Russian language. On the revision of legislative norms of Russian language protection

The issues of preserving and development of language structure were discussed on October, 16 during the session of the Council of the Federation Commission on Culture presided by the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia. The press service of the Federation Council of Russian informs that among the participants of the session were the parliamentarians, representatives of the scientific and educational institutions and public organizations.

“Today the unique identity of languages and dialects of Russian peoples is threatened to a great extent”, - remarked the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia Sergei Mironov. He added that the Russian language – the state language, which unites nations of Russia and provides possibilities for mutual understanding and interpenetration of cultures hasn’t escaped the common lot. The main problems were discussed at the meeting: active penetration of slang into the daily interaction, popularity of offensive language, test system in the education, mistakes in the articles of periodical publications, books etc. According to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) statistics announced by the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia today only 5 % of Russians speak the correct, literary Russian language. Over 60 % use abusive language, 28 % use the “computer” language, whereas 20 % speak specific slang.

During the session the possible solutions to these problems were worked out. According to Sergei Mironov, books and newspapers, TV and radio programs should be the cultural standard and should set an example, but today even the recommended reference books of standard Russian language become the reason for hot debates. The Chairman of the Council of the Federation remarks that the legislative norms on the protection of the Russian language need a thorough revision and improvement. He supposes that special attention should be given to the financial basis, necessary for the implementation of these legislative actions.