Slavic Languages and Societies Commons^™

Summary Of Activities, Melinda Richards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As a music/Honors Russian major, I had hoped to write an honors thesis that would combine both of these interests. I also wanted to spend some time living and studying in Russia to augment the year and a half that I spent in the Ukraine on a mission.

A Comparison Of Lexical Borrowings Into Finnish From Swedish And Russian, Esko Timi Petteri Felin, Laura Catharine Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The research for this project was initially conducted under the assumption that Finnish lexical borrowings from Swedish would considerably differ from its Russian counterparts. However, as more data was collected from various semantic fields, it became evident that the borrowings presented general borrowing patterns across the board not only in Swedish and Russian but also in other Germanic and Slavic languages. In the course of data pooling and analysis the conclusion for this research paper was the following: there are only a few if no differences in the manner, in which Finnish borrows words since the predominant patterns suggest that …

Individualized Project-Based Reading And Its Effect On Students’ Reading Habits And Beliefs, Filip Zachoval

Russian Language Journal

In recent years, a number of empirical and conceptual studies about Project-Based Learning (PBL) have presented consistent arguments rationalizing this approach to language learning and teaching. However, there are no known studies available on PBL in the Russian language classroom. This article presents the results of a qualitative research study that investigates incorporating an individualized reading project into a third-semester Russian classroom. Within the movement of studentcentered pedagogies, the overall purpose of this study was: (a) to implement a reading project into a third-semester university Russian language class and (b) to provide an analysis of some of the educational gains …

Key Indicators Of Language Impact On Identity Formation In Belarus, Tony Brown

Russian Language Journal

In 1986, a group of 28 intellectuals from Belarus wrote the following brief letter to then-General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev: “Language is the soul of a nation, the supreme manifestation of its cultural identity, the foundation of its true spiritual life. A nation lives and flourishes in history while its language lives. With the decline of the language, culture withers and atrophies, the nation ceases to exist as a historical organism” (Letters to Gorbachev, 1987).

Review Essay: Popularizing Russian Language, Michael S. Gorham

Russian Language Journal

In an era rife with complaints over the degradation of language in the face of a host of commonly cited bugaboos (inferior schools, lazy pupils, declining morals, insidious new media technologies), one can only be heartened by the fact that language and language usage continue to be a source of popular discussion and debate. Even in American culture, where reverence for the national tongue has historically paled compared to the likes of France and Russia, one can find regular language-related rubrics in both print and broadcast media (e.g. “Word on the Street” and “Week in Words” [Wall St. Journal], “On …

“Languages Of The Peoples Of Kazakhstan And Their Interaction” By Bakhytzhan Khassanov, And “Languages Of The Peoples Of Kazakhstan” By Eleonora Suleimenova, Nursulu Shaimerdenova, Dana Akanova, Aidyn Aldaberdikyzy

Russian Language Journal

A rich vein of articles and books has recently addressed some critical issues in the field of sociolinguistics in Kazakhstan, both in terms of theoretical perspectives and of their implications in the context of education and policy. A wide range of theoretical and practical questions of Kazakhstani sociolinguistics are addressed, including:

• Defining de jure and de facto status of languages;

• Content and stages of status and corpus language planning;

• Ethnic and linguistic identification of individuals, ethnic groups and the population altogether;

• Ethnic and linguistic consciousness and self-consciousness;

• Possibility and prevention of language conflicts;

• Defining …

A Cognitive Grammar Approach To Teaching The Russian Case System, Carlee Arnett, Diana Lysinger

Russian Language Journal

This study examines modern Russian cases within a Cognitive Grammar framework. Grammatical case, as one of the fundamental language categories, has always interested linguistic researchers. In languages that possess case systems, virtually no utterance is possible without taking into account grammatical case. This grammatical category is very complex and its acquisition is an enormously arduous task for learners whose native language does not possess a case system or a case system that is not as pronounced as it is in the target language. According to Janda (2002), “the meanings of grammatical cases are probably the biggest obstacle faced by students …

Traditions And Transitions: Russian Language Teaching In The United States. In Celebration Of The Career Of Dr. Victorina Lefebvre, Jason Merrill, Lora Mjolsness

Russian Language Journal

In May 2012, the University of California, Irvine’s Humanities Language Learning Program hosted a symposium entitled Traditions and Transitions: Russian Language Teaching in the United States. The primary impetus for the meeting was to celebrate the distinguished career of our colleague, Dr. Victorina Lefebvre, who taught Russian language courses at University of California, Irvine since 1984. Her retirement in June 2012 meant the symposium was an opportunity to recognize and thank her for her unflagging decades of hard work for UC Irvine’s students. Victorina Lefebvre, who trained in the USSR in mathematics and physics education (M.A.) and in psychology (Ph.D.), …

