People live in society, and communication is an integral part of human existence. Therefore, without it, the evolution of the mind would hardly have been possible. At first, these were attempts at communication, similar to baby talk, which gradually, with the advent of civilization, began to improve. A letter appeared, and speech became not only oral, but also written, which made it possible to preserve the achievements of mankind for future descendants. According to these monuments, one can trace the development of oral traditions of speech. What is speech culture and culture of speech? What are their standards? Is it possible to master speech culture on your own? All questions will be answered by this article.
What is speech culture?
Speech is a form of verbal communication between people. It involves the formation and formulation of thoughts, on the one hand, and perception and understanding, on the other.
Culture is a term with many meanings, it is the object of study of many disciplines. There is also a meaning that is close in meaning to communication and speech. This is a part of the culture associated with the use of verbal signals, which means the language, itsethnic peculiarity, functional and social varieties, having oral and written forms.
Speech is an integral part of a person's life, and therefore he must be able to speak correctly and beautifully both in writing and orally.
Thus, speech culture and the culture of speech is the possession of the norms of the language, the ability to use its expressive means in various conditions.
The culture of speech, regardless of the nationality of the speakers, developed gradually. Over time, there was a need to systematize existing knowledge about the language. Thus, a branch of linguistics appeared, which is called the culture of speech. This section explores the problems of language normalization with a view to improving it.
How was the culture of speech formed?
Speech culture and speech culture as a branch of linguistics evolved in stages. They reflect all the changes that have taken place in the language. For the first time, they thought about fixing the norms of written speech in the 18th century, when society realized that the lack of uniform rules for writing made communication difficult. In 1748, V. K. Trediakovsky wrote about Russian orthography in his work “A Conversation Between a Foreign Man and a Russian About the Old and New Spelling”.
But the foundations of the grammar and style of the native language were laid by M. V. Lermontov in his works “Russian Grammar” and “Rhetoric” (1755, 1743-1748).
In the 19th century, N. V. Koshansky, A. F. Merzlyakov and A. I. Galich supplemented the library of studies of the culture of speech with their works on rhetoric.
Linguists of the pre-revolutionary period understood the importance of standardizing the rules of the language. In 1911, a book by V. I. Chernyshevsky “Purity and Correctness of Russian Speech. The experience of Russian stylistic grammar”, in which the author analyzes the norms of the Russian language.
The post-revolutionary period was the time when the established norms of speech culture were shaken. Then people were engaged in social activities, whose speech was simple and abounded in jargon and dialect expressions. The literary language would have been under threat if a stratum of the Soviet intelligentsia had not formed in the 1920s. She fought for the purity of the Russian language, and a directive was given according to which the "masses" were to master the proletarian culture. At the same time, the concepts of “language culture” and “speech culture” appeared. These terms are used for the first time in relation to the new, reformed language.
In the post-war years, speech culture as a discipline receives a new round of development. An important contribution to the formation of the discipline was made by S. I. Ozhegov as the author of the Dictionary of the Russian Language and E. S. Istrina as the author of the Norms of the Russian Language and Culture of Speech.
50-60s of the XX century became the time of the formation of the culture of speech as an independent discipline:
- The Grammar of the Russian Language has been published.
- The scientific principles of speech culture have been clarified.
- The Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language is coming out.
- The Speech Culture Sector under the direction of S. I. Ozhegov appears at the Institute of the Russian Language of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Under his editorship, the journal “Questions of Culture” is published.speech.”
- B. V. Vinogradov, D. E. Rozental and L. I. Skvortsov are working on the theoretical substantiation of some issues. They devote their work to separating two terms from each other - “culture of speech” and “culture of language”.
In the 1970s, the culture of speech becomes an independent discipline. She has a subject, object, methodology and techniques of scientific research.
Linguists of the 90s keep up with their predecessors. At the end of the 20th century, a number of works devoted to the problem of the culture of speech were published.
The development of speech and the culture of speech communication continue to be one of the urgent linguistic problems. Today, the attention of linguists is riveted to such questions.
- Establishing internal links between improving the speech culture of society and the development of national culture.
- Improving the modern Russian language, taking into account the changes taking place in it.
- Scientific analysis of the processes taking place in modern speech practice.
What are the features and properties of speech culture?
Speech culture in linguistics has a number of distinctive properties and features, which are also the logical basis of the phenomenon under study:
- Correct. Coordination of speech with pronunciation, grammatical and stylistic norms of the language. In accordance with them, you need to correctly stress the words, speak in accordance with the rules of grammar. Speech styles should be used according to the communication situation.
