Slavistische Beiträge ∙ Band 205 (eBook - Digi20-Retro) Verlag Otto Sagner München ∙ Berlin ∙ Washington D .C. Digitalisiert im Rahmen der Kooperation mit dem DFG- Projekt „Digi20“ der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek, München. OCR-Bearbeitung und Erstellung des eBooks durch den Verlag Otto Sagner: http://verlag.kubon-sagner.de © bei Verlag Otto Sagner. Eine Verwertung oder Weitergabe der Texte und Abbildungen, insbesondere durch Vervielfältigung, ist ohne vorherige schriftliche Genehmigung des Verlages unzulässig. «Verlag Otto Sagner» ist ein Imprint der Kubon & Sagner GmbH. Wilhelm von Timroth Russian and Soviet Sociolinguistics and Taboo Varieties of the Russian Language (Argot, Jargon, Slang and "Mat") Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 S l a v i s t i c h e B e i t r ä g e BEGRÜNDET VON ALOIS SCHMAUS HERAUSGEGEBEN VON JOHANNES HOLTHUSEN t ־ HEINRICH KUNSTMANN PETER REHDER ■ JOSEF SCHRENK REDAKTION PETER REHDER Band 205 VERLAG OTTO SAGNER MÜNCHEN Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 WILHELM VON TIMROTH RUSSIAN AND SOVIET SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND TABOO VARIETIES OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE (Argot, Jargon, Slang and ” Mat” ) VERLAG OTTO SAGNER • MÜNCHEN 1986 Revised and Enlarged Edition Translated into English by Nortrud Gupta Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 B a y e ris c h e S tftfttsb 1bIiothoK־ München ISBN 3-87690-355-6 & Verlag Otto Sagner, München 1986 Abteilung der Firma Kubon & Sagner, München Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 FOREWORD T his t h e s i s is t h e r e s u l t of e ig h t y e a r s ' work on поп- l i t e r a r y v a r i e t i e s of t h e Russ ian l a n g u a g e . I h a v e included only p a r t of all t h e l i t e r a t u r e I a n a l y s e d and t h e ling u istic d a t a I collected. Since I wanted to s t i c k t o e s s e n t i a l s , a c a r e f u l selection has been necessary , however d iffic u lt . No a t t e m p t has been made a t lexicographical completeness. One of my main d iff ic u ltie s h a s been to ob tain lin guistic m a t e r i a l. T h is problem n e v e r left me during th e e n ti r e period of e ig ht y e a r s a n d was f u r t h e r complicated by t h e geographical d istan ce between Munich and th e Soviet Union, and by t h e u nfavo u ra b le conditions for t r a v e l to t h a t c o u n tr y . F u r t h e r complications arose because c ertain Soviet d i s s e r t a t i o n s and r e l e v a n t d i c t i o n a r i e s were n ot obtainable, even in t h e So viet Union. In s p i t e of t h e s e odds I managed to compile a lis t of t h e most common n o n - l l t e r a r y words, a n d a ls o some less common ones, filling more t h a n 4.000 index cards. Researching p a r t i c u l a r Russian linguistic v a ri e ti e s h as y ielded a lot of Information on t h e life and t h o u g h ts of th e Soviet people, which no a m a t e u r or a l i n g u i s t e x c l u s i v e l y conce rn ed with t h e l i t e r a r y la n g u a g e could e v e r h a v e obtained. Many people have, knowingly or unknowingly, helped me in c o llectin g my lin guistic m aterial: Sovi et labourers, skilled workers, t e c h n ic ia n s , e n g i - n e ers, employees, sc ien tif ic workers, tea ch e rs, professors and a member of t h e Academy, b u t also school children, s t u d e n t s , musicians, drug add ic ts, e x - c o n v i c t s , a c q u a i n t a n c e s a n d frien ds. The t a s k was lig h te ned by my long experience a s a t r a n s l a t o r and i n t e r p r e t e r and t h e pro fes si onal c o n - n ectio ns with So v iet cit ize ns r es u ltin g from it. I am indebted to th em all. I also wish to t h a n k my friends and a cq u a in ta n c e s Igor Ja ssenjaw skij, W J.. M. M and Ljuda, to whom I g rea tly indebted, as well as my uncle Michael von Tlmroth (Virkby, Finland) and many more whose names c a n n o t be mentioned here. Especially h e a r t f e l t t h a n k s t o my FRIEND who advis ed me on many q u e stio ns and o f t e n e s t a b l is h e d t h e n ecessary c o n ta cts with lin g u i s t i c a l ly i n t e r e s t i n g g r o u p s of people. From t h e v e r y beginning he took a close personal I n t e r e s t in my work. Prof. Dr. J o s e f Schrenk, who su p e rv ised my d i s s e r t a t io n w ith g r e a t patience, i n t e r e s t and u n d e rs tan d in g , has been to me th e ideal " D o k t o r v a - Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access I 00060819 vi t e r ”. (My d i s s e r t a t i o n was a c c e p te d in t h e w inter term of 1982/83 by t h e Philosophical F a c u lty of t h e Ludwig-Maximilians University , Munich.) I am sincerely g r a t e f u l to him. I also w ant to t h a n k Fra u A. Nitschke, M.A., Fra u Ch. Cless, M.A., and Dr. G. Leikauf, a ll of whom took on t h e h a rd t