Using A Corpus-Based Approach To Russian As A Foreign Language Materials Development, Edie Furniss

Russian Language Journal

The increase in availability and sophistication of corpora in recent years has facilitated the application of usage-based approaches to language pedagogy. Although the use of corpus data is certainly not without its difficulties, it offers great pedagogical promise. Corpora, consisting of natural language culled from a multitude of sources and genres, provide valuable information about language in use. While a corpus can provide us with contextualized linguistic data and statistics on the behavior of lexicon (with respect to frequency and collocation), a connection needs to be forged between the data and their practical use. Two main areas ripe for the …

Our Russian Classrooms And Students: Who Is Choosing Russian, Why, And What Cultural Content Should We Offer Them?, Jason Merrill

Russian Language Journal

Language instructors are well aware of the many challenges facing our profession. Financial pressures and fluctuating enrollments have caused many institutions to look critically at their language programs and curricula. Adding to these concerns is the lingering sentiment in some areas that foreign languages are not something that “you (really) need to know,” as Lawrence Summers stated in 2012 (Summers). Colleagues have produced impassioned defenses of the many benefits of language study (e.g. Geisler 2012), but ultimately we, as a profession, need to combine such efforts with the most effective and relevant language instruction we can provide. Geisler is not …

Heritage Language Learners Of Russian And L2 Learners In The Flagship Program: A Comparison, Olga Kagan, Anna Kudyma

Russian Language Journal

The paper will compare heritage language learners (HLL) with traditional learners of Russian as a foreign language (L2 learners). We will focus on the Intermediate-High and higher levels of proficiency in order to determine whether these two groups of students can profitably share the classroom and use a common curriculum. The findings of a new study as well as UCLA Flagship experience over several years confirm that these two groups are compatible at higher levels of oral proficiency as measured by oral proficiency tests.

New But Hardly Improved: Are Multiple Retranslations Of Classics The Best Cultural Use To Make Of Translation Talent?, Timothy D. Sergay

Russian Language Journal

The notion of audio remastering seems to inform the way literary “consumers” conceive of retranslations of classic works today. This is almost certainly because the two operations—remastering and retranslation—are such natural cousins. Retranslation seems to imply, at the very least, continuous improvement of the literary product in the target language, that is, the elimination of earlier translators’ errors in construing the source text and the ever more adequate recreation of the original author’s stylistics. How close this seems to the idea of “cleaning up” an audio signal, improving the “signal‐to‐noise ratio,” enhancing fidelity—this critical term, along with loss, is common …

Великий И Могучий Олбанский Язык: The Russian Internet And The Russian Language*, Daniela S. Hristova

Russian Language Journal

The worldwide proliferation of the Internet as a fundamentally new media technology has coincided with a radical social and linguistic liberalization in Russia. This junction changed drastically the interrelationship between the standard language and the non‐standard language varieties. A paradigmatic manifestation of the new Russian linguistic reality is the prevalent Internet trend of alternate spellings and non‐normative lexical use. The phenomenon is frequently referred to as an “Olbanian” language and associated with the counter‐culture of the so‐called “padonki.” Disregarding the fundamental principles of Russian orthography, spelling, and even morphology, the padonki have created an idiom that seemingly allows complete freedom …

Translations, Retranslations, And Multiple Translations: A Case For Translation Variance Studies, Alexander Burak, Timothy Sergay

Russian Language Journal

The cluster of three related articles offered here represents what the authors propose to call “translation variance studies,” or TVS, a subfield of translation studies concerned with semantic, pragmatic, and stylistic equivalence and divergence between a single source text and its multiple translations into a specified target language. Multiple translations of a single source text into a single target language have become a widespread phenomenon. Its “ontological basis,” as Anna Muza recently observed, is “variability of solution within the target language.” All parties to translation must of necessity negotiate this variability of solution, beginning with the translator in the act …

Some Like It Hot – Goblin‐Style: “Ozhivliazh” In Russian Film Translations, Alexander Burak

Russian Language Journal

This article is about English‐to‐Russian voiceover translating as a translation technique and a medium that responds to and shapes sociocultural identities. It is also about a trend in Russian film translating to enliven – in various degrees – the translation text as compared with the more neutral language in the original films. And, finally, given the multiple translations of the same cultural products, films included, it is an attempt to make a case for a strand of research and translation quality analysis that that may be called “translation variance studies.”