- Communicative expediency. It implies the ability to useappropriate communicative situations, stylistic gradations of words and expressions.
- The accuracy of the statement. It implies the truth of a speech statement and the accuracy of expressing thoughts in a word.
- Logical presentation. The correct reflection of the facts of reality and their connections, the validity of the hypothesis put forward, the presence of arguments for and against, and the conclusion that proves or refutes the hypothesis.
- Clarity and accessibility of presentation. It implies intelligibility of speech for interlocutors. This goal can be achieved by using unambiguous words, phrases and grammatical constructions.
- Purity of speech. It implies the absence in speech of elements alien to the literary language and norms of morality - parasitic words, dialectisms, vernacular words, barbarisms, jargon and vulgar words.
- Expressiveness. A way of presenting material that interests the listener. It can be informational (the audience is interested in the information presented) and emotional (the audience is interested in the manner in which information is presented).
- Under the variety of means of expression should be understood the ability to use a large number of synonyms. The speaker owns a large amount of vocabulary, which is in active use.
- Aesthetics is the rejection of offensive language by the literary language. Emotionally neutral words should be used to make speech aesthetically pleasing.
- Relevance - the selection and organization of the means of language in a way that helps to achieve the goals and conditions of communication.
Know the basics of speech culture and apply them toappointment is the duty of every educated person.
What is the type of speech culture?
The type of speech culture is a characteristic of native speakers depending on their level of language proficiency. The ability to use language means is also important. Here an important role is played by how well developed speech communication, the culture of speech is. Let's consider the issue in more detail.
Types of speech cultures are divided into 6 main types:
- Elite. Assumes fluency in existing language features, including creative ones. This type implies strict adherence to all norms of the language and a ban on the use of rude and slang expressions.
- Medium Literary. Incomplete compliance with norms, an abundance of speech in bookish or colloquial expressions. The carriers of this type of culture are the majority of educated city dwellers. Its dissemination is facilitated by contemporary fiction and the media.
- Literary colloquial and familiar colloquial. They are characterized by a low level of stylistics and roughness of speech, which is close to vernacular. These types are a kind of literary speech and are used by speakers who are in close family and friendly relations.
- The vernacular is characterized by a low educational and cultural level of the speakers. It has a limited vocabulary, typical inability to build complex sentences, an abundance of swearing and parasitic words. There are a large number of errors in oral and written speech.
- Professionally limited. It is characterized by limited and defective speech consciousness.
What are the norms?
Based on the foregoing, it is necessary to highlight the basic norms of speech culture:
- Normative. Protects the literary language from the penetration of colloquial expressions and dialectisms and keeps it intact and in accordance with generally accepted norms.
- Communicative. It implies the ability to use the functions of the language in accordance with the situation. For example, accuracy in scientific speech and the admissibility of inaccurate expressions in colloquial speech.
- Ethical. It means the observance of speech etiquette, that is, the norms of behavior in communication. Greetings, appeals, requests, questions are used.
- Aesthetic. It implies the use of techniques and methods of figurative expression of thought and the decoration of speech with epithets, comparisons and other techniques.
What is the essence of human speech culture?
Above we considered the concepts of "language", "speech culture" as a social phenomenon that characterizes society. But society is made up of individuals. Consequently, there is a kind of culture that characterizes the oral speech of an individual. This phenomenon is called "human speech culture". The term should be understood as a person's attitude to knowledge of the language and the ability to use and improve it if necessary.
These are not only speaking and writing skills, but also listening and reading skills. For communicative perfection, a person must master all of them. Mastering them involves knowing the patterns, signs and patterns of building a communicatively perfect speech, mastering etiquette and the psychological foundations of communication.
The speech culture of a person is not static - it, like language, is subject to changes that depend both on social transformations and on the person himself. It begins to form with the first words of the child. It grows with him, transforming into the speech culture of a preschooler, then a schoolchild, a student and an adult. The older a person gets, the better their speaking, writing, reading and listening skills become.
What is the difference between Russian speech culture?
Russian speech culture belongs to the section of disciplines that are engaged in the study of national speech cultures. Each nation during its existence has formed its own language norm. What is natural for one ethnic group may be alien to another. These features include:
- ethnic features of the language picture of the world;
- use of verbal and non-verbal means;
- a collection of texts that includes all the texts ever written in that language, both ancient and modern.
