Census in Belarus: Statistical Background of National Drama

[Osweo]

WR, if you care so much, why don't you go along to your old school and offer to teach classes of the language, in evenings or whenever, for a minor wage or for free? None of us can change what happens in our countries as a whole, but we can at least have some impact on a handful of people who we are brought in contact with in our daily lives, especially in a teaching environment.

Also, have you written those Рассказы Дзядьи Станкевича yet? The kids are waiting...

But ekh, ya ne znayu... You know I'm broadly sympathetic and have little but good to say of your folk from my work contacts with them and other links, but you saw how I - a poor Russian speaker - can near enough read your language, like with that story you posted. I fail to see how its difference from Russian is any greater than that of the old Lancashire dialect from Standard English. Lancastrian is near enough dead now (though the accent remains, but it was inevitable it would die. The people themselves killed it, just as yours are doing now. THere's a lot more of you, but the position is fairly similar, having an all too similar huge powerful political centre breathing down your neck, no?

[W. R.]

But ekh, ya ne znayu... You know I'm broadly sympathetic and have little but good to say of your folk from my work contacts with them and other links, but you saw how I - a poor Russian speaker - can near enough read your language, like with that story you posted. I fail to see how its difference from Russian is any greater than that of the old Lancashire dialect from Standard English. Lancastrian is near enough dead now (though the accent remains, but it was inevitable it would die. The people themselves killed it, just as yours are doing now. THere's a lot more of you, but the position is fairly similar, having an all too similar huge powerful political centre breathing down your neck, no?

Hm. Well, here are results of a poll (it was carried out in Belarus at the end of the last year):

31,6% of respondents said they could fluently speak and write in Belarusian;
42,7% said they could read Belarusian, understand the language but had difficulty in speaking Belarusian;
22% said they could understand Belarusian but had difficulty in reading Belarusian;
2,3% said they didn’t understand Belarusian at all.
SOURCE 1 and SOURCE 2

So, well, I congratulate you: you certainly wouldn’t be in the fourth group.

I don’t think that the death of the language is inevitable. As I said I went to a Belarusian class and learned there for 9 years. It was probably the first Belarusian class in that school during all its history (even the Soviet Union existed yet at that time I believe), but still it must have been something in the air that made parents to send their children to that class. “The wind of changes”, as Scorpions sang. Later that “something” disappeared, but who knows if forever... The salvation must begin from changing of the attitude of the people, and that can be done.

Alas, I am no expert on English dialects, and can’t say if your comparison is correct, but I don’t think that if a language X is similar to a language Y, one of them is a dialect of the other. I have noticed that on the internetz it is not considered impolite to write in Ukrainian to a Belarusian or in Belarusian to a Ukrainian, for example. It is generally believed that Ukrainians have no problems in understanding Belarusians and vice versa. But you could expect “LOL WUT?” if you suggested that the Belarusian language is a dialect of Ukrainian on other way round. I remember my Polish teacher said once that for Poles the Slovak language sounds like a baby talk. There could be more such examples, I believe.

It’s not about similarities. I often repeat “the organism of the language”, “the system of the language” like some incantations, but I’d probably fail if I tried to explain in English what I mean. I have no doubts that the Belarusian language with all its dialects constitutes a system on its own, with its own regularities, structures etc. This is what is crucial. How similar is the system to other such systems is irrelevant.

Here is a fragment of Jury Paciupa’s article (as you remember “there is no other Grammar Fuehrer but Dr. Jan Stankievič, and Jury Paciupa is His Prophet”). He gives an example how the same words in Russian and Belarusian have different syntactic compatibility. I’m not sure that it can “prove” anything, but I think it can illustrate the idea of a “separate system” (that it is not just about some words and some accent):

Spoiler!

... страшней назіраць разбурэньне арганізму мовы. На жаль, пераважная частка «сьведамых» носьбітаў мовы ёсьць насамрэч расейскамоўнымі людзьмі, [Карэктней было б сказаць «расейскадумнымі», гэта значыць, беларускай мовай яны карыстаюцца часта, а мо' й штодзённа, але так, як замежнай, хоць і ўважаюць за сваю.] якія, трэба аддаць належнае, ад шчырых патрыятычных пачуцьцяў карыстаюцца невялікай колькасьцю беларускіх слоў. Рэшта лексыкону — гэта расейская лексыка, «абутая» ў беларускую фанэтыку.

Усіх казусаў у адным палемічным артыкуле не апішаш, дык прапаную пытаньне «на засыпку»… Як перакласьці на беларускую мову расейскае слова осматриваться? Б’юся аб заклад, што бальшыня ня ведае. Вы думаеце «аглядацца»? Не! А можа, «азірацца»? Таксама не!!! І «аглядаюцца» і «азіраюцца» толькі назад, а нам трэба — вакол. Па-беларуску гэта будзе — разглядацца, і ніяк інакш. А хто ня верыць — хай пачытае нашых старых пісьменьнікаў. Цяпер удакладнім заданьне, вось вы прыехалі ў незнаёмую мясцовасьць і сталі, што называецца па-расейску, осматриваться по сторонам, як гэтае словазлучэньне выбудаваць па-беларуску? У асноўнай сваёй масе адэпты і «наркамаўкі» і «тарашкевіцы» будуць адказваць аднолькава несамавіта. Ну, першыя, мабыць, прапануюць «аглядацца па баках», другія — «азірацца па бакох». З грунту ж, розьніца невялікая, і тая, і другая фраза — скалькаваныя з расейскае мовы. А ў жывой беларускай гаворцы аналягічнае словазлучэньне мусіць чытацца так: разглядацца на бакі. Але гэта яшчэ ня ўсё...

