The language(s)
As I have mentioned previously, Strana is a distinctly bilingual country. Depending on where you live (Bessarabia in particular, but also out by Cis- and Transcarpathia), it can be tri- or even quadrilingual. However, due to current feelings of nationalism, it is trying to be monolingual, with varying degrees of success (one political party tries to reintroduce Russian as a second official state language, people in other parts of the country enter paroxysms, etc).
One of the lightning rods of language is the very attractive and charismatic prime minister, who insists on using Stranian at all times. As it is the only state language, this is appropriate for a person of her position. [Disclaimer: she is not loved in my town, and local sentiment may color my statements.] However, it is frequently noted that she has lived her whole life in an industrial city that is predominantly Russophone, and that she speaks Stranian with a significant Russian accent. This has surprisingly not hurt her popularity in more nationalist areas, but my students and colleagues mock her mercilessly for her inability to pronounce unstressed Os (the word for coalition, 'koalitsia,' comes out 'kahlitsia' from her).
Tonight, on a talk show that I have not previously watched, I got to see some "news of the week" clips, including a press conference of hers. An article had appeared in a Russian newspaper with her name on it, and she was asked if she had written it. Seemingly, some viewers were puzzled by her use of the tongue of oppression. She looked confused herself, and answered that she does indeed speak Russian pretty well. I almost fell out of my chair laughing.
Also, a mini-series called "Liquidation" (Ликвидация) currently is being aired over here. It is set in *city-of-Babel* in 1946 and our hero is a military officer serving under Marshal Zhukov, assigned to help eliminate organized crime (as a city that was occupied for several years and had already enjoyed a fairly raffish element, it's a serious problem). The single coolest thing about this show (aside from the sepia-toned cinematography) is the way it actually captures Stranian accents/Stranian Russian. Russian television, and linguistics in general, tend to be prescriptive- people should speak this way for purity and beauty of language. What I really enjoy about this show is the fact that the hero code-switches and really does say all of the slangy/Stranian words that NEVER appear in standard Russian or Stranian television. It makes my heart warm.
One of the lightning rods of language is the very attractive and charismatic prime minister, who insists on using Stranian at all times. As it is the only state language, this is appropriate for a person of her position. [Disclaimer: she is not loved in my town, and local sentiment may color my statements.] However, it is frequently noted that she has lived her whole life in an industrial city that is predominantly Russophone, and that she speaks Stranian with a significant Russian accent. This has surprisingly not hurt her popularity in more nationalist areas, but my students and colleagues mock her mercilessly for her inability to pronounce unstressed Os (the word for coalition, 'koalitsia,' comes out 'kahlitsia' from her).
Tonight, on a talk show that I have not previously watched, I got to see some "news of the week" clips, including a press conference of hers. An article had appeared in a Russian newspaper with her name on it, and she was asked if she had written it. Seemingly, some viewers were puzzled by her use of the tongue of oppression. She looked confused herself, and answered that she does indeed speak Russian pretty well. I almost fell out of my chair laughing.
Also, a mini-series called "Liquidation" (Ликвидация) currently is being aired over here. It is set in *city-of-Babel* in 1946 and our hero is a military officer serving under Marshal Zhukov, assigned to help eliminate organized crime (as a city that was occupied for several years and had already enjoyed a fairly raffish element, it's a serious problem). The single coolest thing about this show (aside from the sepia-toned cinematography) is the way it actually captures Stranian accents/Stranian Russian. Russian television, and linguistics in general, tend to be prescriptive- people should speak this way for purity and beauty of language. What I really enjoy about this show is the fact that the hero code-switches and really does say all of the slangy/Stranian words that NEVER appear in standard Russian or Stranian television. It makes my heart warm.
posted by Life Called | 3:10 PM
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