Word by word: what awaits the Russian language in a century
For years at school, we learned to feel the Russian language — we memorized cases, figured out where to write one "n" and where to write "nn", and tried to understand the logic of exceptions. But modern research suggests looking at it differently. An analysis of more than 1,700 languages around the world shows that the external diversity hides common grammatical principles that are repeated in different cultures, countries and language families. This means that the language as a whole does not develop by chance, but according to certain patterns. This view also changes our understanding of the Russian language. It ceases to be just a set of rules that need to be memorized, and becomes a living system, the development of which can be explained to a certain extent, and therefore try to predict. What our great and mighty one can become in 100 years and what processes are already shaping its future today — in the material of Izvestia.
Why do languages develop according to patterns?
The language is not chaotic, there are stable and repetitive patterns in its development. Despite the vast diversity of the world's languages, their grammatical structure largely follows similar principles, which are manifested in different peoples and in different language families.
These conclusions were reached by an international group of researchers led by Annemarie Verkerk from the University of Saarland and Russell D. Gray from the Max Planck Institute. As part of their work, they analyzed 191 alleged linguistic universals, based on the largest grammatical database to date, Grambank, which includes information on more than 1,700 languages of the world.
The peculiarity of this study lies in the method of analysis. Unlike earlier works, where languages were compared mainly on the basis of geographical or genealogical separation, an approach was used here that allows us to simultaneously take into account both the historical kinship of languages and the influence of geographical proximity. Thanks to this, it was possible to get a more accurate idea of which language features can really be considered universal.
The results turned out to be significant: about a third of the previously proposed "linguistic universals", that is, features common to most languages, received statistical confirmation. Among them are stable preferences in word order, for example, the arrangement of the verb relative to the complement, as well as repetitive types of hierarchical grammatical structures reflecting connections within the sentence. Such features are found in unrelated languages all over the world, which indicates the presence of deep limitations affecting the organization of human speech.
Does the language adapt to us or do we adapt to it?
Language is considered to be a complex system of rules, but in fact its logic is much closer to human nature than it seems. According to Larisa Mikallef, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, people's cognitive limitations (peculiarities of memory, attention and perception) directly shape language, determining which constructions are fixed and which disappear over time. According to her, language is not accidental, it evolves, adapting to the possibilities of consciousness and communication.
— When we perceive speech, we do not analyze it by words — the brain instantly grasps the general meaning based on context and expectations. That is why language strives for convenience, it gets rid of redundancy and fixes forms that are easier to perceive and process faster, the expert believes.
Memory plays a key role in this process. Short, frequent, and structurally transparent units have an advantage over long and sparse ones. Over time, complex designs either simplify or go into the book sphere, giving way to more compact and versatile options.
The attention factor is equally important. The speech is organized so that the interlocutor can quickly grasp the main thing. That's why word order, intonation, and context are so important in language—they direct focus and help hold meaning. Perception, in turn, sets the desire for predictability.
— It is easier for a person to recognize repetitive patterns, so languages develop stable phonetic, morphological and syntactic patterns. Even historical changes follow this logic: complex or rare forms disappear if they can be replaced by simpler means. For example, there are three tenses left in Russian, and more complex forms have given way to combinations with additional words," explains Micallef.
As the philologist emphasizes, language balances between saving effort and maintaining the accuracy of conveying meaning. These processes are especially noticeable today in conversational and digital communications, where the desire for brevity is becoming the norm.
Is Russian already changing?
It's easier to talk about the future of language if you look at the present first. And according to linguists, it is changing right before our eyes, and quite quickly.
Maxim Krongauz, a Soviet and Russian linguist, Doctor of Philology, professor at the Higher School of Economics and the Russian State University of Economics, emphasizes in an interview with Izvestia that the language is constantly changing, but there are periods when the rate of these changes increases dramatically. In the last 30-35 years, Russian has been going through just such a stage. The reasons are large—scale, from perestroika to the advent of the Internet, which literally created a new type of communication.