Вось вы ўбачылі нейкую будыніну, аточаную прыбудовамі, пра якія па-расейску можна сказаць, што яны стаяць — по бокам. А па-беларуску? Ізноў жа — не «па баках» і не «па бакох»! І ўжо, натуральна, не «на бакі». Цяпер пра тыя прыбудовы трэба казаць так: яны стаяць — з бакоў. Але ўрэшце, вы надумаліся заняцца сабою. Як даехалі? Ці не пакамячылася на вас вопратка, ці яна не запэцкалася? І па-расейску свае дзеяньні, вы таксама, перадасьцё дзеясловам осматриваться. У нашай жа мове добра ўжытым дзеясловам будзе — не аглядацца ці азірацца, бо гэта — назад, не разглядацца, бо гэта — вакол і вонкі, а менавіта — абглядацца. Сябе вы акурат — абглядаеце, абглядваеце, і менавіта — з бакоў (у люстэрку — разглядваеце). А далей, едучы коньмі ў брычцы, ды па гразкай дарозе, вы абпырскаліся, натуральна, з бакоў. І вось пасьля ўсяго, як толькі разгледзеліся на мясцовасьці ды абгледзеліся самыя, вы бачыце: вада ў вас цячэ — па бакох, у каня авадні ды бонкі поўзаюць — таксама — па бакох. Тут і спатрэбілася забракаванае на пачатку слова*спалучэньне! Гэткая розьніца ў беларускім і расейскім сынтаксе ды словаўжываньні, відаць, невыпадковая. Калі ў расейскай мове тарнуюцца два розныя словы сторона й бок, дык у беларускай — маем пераважна адно: бок. Слова старана ўзьнікае спарадычна, часьцяком як дыялектнае. А нястача — кампэнсуецца сынтаксычнай шматстайнасьцю: разглядацца вакол на бакі, абглядацца з усіх бакоў, аглядацца назад, поўзаць па бакох... І, калі вы ўжо добра разабраліся, дзе трэба — разглядацца, дзе — аглядацца ды азірацца, а дзе — абглядацца, калі ведаеце, дзе ўжыць — на бакі, дзе — з бакоў, а дзе — па бакох, дык ня надта й страшна будзе, як раптам напішаце «па баках». Абы не наадварот — усюды зухавата крэмзаць «па бакох», а рэшты ня ведаць. <...>

Такіх прыкладаў процьма, на кожным кроку. Якая граматыка іх апіша! І дзе тут лексыка, дзе сынтакс, а дзе сэмантыка — адказаць няпроста. Часамі можна пачуць меркаваньне, быццам лексыка — лухта, галоўнае — сынтакс. Але дзе сканчаецца лексыка й пачынаецца сынтакс? Скажам, старабеларускім словам выступнік, выступак адпавядала словазлучэньне выступіць з права, а расейскім словам преступник, преступление, адпавядае — преступить закон. Тут, як бачым, структура сынтагмы й структура лексэмы цесна карэлююцца. Усё гэта й ёсьць сыстэмнасьць мовы. Гэта й ёсьць тое моўнае бачаньне, якое ўсмоктваецца з малаком маці або... набываецца страшэннымі высілкамі ўсяе нацыі, а ня проста вывучваецца як правапісныя нормы.

I hear your argument, yet can you tell me other reasons other than just keeping up the tradition?

I mean in many other cases the national aspect preserves also other aspects of the identity and character of a people from cultural traditions and identity, racial heritage and social structures etc.

In the case of the Belarussians, we obviously deal with a people which are very close to the Russian Slavic brothers so to say, I'm just asking whether there is something like a higher order reasoning and special identity-mythology-mentality or whatever aspect, which goes beyond the "we were people apart for a certain time, have specific Western-Baltic influences and our language is different, we should keep it that way, even if being otherwise really close (obviously)."

First of all I believe in what Dr. Jan Stankievič said: that our language is a precious treasure, a creation of the soul of the nation, more valuable than any gems. And I am no materialist, so take the word “soul” literally.

There exists a stereotype that once upon a time Belarusians and Russians constituted one entity, but were separated and different influences made us different. Actually I am not sure that before XVIII century such an entity ever existed. We can ask Osweo, he will know. I know that Belarusians probably constituted such an entity with Ukrainians for a certain period, but with Muscovites? I could share my thoughts on why the Russification (as accepting the West-Russian identity) was so successful in XIX century, but I doubt if anyone is interested.

I am a bit puzzled by your question, to be honest. For me (maybe because I was brought up that way) everything is simple: we are Belarusians, they are Russians, our fatherland is Belarus, and their fatherland is Russia. We have different history, different mentalities and... What else is needed? Oh, and I am a bit prejudiced against “that terrible Russia, where anything can happen to you”.

Ah and I would like to know how you think about Russian-Belarussian relations in general

¯\(°_o)/¯ I dunno lol. I love Ukrainians more. I have nothing against cooperation in some areas or trade, but the border must be guarded as well as the border with the EU.

WR, if you care so much, why don't you go along to your old school and offer to teach classes of the language, in evenings or whenever, for a minor wage or for free? None of us can change what happens in our countries as a whole, but we can at least have some impact on a handful of people who we are brought in contact with in our daily lives, especially in a teaching environment.

I think I couldn’t do it in our school system. Besides it is possible that they have such facultative classes there (that a teacher who is in need of additional money organizes it).

I am thinking of becoming a professional Grammar Nazi, like Dr. Jan Stankievič and Jury Paciupa (it means some years of additional studies). At the moment those who care so much can do little to prevent “quantitative losses” but a lot to prevent “qualitative losses”. Also I am trying to become a translator, although the fail with Dontsov’s “Nationalism” discouraged me a bit. Why nobody wants to publish that fascistoid masterpiece?

Also, have you written those Рассказы Дзядьи Станкевича yet? The kids are waiting...

No, sir. Not yet.