a s k of p r o o f - r e a d i n g , a nd Prof. Dr. P. Rehder, who kin dly a rra n ged for t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n t o be Included in t h e s e r i e s "Sla vis tisc h e Beiträge". But all t h e s e e f f o r t s would h a v e come to no ught w i t h o u t t h e g e n e r - ous and u n t ir i n g help of my p a r e n t s , P e te r and T a t j a n a von Timroth. T h e y d e s e r v e my d e e p e s t g r a t i t u d e . Munich, March 1983 Wilhelm von T im ro th Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 Foreword to t h e English Edition I am g r a t e f u l t h a t my do cto ral d i s s e r t a t io n h a s been well receive d, not only among s p e c i a li s t s b u t also in non -a cadem ic circles. The English v e r - sion c o n t a i n s some minor a l t e r a t i o n s and additions based on suggestions made by rev ie w ers and r e a d e r s of th e German t e x t and on a few a c c id e n - t a l d iscoveries. The bibliography has been augmented by a number of t i - t ie s to which I had access or which were published only a f t e r t h e German m a n u s c r ip t had gone in to print. In addition, th e r eg is te r now Includes a lis t of Russ ian lin g u istic and o t h e r special terms. One re v ie w e r noticed th e a b s e n c e of Flegon’s dictionary, which I had not included in t h e b i b li - ograp hy because I had n o t directly used i t as source material. T h is well- known work has been included here. Apart from th es e changes t h e original t e x t h a s r e m a i n e d u n a l t e r e d , a l t h o u g h I do r ea liz e t h a t a few of th e c h a p t e r s could h a v e be en f u r t h e r elaborated. The f i r s t i n i t i a t i v e for t h e English t r a n s la ti o n came from Mrs. Nor- tru d Gupta, M.A., of Bangalore, India. She not only conceived t h e idea, b u t also c a r r i e d it o u t with a will. I am indebted to her for all she has done for me in t h i s c o n n e c ti o n , n o t l e a s t of all for t h e g r e a t p a tie n c e t h e t r a n s l a t i o n demanded of her. I wish a g a i n to t h a n k Pro fesso r P e t e r Rehder a nd Pro feseo r Jo sef Schrenk and my p u b lis h er Otto Sagner, who arranged for th e English e d i - tion to be Included in t h e se ries "Slavistische Beiträge". I am also g r a t e f u l to Dr. Jeremy S. Roth and Mrs. Carol S. Garrett, who p r o o f - r e a d t h e English manuscript. L ast b u t n ot l e a s t I would like to t h a n k Wilhelm Braunschober of GSE Software Engineering. Ltd., Munich, for having developed a Russian sorting program which can also be Implemented for o t h e r languages, and which he coordinated with my "euroscript" word processing program. Mr. B r a u n s c h o - ber's program g r e a t ly f a c i li t a t e d t h e compilation of the register. The t e x t was p r in te d o u t on a NEC Pinwriter P5. Munich, November 1986 v ii W v. T. Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 vii! TABLE OP CONTENTS FOREWORD V INTRODUCTION 1 1 - D e f i n i t i o n o f S u b j e c t 1 2 . O b j e c t i v e a n d P l a n o f T h e s i s 3 A. RESEARCH ON RUSSIAN ARGOTS AND JARGONS 6 I . P r e - R e v o l u t i o n a r y R e s e a r c h 6 I I . P o s t - R e v o l u t i o n a r y R e s e a r c h 12 1 . T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l P e r i o d 12 2 . T h e P e r i o d o f M a r r a n d S t a l i n 27 3 . T h e S t a l i n P e r i o d 39 4 . T h e P e r i o d A f t e r S t a l i n a n d T o d a y 40 B. DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS AND PROBLEMS OF TERMINOLOGY 59 I . G e n e r a l R e m a r k s 59 I I . V a r i e t i e s o f R u s s i a n 60 1 . S o c i a l D i a l e c t s 60 2 . S o c i a l S p e e c h S t y l e s 62 3• A r t i f i c i a l L a n g u a g e s 63 a ) C o n v e n t i o n a l L a n g u a g e s ( A r g o t s ) 63 b ) S e c r e t L a n g u a g e s 65 4 . A r g o t a n d J a r g o n 66 5 . P r o s t o r e ã i e 72 6 . C o l l o q u i a l L a n g u a g e 77 7 . S l a n g 79 8 . ” M a t ״ 84 C. TABOO VARIETIES OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE 88 I . Sum m ary o f L i n g u i s t i c T a b o o V a r i e t i e s 88 1• Reasons for the Taboo 93 2 . D i s t r i b u t i o n 96 3 . U s a g e 99 I I . V o l u m e o f V o c a b u l a r y 1 0 5 1 . A c t i v e a n d P a s s i v e V o c a b u l a r y 1 0 6 2 • F r e q u e n c y 1 0 6 Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access D. EXPANDING THE VOCABULARY ....................................................................... 1 0 7 I . B o r r o w i n g ................................................................................................. 1 0 7 1 . L o a n W o r d s ....................................................................................... 107 a ) E n g l i s h ....................................................................................... 