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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 186 (2015) 1095 - 1100
5th World Conference on Learning, Teaching and Educational Leadership, WCLTA 2014
The Methodology of Teaching Russian as A Foreign Language to
Slavonic Speaking Students
Irina Erofeeva a*
aKremlyovskaya St, 18, Kazan, 420000, Russian Federation
Abstract
The article deals with the specific character of the educational process connected with studying of Russian as a foreign language by the Slavonic speaking audience. Words phonetically close in related languages pose special difficulty for students. To learn them in the best way it is necessary to establish the reasons for such similarities, to define the character of semantic differences within separate groups of words, to describe the effects of common semantic laws. Using a number of methodological techniques helps to optimise the educational process and promotes creative activity of students. The aim of the investigation is to heighten an interest in learning colloquial Russian. To achieve the aim we have settled such tasks as to identify the reasons for similar sounding of such words in kindred languages (especially Russian and Polish), to investigate the character of semantic divergence within particular groups of words, to search for the ways to overcome difficulties while teaching a kindred language. Here we apply not only a comparative method but also a method of the componental analysis, which predetermines the identification of the common and different in the semantics of related Slavonic lexical items. The statistical method used in the work helps to reveal the degree of affinity of such languages on the lexical level and also to determine how certain common semantic laws operate.
© 2015TheAuthors.PublishedbyElsevier Ltd.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center Keywords: communication, methodology, paronyms, interference, semantic laws, loan words.
1. Introduction
The role of cross-cultural communication has considerably increased in the modern world. It is of great importance in practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language too. "Teaching cross-cultural communication as a
* Irina Erofeeva. Tel.: +7-906-324-1101. E-mail address: erofeeva89@mail.ru
1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.035
process of studying each other and learning about each other is aimed at developing abilities of functioning in a cross-cultural context" (Rolyak, 2013). And learning a different culture allows to achieve a considerable progress in an interlingual dialogue. Taking into account the cultural traditions and the world view, as well as the moral values in education helps to optimise the process of teaching a foreign language. And modern researchers pay attention to this (Chakanova, Karpykbaeva, Beisembaeva and Oshakbaeva, 2014).
Teaching Russian in a Polish audience is connected with specific difficulties caused by genetic relationship of the two Slavonic languages. Similarity of the languages on the lexical level gives an idea of easy understanding of the meaning of separate Russian words the phonetic form of which is close to that of the Polish words. Therefore a teacher of Russian as a foreign language faces with specific problems. Their solution requires the use of certain lingvodidactic techniques. Thus the main method of teaching is not only a comparative method, but a method of a componental analysis as well. Due to this method similarities and differences in the semantics of the related lexemes of the Slavonic origin are clearly revealed.
When teaching the lexical structure of the Russian language to Slavonic speaking students a teacher has to solve a number of methodical problems. They include establishing the reasons for phonetic similarities in the two related languages, understanding the need to consult special dictionaries and other reference books in the study of the meaning of such words, clarifying the factors that caused semantic divergences within separate groups of words, searching for the ways of overcoming the difficulties in teaching a closely related language. The lexical background of the words of common origin is another important aspect. It is to do with additional meanings having developed in a word and determined by a social and cultural background which helps to fully represent a concept. This approach determines the relevance of a linguocultural method in research of the semantics of a word that promotes complete understanding of the meanings of words by foreign students. Taking into account a specific character of language units is one of the major tasks facing the teacher of Russian as a foreign language.
2. The educational process of learning Russian as a foreign language in a Slavonic speaking class
The purpose of teaching the Russian vocabulary should be a formation of a word meaning in a foreign student's mind as full as it is represented in the mind of a Russian native speaker. Such an approach should increase an interest in learning Russian. The Comparative aspect and the orientation to students' native language is extremely necessary, as they promote convenient and adequate lingvodidactic description of lexical units allocated for educational purposes. A Contrastive description of the vocabulary, the establishment of possible correspondences of lexical units in closely related languages is an important part of the Russian speech practice in the Polish audience.
The statistical method used in the work helps to conceive the degree of proximity of these languages at the lexical level, as well as to define results of work of certain universal semantic laws. As a result of the statistical calculation, 520 lexical units similar in sound and different in meaning in the Russian and Polish languages were revealed by the method of continuous selection in the "Big Polish-Russian dictionary" (1980). Such words become a research material, their semantics either completely or partially coinciding in different languages, that requires special commenting from a teacher to increase a linguistic competence of students.