Oblomov – Retranslating A Classic Bridging The Time, Place, Contextual And Cultural Gap: An Account Of Some Of The Policy Choices Entailed By The Re‐Translation Of Oblomov, Stephen Pearl

Russian Language Journal

There is a crucial and underappreciated distinction between the task of translating a hitherto unknown foreign language literary work for the purpose of making it available for the first time to readers in the target language, and that of re‐translating a classic. In the latter case, translators expose themselves to, and indeed invite, not only comparison with previous translations, but also the haunting question of the very raison d’etre of the new translation itself. For this reason, a re‐translation is in a sense as much about the nature and quality of the translation as about the original work itself – …

Digital Determinism: The Cyrillic Alphabet In The Age Of New Technology, Martin Paulsen

Russian Language Journal

The spread of digital technology has created new conditions for the existence and development of languages. The East Slavonic languages Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian are excellent examples. Since the Internet originated in the U.S., and since most computer devices are created on the basis of languages that use the Latin alphabet (i.e., English), people who use other alphabets, such as Cyrillic, face additional challenges in adapting to the new technological realities (Sproat 2010).3 In this article, I shall focus on how digital technology challenges Cyrillic, as the alphabet in which the East Slavonic languages are written.

The consequences of similar …

Taking The “L” Out Of Lctls: The Startalk Experience, Catherine Ingold, Mary Elizabeth Hart

Russian Language Journal

The less commonly taught languages in the United States are often those most critical to national security. How, then, can the number of students learning these languages be increased, and how can high-­‐‑quality instructors be produced to teach these languages? Having determined that foreign language skills are essential to diplomacy, economic competitiveness, and the security interests of the U.S., the Secretaries of State, Education, and Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence coordinated their efforts to expand language education beginning in kindergarten and continuing through elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education and into the workforce (United States Department of Education, 2008). …

Examining The Validity Of The 2010 Prototype Ap Russian Exam Through A College Comparability Study, Camelot Marshall

Russian Language Journal

Since its inception twelve years ago, the Prototype AP® Russian Language and Culture Examination has developed into an assessment instrument that has increasingly become the culminating focus and a hallmark of high school Russian language study in select schools across the United States. Even more so, through the years of field-­‐‑testing, piloting, and making the tests operational, the design, content, development, administration, and analyses of the exam have evolved into the model for American Councils’ online assessments of language proficiency not only for Russian, but also for Flagship programs. These tests are already being developed in Arabic, Chinese, Persian, Russian, …

A Case Study Of The Acquisition Of Narration In Russian: At The Intersection Of Foreign Language Education, Applied Linguistics, And Second Language Acquisition, Benjamin Rifkin

Russian Language Journal

Studies of students’ foreign language proficiency—including Carroll (1967), Magnan (1986), and Thompson (1996)—have shown that students in their fourth year of language study typically demonstrate oral proficiency in the intermediate range. Thompson’s study found the median score of students’ oral proficiency in the fourth year to be at the intermediate high/advanced threshold, but her subjects at this level of instruction were students at Middlebury’s summer language program and were tested in the last week of the program. In my own teaching practice, I have found that most of the students majoring in Russian at the University of Wisconsin-­‐‑Madison graduate with …

Assessing The Oral Proficiency Of Adult Learners, “Heritage” And “Native” Speakers Using The Ilr Descriptions And Actfl Proficiency Guidelines: Considering The Challenges, Cynthia L. Martin

Russian Language Journal

The ILR Descriptions – Speaking and the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines – Speaking trace their genesis to an oral proficiency assessment system first developed at the Foreign Service Institute in the 1950s to assess “foreign language users’ abilities according to a consistent scale.” The original purpose was clearly aimed at assessing the abilities of non-­‐‑native, non-­‐‑heritage adult foreign language learners, and this genesis is still reflected in the current ILR Descriptions and the ACTFL Guidelines. However, tools based on these descriptions/guidelines are increasingly being used to assess the abilities of language users who are not what we would consider to be …

Russian Heritage Language Speakers In The U.S.: A Profile, Olga Kagan

Russian Language Journal

Brecht and Ingold (2002) advocate systematic efforts to develop heritage language (HL) pedagogy to remedy U.S. language deficits: “…because of [heritage language learners’(HLLs’)] existing language and cultural knowledge, they may require substantially less instructional time than other learners to develop these skills. This is especially true for speakers of the less commonly taught languages” (p. 1).

