
- Gone around that corner, bitch!
After that, the clatter began to move away.
God bless. Alex wiped his sweaty forehead, ran his hand over his eyes. God bless. This is just a miracle. Not a single door exists ... It turns out that I am saved? Hardly. If they grazed me, then a miracle will not help. And if only a second-hand book dealer, then ... But one more thing is needed. So that no one can spot me here. None of the residents. Otherwise they will give up. It's the norm to give up.
He began, half-bent, to fumble with his hand in the darkness. Somewhere here there is usually a pantry for all sorts of little things, strollers there, brooms. Broom, here it is the main invention of man. Even the mastered Moon, and that we sweep with brooms. Alex groped for the doorknob. I started looking for a castle. If there is a code, then it will be more difficult. But most importantly, he will not call the feds after two wrong attempts, like the one at the front door of the entrance.
The lock was coded. Alex pressed the buttons by touch. Thank God, the lock turned out to be simple, only four buttons. About twenty minutes later he dialed the correct combination. After the lock squeaked softly, Alex carefully pulled the door towards him. It was not enough for something to collapse there and rattled over the entire entrance. Damp pantry air entered his nose. Trying not to catch anything, he slowly, like a slug in a narrow gap on the pavement, began to squeeze inside. He felt the broom with his hand. Smiled. He turned around, pulled in one leg, then the other, poking his calf into something sharp. He pressed his lips together. Pain is nonsense. The main thing is that he is all inside, and you can cover the door.
Finally everything. Alex felt the purchase in his pocket. Too bad it's dark in here. That is OK. You can just think of something. The main thing is not to fall asleep, not to fall asleep at all, this is the main thing. Tomorrow, exactly five minutes to seven, you need to get out of here. At seven, most of the residents will be thrown to work, and they may have something lying here. Something they are used to going out with.
Alex began to think about the open front door. Does it happen? And indeed, a miracle. Thanks to which he got away from the chase. Even the feds could not think that such out of the ordinary is still happening. They firmly believe that all doors are closed. So it basically is. In principle ... but something apparently intervened here, which does not care about principles.

When he got to work in the morning, he first of all jumped into the toilet and washed himself thoroughly with cold water. Although, if they ask about a sleepy look, everything can be explained by malaise. All night my stomach hurt, did not let me sleep, and forced to smile. Hardly doubt. Moreover, this is not the main thing. The main thing is to find out whether the feds have already been here, or no one knows anything about him, and they really grazed the second-hand book dealer. Alex, cautiously looking at his colleagues, went to his desk and flopped into an armchair. Turned on the computer. Colleagues diligently went about their business, not paying any attention to him. That doesn't mean anything yet, he thought unhappily, and stared at the monitor. So what do we have here. Yeah, yesterday's letters from suppliers. Need to sort. He set to work, but the work did not go. Too many worries in the last few days. In addition, I really wanted to sleep. I wanted it unbearably. An hour later, he completely forgot about letters and suppliers, and just thought, staring blankly at the screen. I thought about what happened yesterday, about what happened eighty years ago.
He was born sixty years after English became the official language in Russia. Before that, there was India, Serbia, then all of Europe. Someone deprived the peoples of their past, their roots, their essence. Ten years after the introduction of English in Russia, people began to be fined for speaking Russian, and fifteen years later they were sentenced to correctional courses. And he would not care about all this, if not for his father, who was one of those who did not want to lose their roots. He taught Russian to him too. And now, all my life, fear, fear of an accidentally escaped word in Russian, at work, on the street, among friends, and even at home. Aloud. Indeed, it was once said that the walls have ears. And also a constant, irresistible craving for this language, a constant thirst. But how to satisfy it? There is nothing in Russian on the network, nowhere. But a year ago, through one old Russian specialist, as the government called them, he contacted a second-hand book dealer, one who apparently had already been captured, tortured, or even killed. Because they were shooting at me. And if they torture him, then sooner or later they will come out on my modest person. Alex shook his head. You need to behave normally, no suspicious movements, no. Now the question of his freedom, and possibly life, is being decided. He started sorting the letters again.
- Attention, there is a ball in the surrender! Fsem to leave immediately - the office radio said in broken Russian.
Alex didn't smile. Not even a smirk touched his lips. Silly check. Dumb check. They expect those who know Russian to instinctively run away. Here are the morons. Such checks are carried out one day after the warning signal. And during them, immediately after a nasty beep, employees are advised to carefully look around. Observe the reactions of the neighbors. Alex shook his head as instructed. Everything is fine. Nobody has any reactions.
Immersed in letters, he finally got distracted from yesterday's experiences, and by the evening everything that had happened seemed to him somehow distant, blurry, and no longer so frightening. When the bell rang, announcing the end of the working day, he slowly got up from his chair, and, along with the others, moved towards the exit.