When learning a foreign language many difficulties appear due to the so-called interference. The nature of this phenomenon is a perception of the units of a foreign language through a native language and culture which can lead to misunderstanding (Gasek, 2010). Significant number of mistakes is caused by a phonetic similarity of Russian words and the words of the students' native language. The Risk of misinterpretation of words almost identical in their form and sound but different in meaning, always exists, but in teaching a related language it doubles. That is why a teacher of Russian as a foreign language needs to develop such methodological techniques that would promote not only understanding of Russian words similar to those in the students' native language, but also to determine the main areas of work with such lexemes in Russian classes. In this case a teacher has to skillfully use their knowledge of Comparative Lexicology and Semasiology which investigates similar microsystems in two related languages.
Words that sound similar in related languages are known under various names in theoretical literature "false friends" (Budagov, 1974), "interlingual homonyms" (Koptilov, 1962; Lobkovskaya, 2012), "deceptive interlingual similarities" (Grosbart, 1984), "interlingual paronyms" (Balalykina, 1988), etc. In our opinion, the la tter name is the
most precise as it reflects a specific character of such words, unable to coincide entirely in sound because of the differences in articulation of certain sounds in different languages. In addition, the pronunciation of these words are only similar, but not exactly the same, therefore, they can't be interpreted as homonyms. Interlingual paronyms include words either going back to the common Slavonic root, having a similar sound structure and different in semantics, or being loanwords from the same language in the Russian and Polish languages. Similarity in their sound was the result of regular and natural phonetic changes within a common Slavonic root, and the differences in meaning were caused by the effects of certain semantic laws which can be demonstrated by the comparative analysis of the lexemes of the related languages.
The explanation of the reasons for semantic divergences of cognate words in the Russian and Polish languages, motivates students to study this language, enhances their creativity, optimises the teaching process as a whole. Regular semantic laws include broadening or narrowing of the meaning in the process of the historical development, as well as in the context of usage. Broadening is a gradual extension in the semantic scope of a word that originally had narrower semantics. Narrowing of the meaning is the opposite. It's a contraction of the semantic scope of a word. According to N.V.Krushevsky, such processes are explained by the fact, that language can never have as many words, as required to name the infinite, always changing and increasing mass of concepts (1998). The specificity of these universal regularities at interlingual level is that words of various origin may not coincide in their semantic scope in the Russian and Polish. The Processes of broadening and narrowing of a word meaning are peculiar in each of the languages which is caused by various factors, including the linguistic and extralinguistic ones.
There are words widely used in modern Slavonic languages that were borrowed from different languages: the Romance, Germanic, Turkic languages, etc. Their penetration into Slavonic languages is connected with the extralinguistic factors, the social development conditions and the interaction between different peoples. Certain factors affect a language during different periods of its history and they cause the appearance of loan words, and this process is specific for each stage. In modern Slavonic languages loan words form a considerable part of the vocabulary and they function with no restriction. Phonetic similarities of loan words are due to their common origin. But there cannot be full coincidence in sound, as the articulation of similar sounds in different languages is different, and therefore when loan words are adapted to the phonetic systems of the Russian and the Polish languages there appear certain discrepancies between the lexemes of the same origin. The transformation of the meanings of the loan words also inevitably happens under the influence of a number of linguistic, and extralinguistic factors.
Loan words in Russian and Polish may have derived from the common language source. They may even have no differences in their semantics. It is the easiest group of words to learn in Russian classes. It includes such lexemes as pacjent - pacient "pacient". They are loan words both in Polish and Russian and they entirely coincide in meaning.
It is known that when loan words appear in a language they undergo a phonetic and grammatical adaptation to the borrowing language. These changes are accompanied by the transformation of their semantics. The same foreign words enter Russian and Polish at different times and under different historical conditions, therefore their meanings are transformed in different ways in comparison with the source language. It's important to pay special attention to such loan words that are characterised by phonetic similarity, but express different meanings in the Russian and Polish languages. For example, in Polish a word garnitur has a broader semantic scope than in Russian. In Polish it means "men's suit" and "set, kit, suit of furniture", but in Russian garnitur means only "complete set, kit". These loan words partly coincide in their meanings, and it is due to their etymology, that they go back to a common source - a French word garniture that means "device, set, suit, lining", and it is naturally reflected in the semantics of both a Russian and a Polish word.
The opposite has also been noted, when a Russian loan word has a broader semantic scope, than a corresponding Polish one. That is a Russian word is used in a broad (generic) meaning, while the Polish correspondence is used in a narrower, concretised (specific) meaning. The word lekciya that came from Latin means in Russian "the act of instruction at an institution of higher education" and "a public speech on any subject", while in Polish lekcja means "a lesson". Five such words have been found in the languages compared.
