The philologist explained the growing interest of Russians in checking literacy

The increase in the number of requests to language reference services is not due to a decrease in literacy, but to an increase in attention to the norms of the Russian language. On March 30, philologist and comparative linguist Alyona Popova told Izvestia about this.

"Modern users are increasingly checking the spelling of words and rules, which indicates an increase in language reflection. At the same time, the stability of spelling skills decreases, which is associated with a decrease in the volume of handwriting and the active use of autocorrect," the expert explained.

Popova stressed that the rules of combined and separate spelling, especially with "not", as well as the use of one and two letters "n" in participles and adjectives, most often cause difficulties for users. She also mentioned compound prepositions such as "during" and "in continuation" among common mistakes.

At the same time, according to the expert, simple rules can help in most cases. For example, when choosing a spelling with "not", you can focus on the possibility of replacing the word with a synonym without negation. However, in difficult situations, the expert recommends using dictionaries and specialized resources.

In addition, Popova noted that slang should be recorded in dictionaries, but it should be done carefully. According to her, such words are included in academic publications only after they are fixed in writing and go beyond narrow communities.

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Starting from March 1, 2026, entrepreneurs will face fines for using foreign words.

Russian Russian Ministry of Education expert Natalia Kozlovskaya, Head of the Russian Language Department at the A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, said on March 24 that the word "hobbyhorsing" could be included in one of the dictionaries of the Russian language as the official language, provided that the popularity of this sport would increase.

Prior to that, on February 25, Popova told Izvestia that the appearance and spread of the term "abuser" reflected a social demand. Today, the word "abuser" is most often used in the context of psychology and the discussion of personal boundaries, toxic relationships between partners, parents and children, as well as in work and friendships.

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