But he didn't go home. He needed to pick up what he left in that entrance, in that damp-smelling pantry. He needed to pick up a book written in Russian. The book for which he gave the money accumulated over four years. It was a volume of Pushkin's poems.
- I'll go in, usually. Nobody will pay attention to me. I'll open the lock, the upper left, then the lower right twice, and again the upper left, I'll pick up the book and leave - he thought frantically on the go - God forbid. If I had been grazed, I would already be sitting somewhere in the office and testify. It's all clear, Alex. You are lucky.
Reassuring himself, he approached the house in which he had sat all the previous night. It was seven o'clock. The door is open. Making a stone face, he entered the entrance. I listened. No one went up or down the stairs. The elevator was also silent. Alex quickly, with trembling hands, dialed the code and pulled the door. There, in the very corner, under some unnecessary rag, there is a book. In the very corner. Nobody has to find. He squatted down, and fumbled with his hands. He felt for the rag, grabbed it, threw it aside. There was no book. He felt goosebumps run down his spine, but frantically fumbled again. Did not have. Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe she's in the other corner? He reached to the right, but then a blow to the back of his head knocked him out.

Alex woke up sitting on a chair. His head hurt mercilessly. Opening his eyes, he saw a man in uniform in front of him, raised his head, looked at the shoulder straps. Lieutenant colonel. So he's in bad shape. Very bad.
He looked around. An office in gray, oppressive colors, a minimum of furnishings. A table, two chairs, a lamp on the table. A little further away the second federal. Everything, as in stupid, stamped action movies.
- Hey, are you there? the underground asked in English.
What a stupid language. Alex nodded his head weakly.
- Who taught you?
- Himself - answered Alex.
- Lie! - shouted underground - Who are your associates?
- Nobody. I myself - repeated Alex.
The cellar gave him a heavy slap in the face. Ringing in my ears.
- Who?!
- I'm telling you, no one.
- Who told you about the book seller?
- Nobody
A blow to the cheekbone, a second later to the temple. Alex groaned.
- Who are the associates?
Alex was silent. Why talk when no one is listening. A series of blows knocked him to the floor. But they didn't let him lie down. He was roughly picked up under the armpits and put back on the chair.
- Speak! - shouted underground.
- I'm telling you, no one. I myself.
The basement went to the table. The second fed approached. After the fourth blow, Alex fell into darkness. Then he came to his senses again, looked aloofly at the grin of the underground, again asking his question, did not answer anything, and with a broken nose turned over along with the chair. One of the two of them pulled out a chair from under him, and, swinging, hit him on the back. One of the legs flew off to the side. Alex doubled over in pain and groaned softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
- Who are your associates?! - the underground roared.
- Nobody. I myself – silently exhaled Alex.

Picking him up from the floor, they led him down the corridor, wringing his hands. Blood was running from his nose, his eyes were almost completely swollen, his face was swollen. If his own mother saw him now, she would hardly be able to recognize her son. And the father? No. Father would recognize him. By look.
Alex remembered how his father taught him Russian. Orally. Only verbally. No books, notebooks, alphabets. Dangerous. Actually dangerous.
He was dragged down the stairs. And he understood everything, and instinctively tried to free his hands, but he was immediately hit on the back of the head. That's it, he thought. Correctional courses, terms, all this is nonsense. In fact, everything is easier. But does he regret?
He listened to himself, to his thoughts, to his heart. No, he doesn't regret it. What to regret? About what remained Russian? He smiled through broken lips. No. Never. Yes, now they will kill him, like his father. He died of tuberculosis in Magadan, this is the official version. But now everything is explained.
He was led into a semi-dark, damp basement, his hands were released, and they pushed him in the back. From surprise, he ran a few steps, but did not fall, keeping on his feet. Stopping, he straightened up.
- Go - sounded an iron voice behind. Alex stepped forward.
I wonder where they shoot? To the head? In the back, where the heart is? Scary. Where the hell are they shooting? Scary. And yet it's a pity. It is a pity that he did not have time to read Pushkin. As a child, his father read him only one verse, he himself did not know more. Pushkin was banned more than all other Russian-speaking writers combined. Alex turned around.
- Hey - he said in English - I want to pray. Can I pray?
In the semi-darkness he saw the displeased face of the executioner.
“Oh, kay,” he muttered.
Alex closed his eyes.
- I remember a wonderful moment - for the first time in the last two years, after that old Russian specialist died, he spoke Russian aloud. And he spoke loudly, without fear, without trembling, without hiding what he owns - You appeared before me ...