— We are talking about the so-called hybrid communication. Formally, it is written — we print the text, but, in fact, it is closer to oral speech. We use short phrases, do not strictly follow punctuation, and easily jump from topic to topic. Previously, written speech was almost never used for "conversations," but today it has become the main way of everyday communication.
This directly affects the language. As noted by philologist Larisa Mikallef, there is a noticeable acceleration of tempo in oral speech, words are shortened, sounds are "eaten up", and some phrases are simply omitted — the interlocutor understands them from the context anyway. For example, the familiar "I'll call you back later" is increasingly turning into a short "I'll dial later" or even just "later."
— In written communication, these processes become even more noticeable. Messages in messengers and social networks are built as quickly and simply as possible.: "where are you", "I'll be right there", "ok", "everything is fine". Punctuation marks disappear, sentences are fragmented, and meaning is increasingly conveyed not only by words, but also by emojis or reactions. At the same time, colloquial expressions, professional terms, and even slang elements can easily coexist in one message," the expert clarifies.
A separate change is the blurring of the boundaries between styles. What used to be considered colloquial or even reduced is increasingly being heard in public speech. Politicians, bloggers, and journalists try to speak "more simply" and "closer to people." This leads to a mixture of bookish, colloquial, and sometimes even slang vocabulary.
The dictionary itself is also changing. According to Maxim Krongauz, in recent decades he has been "overwhelmed" with new words. Moreover, they come not only singly, but also in whole "waves". One of the latter is the so—called psychotherapeutic vocabulary. Words like "toxic", "resource", "injury", "depreciation" began to be actively used far beyond the professional environment.
— Interestingly, the changes even affect speech etiquette. For example, the familiar "goodbye" is increasingly being replaced by "see you later." This reflects a deeper shift. Today, communication is less and less related to face—to—face meetings and more and more to constant digital contact," adds the linguist.
At the same time, as experts emphasize, it is important not to confuse the changes with the "destruction" of the language. The basic grammatical constructions remain stable. First of all, vocabulary, style and ways of communication are changing. The Russian language is adapting to a new reality — faster, more digital and less formal.
What will happen to the Russian language in 100 years?
Attempts to look into the future of language always run into one paradox. On the one hand, languages have their own internal patterns, on the other, they are constantly influenced by external factors that are difficult to predict. And it is they who, according to linguists, often turn out to be decisive.
— The history of recent decades confirms this: the advent of the Internet has not just added new words, but has completely changed the very model of communication. However, the main question is what will happen next. Technologies are developing faster than language has time to "comprehend" them, and that is why accurate forecasts become almost impossible. Artificial intelligence is already beginning to influence language, from automatic translations to texts created using algorithms," says Maxim Krongauz.
According to experts, this factor may be even more significant than those that linguistics traditionally studies.
Nevertheless, some areas of change can be identified. First of all, language will continue to respond to technological and social shifts. If in the 1990s the main factor was globalization and with it the active borrowing of words, primarily from English, today there is a reverse movement. The trends towards linguistic and cultural isolation are increasing, which are also beginning to affect the development of Russian.
— This is manifested, for example, in attempts to regulate the language at the state level, including through initiatives aimed at limiting borrowings and supporting the "purity" of Russian. However, as history shows, such measures rarely have a long-term effect. In different periods, including the Soviet period, attempts have already been made to limit the influence of foreign words, but over time the language still returned to a more natural state, the expert notes.
That is why, as emphasized by Krongauz, the internal processes of the language, such as the gradual change of grammar or structure, remain more stable and predictable. But they develop slowly and almost imperceptibly. While dramatic shifts usually occur under the influence of "external explosions" — technological breakthroughs or social changes.
As a result, the future of the Russian language largely depends not only on itself, but on what the world around it will become. Will global processes dominate or will isolation increase? How will the role of technology and artificial intelligence change? The answers to these questions will largely determine what the Russian language will be like in 100 years.
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