Russian Linguistics Commons^™

The “Four Concentric Circles Of Russian”: Toward A Model, Timothy G. Reagan

Russian Language Journal

Braj Kachru suggested that one way of understanding the role and use of English around the world was to distinguish among three concentric “circles”: the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle. In this article, I will use Kachru’s model as the foundation for the development a similar model for positioning the Russian language in the contemporary world. The historical differences in Anglo-American linguistic expansion and Russian linguistic expansion lead to somewhat different divisions among speakers of the respective languages. The model proposed here has four concentric circles: an inner circle (consisting of the Russian …

Book Review: Water, Whiskey, And Vodka: A Story Of Slavic Languages., Ronald I. Kim

Russian Language Journal

There are more speakers of Slavic languages in Europe today than of the continent’s two other major Indo-European branches, Romance and Germanic. Yet over a generation after the end of the Cold War, despite economic growth, tourism, and steadily increasing cultural exchange, ignorance among North Americans and Western Europeans about the basic facts of the Slavic languages remains sadly widespread. Even from speakers of Slavic languages themselves one continues to hear all sorts of linguistic myths, such as that all Slavic languages sound essentially identical to Russian or, at the other extreme, nationalistic claims that Polish and Ukrainian are nothing …

The Mediating Role Of Positive Psychology: Mindfulness And Learner Beliefs In The Russian Language Classroom, Kelly Knickmeier Cummings

Russian Language Journal

Language learning is an inherently emotional process, shaped by both positive and negative experiences that influence the individual difference of learner beliefs. This article explores the mediating role of positive psychology (PP) in second language acquisition (SLA), with a particular focus on mindfulness and its potential to reshape learner beliefs in the Russian language classroom. Drawing on theories such as Seligman’s PERMA model and Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, as well as evidence-based interventions, the article argues that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) provide practical tools for cultivating positive learner beliefs and inclusive, growth-oriented classroom environments. Examples of MBIs—including practices of noticing, savoring, exploring …

Нестандартные Метафоры Движения В Текстах Казахско-Русских Билингвов / Non-Standard Metaphors Of Motion In Kazakh-Russian Bilinguals, Ekaterina V. Rakhilina, Aimgul Kazkenova

Russian Language Journal

This paper examines a specific case of fictive motion conceptualization—non-standard motion metaphors identified in texts from the Kazakh subcorpus of the Russian Learner Corpus (http://www.web-corpora.net/RLC). The texts were written by students from several universities in Almaty who are native speakers of Kazakh (L1) and second-language speakers of Russian (L2). Our study focuses on three aspects of fictive motion: (1) how the verbs idti and xodit’ are used to conceptualize processes or states in non-standard metaphorical contexts; (2) how trajectors are selected with the verbs prijti and projti; and (3) how motion direction is conceptualized with vxodit’ / …

Do Your Abc: Teaching Tense And Aspect With Verbs Of Motion, Irina Six

Russian Language Journal

This paper examines the continued application of a content-based approach initially developed for teaching Russian verbs of motion (VoM) at the novice level (Six). It begins by introducing the ABC principle, a method that presents prefixed and unprefixed VoM together in their most typical contexts, rather than separately. The ABC principle ("A+B+C=D", as in поплыл + плыл + приплыл = плавал) helps visualize a three-leg journey and introduces students to two distinct sets of stems: Directional stems for A, B, and C verbs, and Non-directional stems for D verbs.

The paper then explores extending the ABC principle to intermediate-level …

Русские Глаголы Движения Типа Идти/Ходить Как Неустойчивая И Градационная Грамматическая Категория / Russian Motion Verbs Of The Idti / Khodit' Type As An Unstable And Gradable Grammatical Category, Natalia Bernitskaia

Russian Language Journal

The present paper puts forward and analyzes the postulate that the grammatical category of verbs of motion in Russian can be characterized as unstable and gradational. Instability is manifested in the fact that members of verb oppositions included in this category can weaken or even lose their grammatical status, i.e., their semantic and syntactic parallelism, cf.: bresti domoj / brodit’ domoj. Oppositions within the grammatical category of verbs of motion are not equal in terms of their grammatical status: some verbs are retained in the grammatical system more firmly than others. In this regard, an attempt is made to …

Russian Verbs Of Motion In L2 Acquisition: Testing The Efficacy Of A Usage-Based Approach, Tobias-Alexander Herrmann

Russian Language Journal

Unprefixed Russian motion verbs present unique challenges for second language (L2) learners as they encode distinct types of motion events. Traditional, directionality-based methods of teaching these verbs have faced criticism, prompting the adoption of alternative, cognitively informed approaches. This article builds on usage-based methodologies, such as those proposed by Nesset and Janda (2022), to investigate whether teaching unprefixed verbs of motion (UVoMs) as constructions can enhance L2 instruction. Using the frequent UVoM pair idti and xodit′ , both meaning ‘walk’, as a case study, I pursue two main goals. First, drawing on corpus data, I examine the construction UVoM + …

