Speech Culture: Fundamentals and Norms

People live in society, and communication is an integral part of human existence. Therefore, without it, evolution of the mind would hardly have been possible. At first, these were attempts at communication, similar to babble, which gradually, with the advent of civilization, began to improve. A letter appeared, and the speech became not only oral, but also written, which made it possible to preserve the achievements of mankind for future descendants. These monuments can be traced and the development of oral traditions of speech. What is speech culture and speech culture? What are their norms? Is it possible to master the speech culture on my 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 a meaning that is close in meaning to communication and speech. This is part of the culture associated with the use of verbal signals, which means the language, its ethnicity, functional and social varieties, which are oral and written.

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, the 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, evolved gradually. Over time, there was a need to systematize existing knowledge of the language. Thus, a section of linguistics called the culture of speech appeared. This section explores the problems of normalizing the language in order to improve it.

How was the speech culture formed?

Speech culture and speech culture as a branch of linguistics developed in stages. They reflect all the changes that have occurred in the language. For the first time, they began to think about fixing the norms of written speech in the 18th century, when society realized that the absence of uniform rules of writing makes communication difficult. In 1748, V. K. Trediakovsky wrote about Russian spelling in his work, "A Conversation Between an Alien and a Russian about Spelling Old and New."

But the foundations of grammar and stylistics 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 speech culture research with their rhetoric writings.

Linguists of the pre-revolutionary period understood the importance of rationing the rules of the language. In 1911, a book by V. I. Chernyshevsky appeared, “The 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 public activities were carried out by people whose speech was simple and abounded with slang and dialect expressions. The literary language would be in jeopardy if the layer of the Soviet intelligentsia had not formed in the 1920s. She fought for the purity of the Russian language, and the installation 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” arise. These terms are first applied to a new, reformed language.

In the postwar years, speech culture as a discipline receives a new round in development. An important contribution to the formation of 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 Speech Culture.

The 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 was published.
• The scientific principles of speech culture have been clarified.
• Issues of the "Dictionary of the Russian literary language."
• At the Institute of the Russian Language of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, a speech culture sector appears under the direction of S.I. Under his editorship, the journal Issues of Speech Culture is published.
• V.V. Vinogradov, D.E. Rosenthal and L.I. Skvortsov are working on the theoretical justification of some issues. They devote their work to the separation of two terms from each other - “speech culture” and “language culture”.

In the 1970s, the culture of speech became an independent discipline. She appears subject, object, methodology and methods of scientific research.

Linguists of the 90s are not far behind their predecessors. At the end of the 20th century, a number of works devoted to the problem of speech culture were published.

The development of speech and the culture of verbal communication continue to be some of the pressing linguistic problems. Today, the attention of linguists is focused on such issues.

• Establishment of 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 occurring in modern speech practice.

What are the signs 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:

1. Right. Coordination of speech with pronunciation, grammatical and stylistic norms of the language. In accordance with them, it is necessary to put emphasis in words correctly, to speak in accordance with the rules of grammar. Speech styles should be used according to the communication situation.
2. Communicative expediency. It implies the ability to use stylistic gradations of words and expressions in appropriate communicative situations .
3. The accuracy of the statement. It implies the truth of the speech utterance and the accuracy of the expression of thought in the word.
4. The consistency of presentation. A true 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 proving or refuting the hypothesis.
5. Clarity and accessibility. It implies intelligibility of speech for the interlocutors. This goal can be achieved by using unambiguous words, phrases and grammatical constructions.
6. The purity of speech. It implies the absence of elements alien to the literary language and moral standards - parasitic words, dialecticisms, vernacular words, barbarism, jargon and vulgar words.
7. Expressiveness. A method of delivering material that interests the listener. It can be informational (the audience is interested in the information provided) and emotional (the audience is interested in the way the information is presented).
8. A variety of means of expression should be understood as the ability to use a large number of synonyms. The speaker owns a large volume of vocabulary, which is in active use.
9. Aesthetics is the rejection by the literary language of offensive expressions. To give aesthetics to speech, emotionally neutral words should be used.
10. Relevance - the selection and organization of language tools in a way that helps to achieve the goals and conditions of communication.

Knowing the basics of speech culture and applying them for their intended purpose is the duty of every educated person.

What is a 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 linguistic means also matters. An important role here is played by how well developed speech communication and the culture of speech are. Let's consider a question in more detail.