1 0 7 b ) G e r m a n ......................................................................................... 108 c ) Y i d d i s h ....................................................................................... 1 0 9 d ) I t a l i a n ....................................................................................... 1 0 9 e ) F r e n c h ......................................................................................... 1 0 9 £) F i n n i s h ....................................................................................... 1 0 9 g ) O t h e r L a n g u a g e s .................................................................. 1 1 0 2 . A s s i m i l a t i o n o f L o a n W ord s ............................................. 1 1 0 a ) P h o n e t i c a n d S t r e s s C h a n g e s .................................. 1 1 0 b ) M o r p h o l o g i c a l a n d S e m a n t i c C h a n g e s ................ I l l a a ) C h a n g e o f n u m b e r ..................................................... 1 1 2 b b ) C h a n g e o f w o r d c l a s s .......................................... 1 1 2 c c ) C h a n g e o f c a s e .......................................................... 1 1 2 d d ) S e m a n t i c c h a n g e s ..................................................... 1 1 3 I I . W ord F o r m a t i o n .................................................................................... 113 1 . Word F o r m a t i o n i n A r g o t , t h e J a r g o n s a n d S l a n g .......................................................................................... 1 1 3 a ) Common T y p e s o f Word F o r m a t i o n ........................... 11 4 b ) S p e c i a l T y p e s o f Word F o r m a t i o n ........................ 114 2 . W o r d - F o r r o a t i o n P r o c e s s e s i n ” M a t ” ........................... 118 a ) W o r d - F o r m a t i o n M o d e l s i n " M a t ” ........................... 11 8 b ) S e m a n t i c P a r t i c u l a r i t i e s i n t h e F o r m a t i o n o f * , M a t ” W ord s .......................................... 1 1 9 I I I . S e m a n t i c D e r i v a t i o n s .................................................................... 121 1 . R a n d o m n e s s o f S e m a n t i c D e r i v a t i o n s ........................ 12 1 2 . * * I d e o l o g i c a l C h a r g e s ״ o f S e m a n t i c D e r i v a t i o n s .................................................................................... 1 2 3 E. PHONETICS AND INTONATION ....................................................................... 126 F . STRESS ....................................................................................................................... 128 G. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 1 3 0 H. APPENDIX ( T r a n s l a t i o n s o f p a s s a g e s q u o t e d i n R u s s i a n ) ......................................................................................................... 1 3 3 ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................ 14 1 00060819 | д Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 X BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... ... 1 4 2 REGISTER ............................................................................................................................... ... 1 5 4 1 . G l o s s a r y ....................................................................................................................... ... 1 5 4 2 . W o r d - F o r m a t i o n E l e m e n t s ............................................................................. ... 1 6 2 3 . L i n g u i s t i c a n d O t h e r S p e c i a l T e r m s ............................................... ... 1 6 3 Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 1 00060819 INTRODUCTION 1. Definition of Subject Argot, j a r g o n s and s l a n g h a ve a lw a y s be en s u b j e c t s o f i n t e r e s t a n d r e ־ s e a r c h for S o v iet l in g u i s t s . But t h e r e s e a r c h done in t h e s e fields h a s r e - mained r a t h e r s c a n t y e x c e p t for t h e 1920s a n d 1930s. T h is s t a t e of a f - fairs, a l t h o u g h deplo red by some s c h o l a r s , is d u e to a n u m b er of r e a s o n s . 