A separate group of loan words is represented by the lexemes that came to Russian from Polish. Their consonance with the corresponding words in Russian requires special attention from a teacher of Russian, as they are very well-known to native speakers of Polish. It is necessary to give an additional comment and appropriate
illustrative material for correct understanding of the semantics of such words by students. To learn a foreign language properly one has to prevent mistakes caused by the interlingual interference. So, a Polish word scarb has a number of meanings in Polish: "hoard", "treasure", "national treasury", while in Russian the word scarb is used with a different meaning, close to the opposite "belongings, household things".
A special group of loan words is represented by the lexemes that came to Russian via Polish. As a rule, in the Polish language they are borrowings from West European languages. In this case changes in semantics go in the same direction. For example, the Russian word delegaciya meaning "a group of delegates representing the state, team" has a narrower semantic scope, than the corresponding Polish word delegacja that has a number of meanings: "a delegation", "a business trip", "a traveling certificate". In Polish this word is used to name not only a group of persons, but also an action and concrete subjects associated with this action. Such a divergence in the meanings poses difficulties in translating Polish texts into Russian. Introducing these lexemes in a Polish audience it is important to pay special attention to them as students, as a rule, automatically transfer semantics of a Polish word to a Russian word. That is why it is a special category of the vocabulary that was originally adapted to Polish. Compairing of such paronyms and commenting on them in Russian classes activates the system of linguistic associations, stimulates students' creativity, and motivates them to study Russian. The problem of interlingual paronyms is important both in practice and in theory, as it differentiates loan words incidentally coinciding in sound (for example, a Russian word angel'skij meaning "angelic" and the Polish word angielski meaning "English"), and genuine paronyms that go back to the same source and have developed additional meanings specified by the semantic laws stated above..
Interlingual paronyms that go back to the common Slavonic root, have similarities in sound in the Slavonic languages due to the action of the phonetic laws, and various meanings that have developed historically on the basis of a shared root need special attention from teachers of Russian.
To determine the main directions of the semantic demarcation of Russian-Polish words that are similar in sound it is necessary to keep in mind regular changes in the semantics of the common Slavonic root. Broadening or narrowing of the semantic scope of a word in the process of its historical development or usage is among such natural semantic transformations. The difference in sound of such words is connected with historical transformations of the phonetic shape of their common Slavonic root. The identity of the formations mentioned above can be proved easily by the historical explanation of regular sound changes that happen on the basis of their common source. Such system correspondences as Russian -oro- and Polish -ro-, Russian -olo- and Polish -lo-, Russian initial o- and Polish e- and others appear as a result of these changes.
There can be two main types of lexical correspondences as a result of the development of the common Slavonic root. Firstly, a Russian word can preserve a former, broad, common Slavonic meaning, and the Polish paronym can be used in a narrower, special meaning. For example, a Russian kromka means "lengthwise edge of fabric", "edge of something in general" and the Polish kromka means "hunch (of bread)". A well -known example of this kind is a Russian word nedelya meaning "seven days" and the Polish niedziela meaning "Sunday".
In the second group of words, common Slavonic by origin, Polish lexemes are characterised by broader meanings, and Russian paronyms are used in narrower, special meanings. This type includes such words as Polish susza in the meaning of "drought, dry" and Russian susha in the meaning of "land". It is interesting that the oldest meaning "to make dry" is realised in a word sushka derived from this root and formed by means of the common Slavonic suffix -k-. In Polish the word suszka has a number of meanings, such as "blotting paper", "blotter", "a dead tree", "a mop". In Russian the word sushka means only "a small dry bread ring". All meanings of this word in Russian and Polish are the result of the development of the Indo-European root with a common meaning of "dry". Another example of this sort is Polish groza meaning "horror, nightmare" and Russian groza meaning "the atmospheric phenomenon - bad weather with thunder and lightning". The same type of relationship can be seen in the word kwas which in Polish preserves a wide semantic scope of the common Slavonic period. The Polish kwas is "acid" in general. In Russian the meaning of the word kvas has narrowed to "a kind of sour drink". For better learning and understanding of the meanings of such lexemes in Russian a teacher should draw students' special attention to the materials found not only in thesauruses, but also in historical-etymological dictionaries.