Types of speech cultures are divided into 6 main types:

• Elitist. Assumes fluency in existing language features, including creative ones. This type implies strict observance of all the norms of the language and a ban on the use of rude and slang expressions.
• The average literary. Incomplete compliance, abundance of speech in book or colloquial terms. The carriers of this type of culture are the majority of educated urban residents. Its dissemination is facilitated by contemporary works of art and the media.
• Literary and colloquial. They are characterized by a low level of style and rude speech, which is close to vernacular. These types are a kind of literary speech and are used by carriers who are in close kinship and friendships.
• Vernacular is characterized by a low educational and cultural level of speakers. It has a limited vocabulary, typical inability to build complex sentences, an abundance of swear words and parasitic words. In oral and written speech there are a large number of errors.
• Professionally limited. It is characterized by limited and impaired 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 vernacular expressions and dialectisms and keeps it intact and in accordance with generally accepted standards.
• Communicative. It implies the presence of 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.
• Ethical. Means observance of speech etiquette, that is, 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 examined the concepts of “language”, “speech culture” as a social phenomenon that characterizes society. But society is made up of individuals. Therefore, 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. For communicative perfection, a person must possess all of them. Mastering them requires knowledge of the patterns, signs and patterns of constructing communicatively perfect speech, mastery of etiquette and the psychological foundations of communication.

Human speech culture is not static - it, like language, is subject to changes that depend both on social transformations and on the person himself. She begins to form with the first words of the child. It grows with it, transforming into the speech culture of a preschooler, then a schoolchild, student and adult. The older a person, the more perfect his speaking, writing, reading and listening skills become.

What are the differences 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 linguistic picture of the world;

• the use of verbal and non-verbal means;

• a collection of texts, including all texts ever written in this language - both ancient and modern.

Under the ethnic picture of the world, we understand the totality of views on the world through the words and expressions of a particular language, which is shared by all speaking people and is taken for granted. But the difference between the national pictures of the world can easily be traced through the analysis of folklore, the epithets used. For example, the expressions “bright head” and “kind heart” imply high intelligence and responsiveness. It is no coincidence that in these epithets a head and a heart were chosen, since in the understanding of Russian people think with their heads and feel with their hearts. But in other languages ​​this is not so. For example, in the ifaluk language, the intestines transmit internal feelings, in the Dogon language, the liver, and in the Hebrew heart they do not feel, but think.

At what level is the modern Russian culture of speech?

Modern speech culture reflects:

• typological features of the Russian language;
• scope 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 science about the Russian language.

Russian speech etiquette

Under Russian speech etiquette understand the totality of the norms and rules of communication, which evolved under the influence of national culture.

Russian speech etiquette divides communication into formal and informal. Formal is communication between people who are little familiar with each other. They are connected by an event or occasion on which they gathered. Such communication requires unquestioning observance of etiquette. Unlike this style, informal communication takes place between people who are familiar with each other. This is a family, friends, relatives, neighbors.

The peculiarities of speech etiquette in Russia suggest an appeal to a person at you during formal communication. In this case, you need to contact the interlocutor by name and patronymic. This is necessary, since forms similar to “sir,” “mister,” “mrs.” Or “miss” are absent in Russian speech etiquette. There is a common “ladies and gentlemen”, but it applies to a large number of people. In pre-revolutionary Russia there were such appeals as the emperor and madame, but with the advent of the Bolsheviks they were supplanted by such words as a comrade, citizen and citizen. With the collapse of the USSR, the word "comrade" became outdated and acquired its original meaning - "friend", and "citizen" and "citizen" began to be associated with the police or the court. Over time, they disappeared, and words that attracted attention came to replace it. For example, “sorry”, “sorry”, “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 ones are prohibited.

In general, the culture of speech etiquette is assimilated 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, proponents of the colloquial type of speech culture will teach their child how to communicate with simple and uncomplicated sentences.

Is it possible to independently develop a speech culture?

The development of speech culture depends not only on the environment of a person, but also on himself. In conscious age, if desired, it can be developed independently. To do this, you need to devote time daily to independent studies. 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 carry out tasks not only together, but also separately. Initially, a similar lesson in speech culture will take 15-20 minutes, but will gradually increase to an hour.

1. Vocabulary expansion. For the exercise you need to take any literary text and dictionary of Russian or foreign languages. Write or underline all the words of one part of the speech - nouns, adjectives or verbs. And then pick up synonyms. This exercise helps to expand your passive vocabulary.

2. Writing a story by keywords. Take any book, pick at random 5 closed words with your eyes closed and write a story based on them. Up to 4 texts need to be compiled at a time, each of which takes no more than 3 minutes in time. This exercise promotes the development of imagination, logic and quick wit. The more difficult option is to compose a story of 10 words.

3. Conversation with a mirror. For this exercise you will need the text from task 2. Stand at the mirror and tell your story without facial expressions. Then retell your story a second time, while connecting facial expressions. Analyze your facial expression and the style of the story by answering 2 questions - “do you like your facial expression and the way you present information” and “will others like them”. This task is aimed at developing the habit of consciously managing your facial expressions.

4. Listening to the recorder. This exercise will help you to hear yourself from the outside and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your speech, and therefore, correct the flaws and learn how to use the advantages of your manner of speaking. Read any text or poem you like to the recorder. Listen, analyze it as the previous task, and try to retell or memorize a second time, taking into account corrections.

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