1 Over t h e l a s t few d e c a d e s Soviet l i n g u i s t i c s h a s been p r e d o m i n a n t l y p r e s - c rip tiv e . T h is is e s p e c i a l l y a p p a r e n t in t h e a r e a s of lexicology and l e x i - c og ra phy. E x p r e s s i o n s reg arded a s f a l l i n g o u t s i d e t h e l i t e r a r y l a n g u a g e were o m it t e d from all d i c t i o n a r i e s , m o n o l i n g u a l a s well a s m u lt i li n g u a l. T h is p r i n c i p le , which Is t h e p r o d u c t of S o v i e t l a n g u a g e policy, becomes c le arly n o t i c e a b l e in t h e d i c t i o n a r i e s p u b l i s h e d In t h e S o v i e t Union si nce t h e early 1950s. S o v iet language policy h a s a d ou ble p urp o se . One is p r o - s p e c tiv e a n d aims a t modification of e x i s t i n g l i n g u i s t i c norms - t h i s is called "Language S t r u c t u r i n g " or "L anguage P l a n n in g " {языковое стр оител ь- ство); t h e o t h e r is r e t r o s p e c t i v e and aims a t c o n s e r v a t i o n - It Is called "Speech Cultu re" or "Language M a in te n a n c e " (культура языка/культура ре- чи).2 (п b o th t h e s e a r e a s t h e S o v i e t Union h a s b e en u n q u e s t i o n a b l y s u e - cessful. But t h e problem is how to I n f l u e n c e sp ok en l a n g u a g e . Even t h e spoken d e li v e r y of l i t e r a r y language, as long a s i t Is n o t bound to t h e p a r t i c u l a r s t y l e of a book, c a n n o t be made to conform to p r e s c r ib e d norms s i n c e i t d e v e l o p s s p o n t a n e o u s l y . 3 And a l a n g u a g e p o lic y d e a l i n g w i t h speech forms o u t s i d e t h e l it e r a r y l a n g u a g e would be still l e s s e f f e c t i v e ! In t h i s c o n t e x t one might mention R ussian "mat" (мат), which is widely s p o - ken th r o u g h o u t all so cial s t r a t a a n d whose u se could n o t be c o n tr o lle d by t h e a u t h o r i t i e s d e s p i te i n t e n s e e f f o r t s . 4 At t h i s poi nt t h e q u e stio n a r i s e s as to how a n d by whom t h e o b j e c - t i v e s of language policy are a rr i v e d a t and p u t i n t o p r a c t ic e . In t h e S o - 1 See e . g . F. P. F i l i n , "K p r o b le o e s o c i a l ' n o j o b u s l o v l e n n o s t i j a z y k a , " i n : VJa, 1966, no. 4, p. 37. 2 See L. B. Nikol ' s k i j , S in c h r o a a a ja s o c i o l i n g v i s t i k a ( T e o r i j a i p r o - bierny), Moskva, 1976, p. 112, and " J a z y k o v a j a p o l i t i k a " i n : BSĒ, 3rd e d . , v o l . 30, Moskva, 1978, p . 470. 3 0 . A. L a p t e v a , ”0 n e k o d i f i c i r o v a n n y c h s f e r a c h so vre nenn o go r u s s k o g o l i t e r a t u r n o g o j a z y k a , " i n : VJa , 1966, no. 2, p. 40. 4 See below, pp. 96-97. Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 2 v i e t Union t h e official l a n gu a ge policy is implemented by Government i n - s t i t u t i o n s , i.e. t h e Academy of Sciences or d e p a r t m e n t s , groups of people or single i n d iv i d u a ls belonging to o t h e r science i n s t i t u t e s . T h e i r a u t h o r i t y is. of course, much g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t of a n y p r i v a t e or publicly subsid ized org an is atio n s a s we know them תІ t h e West. The in flu ence of t h e schools, t h e p r e s s , r a d i o a n d t e l e v i s i o n , films and t h e a t r e s - all of which a r e s t a t e - c o n t r o l l e d in th e S o viet Union - should also not be u n d e r e s t i m a t e d . 3 Language policy is p a r t of Sovi et politics and in complete a g re e m e n t with i ts ideology. L inguistics and t h e o t h e r social sc ien ces (histo ry, sociology, philosophy, psychology etc.) a re p a r t and parcel of t h e t o t a l ideological a p p a r a t u s . The princip le of freedom of science, r e s e a r c h and te a c h i n g as upheld in Western democracies is scorn ed in th e Sovi et Union in t h e o r y and practic e. In i t s plac e we find f a i t h f u l a d h e r e n c e to S o viet Ideology and p a r t y politics. But t h e r e a re a number of l in g u istic a r e a s (p honetics, phonology, a sp ec to lo g y, acc entology, o r t h o g r a p h y and p u n c t u a t i o n ) where t h e s e c o n s i d e r a ti o n s a re u n e s s e n t ia l or play p r a c t ic a l l y no role a t ail. On t h e o t h e r ha nd . Ideological and political p o s t u l a t e s can e x e r t su c h p r e s - s u r e s as to de te rm in e or r e p r e s s sc ientific r e s e a r c h or p r e v e n t t h e p u b l i - c atio n of d a t a which a re considered u n d e sir a b le or show n e g a t i v e r e s u l t s . For example, t h e prin cip le s of Marr's "new lin gu istic do ctrine" determined Soviet linguistic r e s e a r c h for many decades, u n t il in 1950 a s e r i e s of a r - t i d e s by Sta lin e n t i t l e d "Marxism a n d Linguistic Problems", p u blis h ed in t h e p a r t y ne w sp a p er Pravda, a t t a c k e d th e ״e rron e ou s t e a c h in g s" of Marr. S t a li n 's i n t e r f e r e n c e in t h e di sc ussion of linguistic problems c o n s t i t u t e d a political a c t which for a full decade was to p a r a l y s e sc ie n tif ic i n v e s t i g a - t lo n s in the fields of l an g u a g e and t h o u g h t and sociolinguistics. It is no s e c r e t t h a t So v iet a u t h o r i t i e s are. if n o t completely u n w i l l - ing, c e r t a i n l y most r e l u c t a n t to acknowledge a n y n