The ethnic picture of the world is understood as a set of views on the world through the words and expressions of a particular language, which is shared by all people who speak it and is taken for granted. But the difference between national pictures of the world is easy to trace through the analysisfolklore used epithets. For example, the expressions “bright head” and “kind heart” imply high intelligence and responsiveness. It is no coincidence that the head and heart are chosen in these epithets, since in the understanding of Russians a person thinks with his head, but feels with his heart. But this is not the case in other languages. For example, in the language of Ifaluk, internal feelings are conveyed by the intestines, in the Dogon language - by the liver, and in Hebrew, they do not feel with the heart, but think.
At what level is the modern Russian culture of speech?
Modern speech culture reflects:
- typological features of the Russian language;
- scopes of its application;
- unity of speech throughout the Russian Federation;
- territorial variants of the Russian language;
- written and oral texts of not only artistic, but also national significance, which reveal ideas about good and correct speech, about the achievements of the science of the Russian language.
Russian speech etiquette
Russian speech etiquette is understood as a set of norms and rules of communication that have developed under the influence of national culture.
Russian speech etiquette divides communication into formal and informal. Formal is communication between people who are little known to each other. They are connected by the event or occasion on which they gathered. Such communication requires unquestioning observance of etiquette. In contrast to this style, informal communication occurs between people who are well acquainted with each other. This is family, friends, relatives, neighbors.
Features of speech etiquette in Russia involve addressing a person as You in formal communication. In this case, you need to address the interlocutor by name and patronymic. This is mandatory, since there are no forms similar to "sir", "mister", "mrs" or "miss" in Russian speech etiquette. There is a general "ladies and gentlemen", but it applies to a large number of people. In pre-revolutionary Russia, there were such appeals as sir and madam, but with the advent of the Bolsheviks they were supplanted by such words as comrade, citizen and citizen. With the collapse of the USSR, the word "comrade" became obsolete and acquired its original meaning - "friend", and "citizen" and "citizen" became associated with the police or the court. Over time, they also disappeared, and words that attracted attention came to replace them. For example, “sorry”, “excuse me”, “could you…”.
Unlike the speech culture of the West, in Russian there are many topics for discussion - politics, family, work. At the same time sexual are prohibited.
In general, the culture of speech etiquette is learned from childhood and improves over time, gaining more and more subtleties. The success of its development depends on the family in which the child grew up, and on the environment in which he develops. If the people around him are highly cultured, then the child will master this form of communication. Conversely, supporters of the vernacular type of speech culture will teach their child to communicate in simple and uncomplicated sentences.
Is it possible to developspeech culture?
The development of speech culture depends not only on the environment of a person, but also on himself. At a conscious age, if desired, it can be developed independently. To do this, you need to devote time to self-study every day. It will take 3 days to complete all the tasks, and before mastering the new one, you need to repeat the old one. Gradually, it will be possible to perform tasks not only together, but also separately. At first, such a speech culture lesson will take 15-20 minutes, but will gradually increase to an hour.
- Vocabulary expansion. For the exercise, you need to take any literary text and a dictionary of Russian or foreign languages. Write out or underline all the words of one part of speech - nouns, adjectives or verbs. And then choose synonyms. This exercise helps to expand the passive vocabulary.
- Composing a story using keywords. Take any book, pick up at random with your eyes closed 5 any words and make up a story based on them. You need to compose up to 4 texts at a time, each of which takes no more than 3 minutes in time. This exercise contributes to the development of imagination, logic and ingenuity. A more difficult option is to make a story out of 10 words.
- Talking to the mirror. For this exercise, you will need the text from task 2. Stand by the mirror and tell your story without facial expressions. Then retell your story a second time, using facial expressions. Analyze your facial expression and style of story by answering 2 questions - "do you like yourfacial expression and way of presenting information" and "whether others will like them". This task is aimed at developing the habit of consciously managing your facial expressions.
- Listening to a recording from a voice recorder. This exercise will help you hear yourself from the outside and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your speech, and therefore, correct the shortcomings and learn to use the advantages of your manner of speaking. Read any literary text or poem you like on the recorder. Listen, analyze it like the previous task, and try to retell or read it by heart a second time, taking into account the corrections.
- Conversation with the interlocutor. This type of exercise helps develop dialogue skills. If among your friends or acquaintances there are people who do these exercises, then you can do exercise 2 with one of them. If not, then ask someone to help you. To do this, prepare a topic of conversation and a plan in advance. Your goal is to interest the interlocutor, arouse his curiosity and hold his attention for at least 5 minutes. The task is considered completed if the interlocutors talked on 3-4 of the given topics.
The development of speech culture requires constant practice - only in this case, success will not be long in coming.