Directionality Of Motion In Second Language Acquisition: With A Focus On L1-Korean L2-Russian Speakers, Hakyung Jung, Hyug Ahn, Jacee Cho

Russian Language Journal

This paper examines L2 acquisition of directionality of Russian motion verbs by L1-Korean speakers in terms of Slobin’s (1996) Thinking-for-Speaking (TFS) hypothesis and the markedness principle. Although directionality is lexically encoded in the verb in both Korean and Russian, the organization of this concept differs. In Russian, directionality is categorized solely by the feature [+/- directional], whereas in Korean, motion event expressions are distinguished not only by [+/-directional] but also by [+/-multi]. Experiments on L1-Korean, L1- Russian, and L1-Korean L2-Russian speakers demonstrated that (i) in Korean, the presence or absence of an explicit goal plays an important role in verb …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Searching For Alternative Approaches To Conceptualizing And Teaching Russian Verbs Of Motion: Bridging Linguistics And Teaching Practice, Maria Bondarenko

Russian Language Journal

This special issue seeks to account for the current status of an emerging trend we have observed in linguistics and L2 instruction over the last two decades: reconceptualizing Russian verbs of motion (VoM). To contextualize the contributions to the issue, in this Introduction, I will give an overview of how this trend has evolved from its inception until the present time, delineating within it two successive stages called the Cognitive Turn and Instructional Turn.

Motion Verbs And Secondary Predications: What Corpus Data Can Tell The Classroom Practitioner, Tore Nesset

Russian Language Journal

The Russian secondary predication construction in (1) and (2) has received considerable attention in theoretical linguistics but has been less prominent in the pedagogical literature on motion verbs. This lack of prominence in the pedagogical literature is regrettable since verbs of motion figure prominently in the construction and since the construction represents an important challenge for second language (L2) learners of Russian:

(1) Ты сюда зачем пьяный пришел? (Андрей Житков. Супермаркет, 2000)

(2) Первым на обсуждение был вынесен проект постановления «О поддержке курса Украины на интеграцию в Европейский союз» авторства Арсения Яценюка. (Ольга Куришко. В большинстве своем // Коммерсант, 14.01.2013) …

Spotlight: Russian Aspect In Conversation And Russian Grammar Youtube Channel, Margaret Godwin-Jones

Russian Language Journal

The Digital Resources Corner (DRC) offers reviews of new digital resources that could be beneficial in the teaching and/or learning of Slavic languages. It is intended for instructors looking for or evaluating different materials to use in the classroom.

О Взаимодействии Грамматики И Словаря На Занятиях По Рки: Глаголы Перемещения И Их Лексикографические Толкования / On The Interaction Of Grammar And Vocabulary In Teaching Russian As A L2 (Rki): Motion Verbs And Their Lexicographic Definitions, Svetlana Krylosova

Russian Language Journal

This article examines how lexicographic definitions can be meaningfully integrated into the teaching of Russian grammar within a university-level Russian-as-a-foreign-language curriculum, focusing on the case of paired motion verbs. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Igor Mel’čuk’s Explanatory Combinatorial Lexicology, the study shows how academic dictionary entries can be transformed into learner-friendly tools tailored to the needs of advanced learners. Through a detailed analysis of pedagogically adapted definitions for the verbs letet’ and letat’, the author outlines a step-by-step classroom approach. Particular attention is paid to how semantic distinctions between the verbs are clarified and how common learner difficulties …

Foreign And Heritage Language Learners’ Pragmalinguistic Choices In Russian Imperatives, Marina Tsylina, Anna Mikhaylova

Russian Language Journal

This experimental study examines the pragmalinguistic knowledge of both heritage and foreign language learners of Russian. Specifically, it focuses on how learners interpret the appropriateness of aspectual forms of Russian imperatives in given contexts. Due to limited exposure to authentic input, foreign language learners (FLLs) often face challenges in using pragmatically appropriate language. This study demonstrates that although heritage language learners (HLLs) are exposed to the language from birth, their knowledge of Russian imperatives may not fully align with that of monolinguals. The study participants included FLLs (n = 30), HLLs (n = 10), and monolingual speakers of Russian (n …

Mastering Russian Case: Learning Challenges, Current Textbook Approaches, And New Perspectives, Olesya Kisselev, Angelina Rubina

Russian Language Journal

Russian case morphology is recognized as a persistent challenge to second (L2) and heritage language (HL) speakers of Russian by researchers and practitioners alike. However, little classroom-based and pedagogy-oriented literature exists on the matter. In this paper, we address this research gap. First, we present a review of the literature that attempts to explain the challenging nature of mastering Russian grammatical cases from the cognitive linguistic, structural, and psycholinguistic perspectives. We then describe the general approaches to teaching and learning Russian cases found in the most commonly used Russian language textbooks in the United States. Finally, we discuss a pedagogical …