e g a t i v e p henom ena in t h e i r co un tr y which, a l t h o u g h products of t h e i r p r e s e n t p o litica l sy stem , o ffend a g a i n s t t h e i r id eo lo g y . T h e s e p h e n o m e n a , which should, s t r i c t l y speak ing, n o t e x i s t a t all. a r e explained away as tem porary d i f f ic u lt i e s , s hortcom ings or I n c o m p e te n c e s of c e r t a i n i n s t i t u t i o n s or i n d i v i d u a l s . A class ic example is th e in ciden ce of crime in th e S ov iet Union. No d e t a i l e d s t a t i s t i c s a re a v a i l a b l e on t h e subject because, according to t h e ideology of a s o c i a l i s t s o c i e t y - h e r e r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e S o v i e t Union - t h e 5 N i k o l , s k i j (1976), p. 120 Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access c a u s e s f o r c rim in al o f f e n c e s h a v e b e en overcome; for t h e f i r s t time In h i s t o r y c o nd itio ns h a v e b e en c r e a t e d where crime a s a social phenomenon can cease to e x is t.• But t h i s s t a t e m e n t is n o t corrobora ted by facts. And t h e Russian la n g u a g e , l ik e any o t h e r l a n g u a g e , r e f l e c t s t h e p o s i t iv e as well as t h e n e g a t i v e a s p e c t s of i ts soc iety. The r e s u l t is t h a t e x p re ss io n s refe rrin g to criminal or q u a s i - c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t i e s or simply to a n y th i n g l y - ing o u tside t h e limits of a ccep ted social norms t a k e on special e x p l o s i v e - ness. It is highly u n s a t i s f a c t o r y a n d unc onvin cin g if the e x is te n c e of such ex pre ssio ns and t h e so c ial phenomena to which th e y refe r a re explained away with t h e c la ss ic a n d often ironical clichés " l e f t - o v e r s of t h e past" and "pernicious i n f lu e n c e from th e West". In any case, such e x p la n a t i o n s need n o t be a c c e p t e d or t a k e n too se rio u sly o u tsid e the Soviet Union and espec ially in th e West. Due to S o viet Ideology no r e s e a r c h Is done on slang, "mat" and some t yp es of jarg on In t h e S o v ie t Union. Soviet lin g u i s t s complain of th e lack of r e s e a r c h o p p o r t u n i t i e s in t h e field of un norm ed lexis, while a t th e same time su p p o r t i n g Communist ideology. This must be class ified as in* comprehensible, u n j u s t i f i e d , and u n r e a l is ti c . It would be e asy enough to c re ate a new discip line, "polltol ingu istics " (политлингѳистика), which could i n v e s t i g a t e t h e e f f e c t s of ideological dogma and political p r e s s u r e s on t h eo r e tic al and ap plied l in g u istic s and language use. Such In v e s tig a tio n s Into the Russian l a n g u a g e would d o u b tle ss be rewarding and Informative In a number of ways. The de p en d e n ce of Soviet lin guistics on ideology and politics is p a r t i c u l a r l y obvious in so ciolinguistic s and speech cu lture. 2. Objective and Plan of Thesis This t h e s i s p r e s e n t s a s u r v e y of th e r e s e a r c h done on social v a r i e t i e s which h a v e been taboo in th e Sovi et Union for some decades. It includes t h e research done before a n d a f t e r th e October Revolution. It also t r a c e s the influence of p o litics on sociolectology and reviews in th is co nnec tion the work of a Bulgarian U n g utst on social d ialects. Soviet r es ea rch on s o ־ cial d ia le c ts , e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r t h e Revolution, is p r a c t ic a l l y unknown in 00060819 3 4 G. M. H i n ' k o v s k i j , A. B. Sacharov, " P r e s t u p n o s t ’ , H i n : BSS , 3rd e d . , v o l. 20, Moskva, 1975, pp. 539-540. Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 t h e West: e v e n S l ā v i s t s h a v e shown l i t t l e i n t e r e s t in i t . 7 I will t r y to help close t h i s gap. Furthermore, a n a t t e m p t will be made to c la rif y th e confu sed t e r m i - no logy [social d i a l e c t s , s e c r e t l a n g u a g e s , a r g o t . Ja r g o n s , s l a n g , " m at”, "prostoreCie", colloquial langua ge) by c o n t r a s t i n g each term with a ll t h e o th er s . The old misconception t h a t Russian criminal argot is a s e c r e t code and t h a t colloquial l a n g u a g e as a l i n g u i s t i c s y s te m b elo n g s to l i t e r a r y language will be refu te d . Also, th e e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r e s of R u s s i a n tab oo d i a l e c t s will b e r e - viewed, t a k i n g in to a c c o u n t a s p e c t s of l in g u i s t i c s , s o c io lin g u istic s, I a n - guage policy and ideology. In some v a r i e t i e s of Russian t h e in f lu e n c e of English Is c onsiderable . The la rge r o b jective of t h e t h e s i s is to d e m o n s tr a te t h a t so cial d i a - lec ts ha ve as d e fi n i te a place in (Soviet) Russian as in a n y o t h e r l a n - guage. The social ba se of t h e s e d i a l e c t s is in p a r t q u i te s u b s t a n t i a l . The influence of Ru ssian criminal arg ot on sl a n g and th e colloquial l a n g ua ge co n tin u es u n a b a t e d . The v o c a b u l a r i e s of taboo d ialec ts h a v e n o t been d isc u sse d In d e ta il a s t h i s would h a v e y ield ed no new r e s u l t s o v e r alr e ady e x is ti n g works. Word lis ts a r e b e s t p r e s e n t e d in t h e form of d i c t i o n a r i e s which, i n th e case of Russian d ia le c ts , should combine word d e fi n i ti o n s with e n c y c l o p a e - die Information. The words and p h r a s e s quoted as examples in t h i s t h e s i s h a v e e i t h e r been ta k e n from t e c h n i c a l l i t e r a t u r e or from my own word c o ll e c t io n of more th a n 4,000 lexical u n i ts , most of which do n o t a p p e a r in S o v ie t d i e - tio n a rie s. L itera ry and sc i e n t if i c works were s t u d i e d in d e ta il. But a s t h e y do n o t always give a c o rr e c t picture of t h e a c t u a l lin gu s tic r e a l i t y t h e y were of lit t le use e x c e p t to supply t h e occasi onal defin itio n for th e u sa g e of an express ion. Only in fo ur w e ll- f o u n d e d c a s e s did I feel j u s t i f i e d to q uo te "Indirectly" from F. M. Dostoevskij and N. A. Nekrasov a n d " d i r e c t - ly" from I. Barkov and V. Salamov. Alth ou g h R u s s i a n / G e r m a n d i c t i o n a r i e s h a r d l y e v e r y i e l d e d German e q u iv a le n t s to Russian поп- l i t e r a r y words and p h r a s e s , I be lie v e t h a t I 7 V. GirXe, H. Jachnów, S o w j e t i s c h e S o z i o l i n g u i s t i k . Probleme und Ge - n e se, Kronberg T s . , 1974. They made v a l u a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n s to w a rds th e r e c e p t i o n of s o c i o l o g i c a l l y o r i e n t e d l i n g u i s t i c s i n t h e S o v i e t Union, but alm ost c o m p l e t e ly ig nored s o c i a l d i a l e c t s . Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access б 00060819 h a v e been able to g a t h e r many f i t t i n g e q u i v a l e n t s . These sha ll form th e b a sis for a Russian/Germ an d ic tio n a r y of slang and Jargon y e t to be com- piled. Q u e s t i o n s o f s y n t a x h a v e been d e a l t with only in passing . Due to t h e i r complex ity a l a r g e r framework would be needed for d e ta ile d d i s c u s - sions. Such a framework would h a v e to include recorded c o n v e r sa tio n s . Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 б A. RESEARCH ON RUSSIAN ARGOTS AND JARGONS I. P r e - R e v o l u t io n a r y Research In Ru ssia, a r g o t b e g a n t o a t t r a c t i n t e r e s t In t h e f i r s t q u a r t e r of th e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . E thn o lo g ists, g e ogra phers, h i s t o r i a n s , a m a t e u r philo lo- g ists and even a few l i n g u i s t s tried to draw a t t e n t i o n to t h is phenomenon by publishing l i s t s of a rg o t words in n e w sp a p e r a rticle s. T heir f av o urite s u b j e c t was t h e офенское наречие ( ' p e d l a r s ' d i a l e c t ' ) o r офенский язык (,pedlars* language'), spoken by t h e офени (h aw k ers and i t i n e r a n t pedlars). In t h e second h a l f of t h e c e n t u r y l i n g u i s t s began to show i n t e r e s t in o t h - e r pr ofessional and e t h n i c groups, and only a f t e r t h e t u r n of the c e n t u r y were more thorough i n v e s t i g a t i o n s being made in to Russian t h i e v e s ' c a n t . 1 One of t h e most famous Russian l in g u ists was V. I. Dal’, who e x a m - ined modifications of t h e Russian language. In his "Contributions to R u s- s l a n Dialects" he also c onsidered a rt i f ic i a l languages.* These included the following: th e p e d la rs' l a n g u a g e which was spo k en in the pr ovince of V ia - dlmir; the кантюяный язык (,d i a l e c t of beggars and t h i e v e s ') in th e p r o v - lnces of Rjazan' and T v er'; t h e байковый язык ( 't h i e v e s ' c a n t ') or simply музыка ('music') common In t h e two c a p i t a l s of Moscow and St. Petersburg; t h e условный мошеннический язык ('c o n v e n t i o n a l rogues' spe ec h') spoken by v e t e r i n a r l e s . horse t h i e v e s and h o rse t r a d e r s , and. with some re s t ri c ti o n s , t h e мошеннический или разбойничий язык ('ro bb ers' or t h i e v e s ' c a n t ') of the Volga robbers, which was a lr e a d y e x t i n c t a t t h a t time. Dal' also mentioned 1 D. S. Lic hačev i n c l u d e d a comprehensive c h r o n o l o g i c a l in dex of l i t e r - a t u r e on a r g o t b e f o r e 1933 in h i s t r e a t i s e " C e r t y pervobytnogo p r i m i - tiv izm a vorovskoj r e C i , " i n : J a z y k i m y S l e n i e , І І І - І Ѵ , Moskva-Lenin- g r a d , 193S, p p . 