Language Matters: Some New Contributions From Sociology (Emanating From Richard Brecht’S Castle), John P. Robinson, William P. Rivers, Cynthia Costell, Jennifer Robinson

Russian Language Journal

As a result of the projects undertaken by the University of Maryland’s Center for the Advanced Study of Language, several new findings and insights have emerged from the highest quality data collections on Americans’ abilities in and attitudes toward foreign languages (FL). These involve the (now annual) language surveys conducted by the US Census Bureau and the bi-­‐‑annual General Social Survey (GSS) conducted by the University of Chicago since 1972. The Census Bureau has been documenting foreign languages spoken at home and how well individuals can speak English in such households. The 2000-­‐‑08 GSS has assessed whether adults can speak …

Some Thoughts On The Societal Impact Of Linguistics, Arto Mustajoki

Russian Language Journal

Today, scholars are obliged to justify the necessity of research in their own fields. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the channels of societal impact of linguistic research. In other words, I will try to answer the following question: in what ways is the work of scholars dealing with language(s) useful for society? The paper is based on my articles published in Finnish (Mustajoki 2005, 2011) and on oral presentations in various academic circles. I will first discuss some general ideas concerning the societal impact of research and researchers. I will then try to apply these ideas to …

Assessment Practices In Startalk Language Programs: A View Of Current Language Assessment Literacy, Margaret E. Malone, Megan J. Montee, Francesca Disilvio

Russian Language Journal

Assessment is essential to education, because it provides information on students’ progress toward learning goals. Reliable and valid assessment can provide not only important summative information, but also formative information to instructors and learners on both what has been learned and what remains to be learned. However, in order for assessment to be used effectively, instructors must understand the components of a reliable and valid assessment system and how to incorporate such a system into classroom testing. Many language instructors in the United States may lack basic knowledge of assessment and measurement (Popham, 2009).

Mind The Gap: English L2 Learners Of Russian And The Null Possessive Pronoun, William Comer

Russian Language Journal

The personal possessive pronouns in Russian (мой, твой, наш, ваш, его, её, их) are taught very early in virtually all elementary textbooks of the language. At the point of their introduction, the problems that they most often pose for English‐speaking L2 learners are their morphology and the rules for agreement with the nouns they modify. For L2 learners, the usage and frequency of these pronouns at this stage in language study seem virtually to mirror English patterns. When introduced to simple sentences with finite verbs and complements as well as the “у кого есть что” construction, learners may (or may …

The Actr Nationwide Survey Of Russian Language Instruction In U.S. High Schools In 2009, Dan E. Davidson, Nadra Garas

Russian Language Journal

Adequate access to extended sequences of instruction across a range of world languages in the U.S. K‐12 system can provide the “early start” in language learning, which is essential for a new generation of Americans who will compete in the highly globalized economy of the 21st century.2 The study of Arabic, Chinese Japanese, Persian, and Russian have attracted particular attention among U.S. policymakers, given the importance of these and other major world languages for long‐term U.S. national security interests, scientific and cultural exchange, mutual understanding, and the preservation of U.S. economic competitiveness around the world.

The Online Proficiency‐Based Reading, Listening, And Integrated Writing External Assessment Program For Russian: A Report To The Field, Saodat I. Bazarova, Maria D. Lekic, Camelot Marshall

Russian Language Journal

Rising interest in the U.S. in the study and teaching of Russian language and culture, reported elsewhere in the present volume (Davidson & Garas, 2009), has coincided with the reaffirmation of the status of Russian by U. S. government agencies as a critical language. Russian is identified, for example, in the 2006 National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) as a “critical need language,” for which the production of greater numbers of advanced‐level speakers is deemed essential (U.S. Department of Education, 2008, p. 1). According to the most recent ADFL/MLA report on language enrollments in two‐ and four‐year U.S. institutions of higher …

Introduction To Volume 59

Russian Language Journal

The present volume of Russian Language Journal offers a rich selection of new research and studies in all three of the Journal’s major areas of focus: language policy, research on the study and teaching of Russian as a foreign or second language, and original research.

Negotiating Reality With Anekdoty: Soviet Vs. Post-Soviet Humor Lore, Daniela S. Hristova

Russian Language Journal

As a genre, anekdoty have been among the most popular oral narratives in the Soviet as well as post-Soviet era.2 Similar to other folkloric and literary genres, the post-Soviet social and linguistic liberalization has had an impact on Russian humor lore, but to a much lesser degree than it might seem on the surface. Since effective humor narratives impart laughter by way of reacting to significant sociopolitical phenomena, the changed economic and ideological reality in post- Soviet Russia fostered paradigmatic classes of anekdoty that feature new protagonists. The question, however, is whether what made a Soviet anekdot funny differs from …