Morphological derivatives are also interesting cases of semantic changes of words at interlingual level. There are far fewer such words than non-derivative ones and it is an important characteristic feature of interlingual paronymy. Many common Slavonic word formation models coincide in Russian and Polish. Certain semantic processes are
reflected in derivative words motivated by a root and affixes of common origin. Therefore it is necessary to pay attention to the nature of their derivative stem and word-formative formants when defining derivative words.
There is a significant amount of common Slavonic suffixes in related Slavonic languages. They include, for example, the suffix -osc, that originally expressed the meaning of an abstract attribute. In the process of the functioning in the language, words with this affix can undergo specifications of meaning. This happened to a Polish word zywnosc that means "food, produce, products" while the Russian word zhivnost' preserves a broader meaning "living creatures". Other words keep the abstract meaning of the suffix but develop different meanings of the root. For example, the word rzewnosc in Polish means "sensitivity, sentimentality" and in Russian revnost' has a narrower meaning "doubt in someone's fidelity, love".
The processes of broadening and narrowing of words' meanings are also reflected in words of different derivational models. For example, verbal nouns with a common Slavonic suffix -ba have different meanings in Russian and Polish. In such pairs as Russian druzhba meaning "close relations based on mutual trust" and Polish druzba meaning of "a best man, comrade", Russian strel'ba meaning "firing practice" and Polish strzelba meaning "a gun" the Russian words are used in a broader meaning, than the Polish counterpart. And, on the contrary, rez'ba in Russian means "a figure carved on wood, bone", and rzezba in Polish means "a sculpture, fretwork", the Russian words are narrower in their meanings, than the Polish ones.
In addition to the mentioned groups of Russian-Polish paronyms that may be very interesting for students learning Russian. There are several groups of phonetically similar words in Russian and Polish which have different meanings due to more complex and various changes of a less regular character. These include such lexemes the meanings of which are the result of semantic transfers on contiguity, close position of objects in space, transfers from a whole to a part and from a part to a whole, that is the result of metaphorical, metonymic and other processes typically considered within one language. But they can be observed at interlingual level too. And when such lexemes are commented on it can help to develop students' linguistic awareness and boost their interest in learning Russian. So, a word of the common Slavonic origin pojazd in Polish has an extremely broad meaning of "a vehicle, a means of transport" connected with the semantics of the parent word, while in Russian the word poezd realises its metonymic meaning "stock of railway cars".
Specific relations between paronyms of the Russian and Polish languages are observed in separate lexical-thematic groups. For example, a group of words with a common meaning of time includes the words chas - czas and godina - godzina, they are characterised by the opposite meanings. In Russian chas means "measure of time of sixty minutes", in Polish czas means "time"; in Russian godina means "time of important events", in Polish godzina means "measure of time of sixty minutes".
The interlingual paronyms that go back to the same Slavonic root can also have opposite meanings. This phenomenon is connected with the uncertainty of ancient roots able to express contrasting semantics. "Polysemy is an undoubted property and characteristic feature of ancient root words, and one of the most important reasons for an enantiosemy" (Shertsl, 1883). Opposite meanings of words are of great interest among students who are eager to define both the content of such relations, and the reasons for the development of the contrasting semantics of similar lexemes. For example, Russian tucha means "a dark cloud carrying rain" and the Polish t^cha means "a rainbow", Russian von' means "fetid odour" and the Polish won means "smell, fragrance", Russian popirat' in means "to violate" and the Polish popierac means "to support", Russian obdelit' has the meaning "to deprive of something when sharing, distributing" and the Polish obdzielic means "to give", Russian zakazat' has the meaning "to charge somebody to do something" and the Polish zakazac means "to forbid", etc. Words expressing the opposite meanings require special attention when learnt. They need special commenting on their collocations and contextual use with an accurate explanation of their semantic and stylistic features. It is necessary to present the initial broad, diffusive meaning of the common Slavonic root for the explanation of their development in the language. The opposite meanings of the Russian-Polish paronyms result from the historical development of the common Slavonic root.
3. Conclusion
Thus, the appearance of similar cognate words in related Slavonic languages is due to the development of a common Slavonic root or to loan words borrowed from a common source. Due to the impact of the semantic laws which are universal in nature, these words gain different meanings in modern languages, sometimes even opposite ones. Presenting them to Polish students learning Russian, certainly, motivates the students to learn the language, as it reflects very important relations between words similar in their sound shape, the wrong definition of their semantics leading to practical mistakes as a result of the so-called interference. It is important to explain to the students why words of the common origin have diverged in their semantics. This requires from a teacher to the knowledge of the lexical structure of the compared languages, the universal semantic laws, the main types of semantic transformations and the necessary information of historical and etymological character.
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