9 4 -9 9 . I t a l s o l i s t s l i t e r a r y works. See a l s o the b i b l i o g r a p h y i n V. D. B o ndale to v, Uslovnye j a z y k i r u s s k i c b r e a e s l e n - a i k o v i t o r g o v c e v . 1 s t i n s t a l m e n t : Uslovnye j a z y k i как o s o b y j t i p s o - c i a l *nych d i a l e k t o v , R j a z a n ' , 1974, pp. 11-12. * See V. D a l ' , "0 n a r e C i j a c h ruskago j a z y k a " ( S . - P e t e r b u r g , 1852), i n - e lu d i n g **0 j a z y k a c h isX ustv enych" r e p r i n t e d i n ; T o l k o v y j s l o v a r * 7e- l i k o r u s s k o g o j a z y k a , v o l . 1, Moskva, 1956 (from t h e 2nd e d i t i o n , 1880), pp . LXXVI-LXXVIII. Some t i m e a f t e r w a r d s L. Diefenbach pub- l i s h e d h i s "Die o f e n i s c h e S p r a c h e , " i n : B e i t r ä g e z u r v e r g l e i c h e n d e n Sp rachforschung a u f dea G e b iete d e r a r i s c h e n , c e l t i s c h e n und s l a v i - sehen Sprachen , v o l . 4, B e r l i n , 1865, pp. 328-341. (Diefenbach g i v e s t h e German e q u i v a l e n t s of examples from t h e p e d l a r s ' la n g u a g e . ) Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 7 00060819 t h e pidgin Russian sp o ken by t h e t r a d e r s in KJachta alo ng t h e Chines e/ Russ ian b o r d e r and t h e тарабарский язык (*nonsense lan g u a g e') of school ch ild ren , where c o n s o n a n t s are In terc h an g e d according to a prescrib ed f o r - mula. He concluded his l i s t with t h e говор по херам ('c h er d i a l e c t ') , whose main c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e is t h e add itio n of xep to e v e r y syllab le. Dal' q u i t e ob vi ousl y subsumed t h e most d i v e r s e l a n g u a g e s u n d e r t h e term " a r t i f i c i a l l a n g u a g e s " , which was t h e n in common use. T hese l a n - gu ages c a n be su bd iv id ed according to pro fes si ons, occu pations, age groups and p a r t l y to t e r r i t o r i a l f e a t u r e s . They also can be grad ed according to t h e de gre e of t h e i r a r t i f ic i a l it y . The тарабарский язык a n d t h e говор no херам, which r e p r e s e n t p u rely m echanical en co ding sy s te m s of otherw ise Intelligible Russian, can be c o n tr a s t e d with t h e придуманный язык ( ' i n v e n t - ed language*) of t h e p edla rs. According to Dal' t h e c re a t i o n of t h is I a n - guage took s e v e r a l g e n e r a t i o n s . T h e p e d l a r s ' l a n g u a g e c o n t a i n s Russian words whose original meanings h a ve changed, loan s (from v a ri o u s Russian d i a l e c t s a n d from Greek) and "new coinages", all of them su b o r d i n a te d to t h e s t r u c t u r e and grammar of Ru ssian.3 By условный мошеннический язык Dal* means a lan g uage spoken by a r e s t r i c t e d number of people. In t h is connection i t is I n t e r e s t i n g to note t h a t Dal' av oid ed t h e term "Jargon" a lth ou g h he did mention i t as a French loan in t h e word l is t of his g r e a t work.4 He may h a v e av oid ed the term o u t of a dislike of foreign words. Dal* also failed to mention the o therw ise commonly used e x p re ss io n тайные языки (,s e c r e t lan g u a g es ') for a rtific ial or c o n v e n t io n a l languages . Since he Is considered one of t h e leading a u t h o r i t i e s in t h e Russian and pe dlars' lan g u a g es - he compiled a still u n p u b l is h e d p e d l a r s '/ R u s s i a n d i c t i o n a r y comprising a b o ut 5,000 words ־ t h e s e c ir c u m s ta n c e s become espec ially s i g ־ n i f i c a n t in t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e e x t e n t to which v a r i e t i e s of Russian were s e c r e t . 3 Unlike Dal', V. Jagić had no perso n al e x p e ri e n c e of t h e langu age of th e pedlars, a r t i s a n s , beggars and s t r e e t m usi cian s of Russia, b u t d e p e n d - ed e n tirely on p u b lic atio n s on th e s u b je ct which a p p ea re d before th e mid - nineties. Jagifc considered t h e s e l an g ua g es s e c r e t b ecause t h e y had been modified in such a way as to e n s u r e "secrecy of communication", including 3 See Da l 2) 1956 nd״ e d . , 1880), v o l . 1, p. LXXVII and p. 30 under H A fe n ja ". 4 Dal' 1956 (2nd e d . , 1880), v o l . 1, under " 2 a r g o n , " p. 526. 5 Bondaletov (1974), p. 12. Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 00060819 8 •Jokes and s e r i o u s m a t t e r s " a n d "gangsters* t r ic k s " . • For e f f e c t i v e c a m o u - flage v ario u s word ־f o r m a t i o n m eth o d s were employed, su c h a s t h e ad d itio n or a l t e r a t io n of s y l l a b l e s or s o u n d s (шувеса I n s t e a d o f весна 's p rin g', ши- блоко in place of яблоко ' a p p l e ') , a n d t h e e n l a r g e m e n t of word stems (кра- симный in plac e of красивый ,b e a u t i f u l ' , тонкимный I n s t e a d of тонкий 't h ln ', зворить ln place of з в а т ь *to call' , ждыкорить in place of ждать 'to wait'). Other w o r d - f o r m a t i o n m e t h o d s in c l u d e d d e r i v a t i o n s from common Russ ian v e rb stems.7 Jagić did n o t h e s i t a t e to r e f e r to t h e pedlars* l a n g u a g e a s a jargon, a term which is a ls o u s e d by o t h e r r e s e a r c h e r s . In an e s s a y a b o u t t h e speech of w o rkers from K a lu g a, m e n t i o n is m ad e of а местный условный язык ( 'c o n v e n tio n a l lo ca l l a n g u a g e ') a n d t h e жаргоны калужских ремесленни- ков ('jargons of K a l u g a n w o r k e r s 1 ).• T h e term "jargon" Includ ed t h e c o llo - quial Yiddish of R u s s i a n J e w s . 4 By t h e way. Moses Mendelsohn, a frien d of Lessing's, had claimed t h a t Yiddish was " n o t a l a n g ua g e b u t a gibberish, an impaired German, a j a r g o n " . 10 Before t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y l i n g u i s t s paid p r a c t i c a l l y no a t t e n t i o n to R u ssian t h i e v e s ' c a n t , t h e s o - c a l l e d блатная музыка ( 't h i e v e s ' music'). In 1892 a d i c t i o n a r y was p u b l i s h e d c o n t a i n i n g c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s of all t h e a r tif ic ia l l a n g u a g e s m e n t i o n e d by Dal'; i t s t a t e d t h a t t h i e v e s ' c a n t h a d n e v e r b e e n a n o b j e c t o f s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h . 11 Such r e s e a r c h was g r e a t l y f a c i l i t a t e d by l i t e r a r y works on t h e e n v i r o n m e n t s of crim ina ls and t h e routin e of p r i s o n e r s . T h e b e s t s e l l e r " P e t e r s b u r g Slums", p u b l is h e d in 1867, c o n ta in s a g r e a t n u m b e r of a r g o t w o r d s .12 Its a u t h o r o b s e r v e d t h a t • See th e e x h a u s t i v e t r e a t i s e by J . J a g i ć , ״ Die G e h e i e s p r a c h e n b e i den S l a v e n , " i n : S i t z u n g s b e r i c h t e d e r p h i l o s o p h i s c h - h i s t o r i s c h e n K l a s s e d e r K a i s e r l i c h e n A k a d e m i e d e r W i s s e n s c h a f t e n , v o l . 133, V, 1895, Vien, 1896, p . 1. 7 I b i d . , pp. 4 0-7 9. • V. N. D o b r o v o l ' s k i j , '" N e k o t o r y e da nnye u sl o v n o g o j a z y k a k a l u 2 s k i c h rab o fiich ," i n : I z v e s t i j a ORJaS, v o l . IV, bk. 4, 1899, pp . 1086-1087. י See e . g . P. V. S e j n , "К vop rosu ob u s l o v n y c h j a z y k a c h , " i n : I z v e s t i j a ORJaS, 701. IV, bk. 1, 1899, p. 299. 1 0 Cf. S. Landmann, J i d d i s c h ■ Das A b e n t e u e r e i n e r S p r a c h e , Wiesbaden, München, 1979, p. 106. 1 1 See t h e a r t i c l e "Vorovskoj j a z y k , H i n : S n c i k l o p e d i C e s k i j s l o v a r * , ed. by F. A. Brokgauz and I . A. E f r o n , v o l . VII (1 3 ), S . - P e t e r b u r g , 1892, p. 202. 11 V. K r e s t o v s k i j , P e t e r b u r g s k i j a TruSCoby. Kniga o s y t y c h i golodnych, v o l s . 1-4, S . ־P e t e r b u r g , 1867. A new e d i t i o n a p p e a r e d i n Moscow in 1935. Wilhelm von Timroth - 9783954792337 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 04:26:04AM via free access 9 00060819 t h i e v e s a n d r o g u e s u s e d *some k i n d o f c o n v e n t i o n a l l a n g u a g e (argot)* known a s музыка or байковый язык, whose c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f e a t u r e s were Its "vivid imagery" a n d " t e r s e b rev ity " . It c o n t a i n e d e le m e n ts of Polish. U k ra - inian, Romance, German, T a r t a r , F i n n i s h a n d Romany. The a rg ot spoken In Moscow was c l e a r l y d i s t i n c t from t h a t o f S t . P e t e r s b u r g , which showed more foreign i n f l u e n c e s . 13 A book a b o u t S ib e r ia a n d forced labour conta in s a l i s t of words of d i v e r s e origins: p e d l a r s , t h i e v e s , c o n v i c t s and o t h e r s . 14 1908 m arks t h e f i r s t time t h a t a l i n g u i s t , namely t h e Polish Slāvist Baudouin de C o u r t e n a y , took a n i n t e r e s t in R u ss ian a r g o t . He also wrote t h e foreword to a d i c t i o n a r y of a r g o t . 19 According to him t h e c onventio nal, a rt ific ial a n d s e c r e t l a n g u a g e s a re more o r les s c lo s ely co n necte d with the б л а т н а я музыка. T h e c o n v e n t i o n a l l a n g u a g e s in clu d e th o se spoken by school boys, u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s a n d b o a r d i n g - s c h o o l gi rls . Dialects In the t r u e se n s e of t h e word are a r r i v e d a t by d i v id i n g t h e Russian language h o rizo n tally a c c o rd ing to n a tio n a l, t e r r i t o r i a l a n d e th n o g r a p h i c a l f eatures. Such a d i v i s i o n y i e l d s