LITERARY LANGUAGE, supra-dialectal subsystem (form of existence) national language, which is characterized by such features as normativity, codification, multifunctionality, stylistic differentiation, high social prestige among speakers of a given national language.

Literary language is the main means of serving the communicative needs of society; it is opposed to the uncodified subsystems of the national language - territorial dialects, urban koine (urban vernacular), professional and social jargons.

The concept of a literary language can be defined both on the basis of the linguistic properties inherent in a given subsystem of the national language, and by delimiting the totality of speakers of this subsystem, isolating it from the general composition of people speaking a given language. The first method of definition is linguistic, the second is sociological.

V.V. Vinogradov. Literary language (philology.ru)
Literary language is the common written language of one or another people, and sometimes several peoples - language of official business documents, school education, written and everyday communication, science, journalism, fiction, all manifestations of culture expressed in verbal form, often written, but sometimes oral. That is why there are differences between written-book and oral-spoken forms of literary language, the emergence, correlation and interaction of which are subject to certain historical patterns.

It is difficult to point out another linguistic phenomenon that would be understood as differently as literary language. Some are convinced that the literary language is the same common language, only "polished" language masters, i.e. writers, word artists; Proponents of this view primarily have in mind the literary language of modern times and, moreover, among peoples with a rich literary literature.

Others believe that there is a literary language written language, book language, opposing live speech, spoken language. The basis for this understanding is literary languages ​​with ancient writing (cf. the recent term “newly written languages”).

Still others believe that a literary language is a language that is generally significant for a given people, in contrast to dialect and jargon, which do not have signs of such universal significance. Supporters of this view sometimes argue that a literary language can exist in the preliterate period as the language of folk verbal and poetic creativity or customary law.

Kolesov V.V. Old Russian literary language.- L.: Publishing house Leningr. University, 1989.
Long debates regarding whether the modern Russian literary language is based on Church Slavonic or Russian are, from a scientific point of view, pointless in essence, in content, and in references to authorities.

Obnorsky's hypothesis is the continuation and development of Shakhmatov's theory in new historical conditions, when, based on an in-depth study of Russian dialects (started by Shakhmatov) and the historical development of the Russian language, the real significance of church book texts in the formation of the Russian literary language became clear. The object of study also expanded: for Shakhmatov it was mainly phonetics and grammatical forms, while for Obnorsky it was grammatical categories, semantics, and style. In recent years, this point of view has been thoroughly argued (Filin, 1981; Gorshkov, 1984) and does not need to be defended. There is no alternative.

The term “literary language” in its origin turns out to be related to the concept of “literature”, and in its etymological understanding - “based on letters”, that is, on a letter, in fact, a written language. Indeed, the medieval literary language is only a written language, a collection of texts for literary purposes. All other features of a literary language follow from this abstract definition through the term and therefore seem logical and understandable.

The diverse terms that have been layered on the subject of study represent, in fact, only an attempt to get out of the vicious circle of formal logic: the signs of a concept are considered signs of a non-existent object, and the object is defined through the same signs of the concept. Literary - non-literary, written - oral, folk - cultural (even cult, in the latter case there are many synonyms), processed - raw, as well as polysemantic and therefore uncertain in meaning - system, norm, function, style. The more such definitions (which apparently clarify our idea of ​​the object), the more the concept of “literary language” is emptied: the introduction of each subsequent one increases the content of the concept so much that it reduces its volume to the limits of insignificance.

Of the many definitions existing in science, the most acceptable seems to be the definition of the literary language as a function of the national language; therefore, literary “language” is a literary variety of the use of the Russian language, and not an independent language (Gorshkov, 1983). This understanding of the literary language lies in line with the Russian scientific tradition and is determined by the historical approach to the problem of the literary language. At the same time, it explains the development of various spheres of “cultural speaking”, justifying the existence of the very term “literary language” - since the latter is indeed a typical form of existence of the folk (national) language, and not speech in the narrow sense of the word. Historically, colloquial forms were replaced by increasingly improved “cultural” forms of language; the selection of linguistic forms as the structure of the native language develops constitutes the content of this historical process.

Literary language is the basis of speech culture (Rhetoric - distedu.ru)
Literary language constitutes the highest form of the national language. It is the language of culture, literature, education, and the media. It serves various spheres of human activity: politics, science, legislation, official business communication, everyday communication, international communication, print, radio, television.

Among the varieties of the national language (vernacular, territorial and social dialects, jargons), the literary language plays a leading role.
Main features of a literary language:
- processing (literary language is a language processed by masters of words: writers, poets, scientists, public figures);
- stability (stability);
- mandatory for all native speakers;
- normalization;
- presence of functional styles.

D. A. Golovanova, E. V. Mikhailova, E. A. Shcherbaeva. Russian language and culture of speech. Crib

(LIBRUSEC - lib.rus.ec)
CONCEPT AND SIGNS OF LITERARY LANGUAGE

Literary language is a national written language, the language of official and business documents, school teaching, written communication, science, journalism, fiction, all manifestations of culture expressed in verbal form (written and sometimes oral), perceived by native speakers of this language as exemplary. Literary language is the language of literature in a broad sense. The Russian literary language functions both in oral form and in written form.

Signs of a literary language:

1) the presence of writing;

2) normalization is a fairly stable way of expression that expresses historically established patterns of development of the Russian literary language. Standardization is based on the language system and is enshrined in the best examples of literary works. This method of expression is preferred by the educated part of society;

3) codification, i.e. fixed in scientific literature; this is expressed in the availability of grammatical dictionaries and other books containing rules for using the language;

4) stylistic diversity, i.e. the variety of functional styles of the literary language;

5) relative stability;

6) prevalence;

7) common use;

8) universal obligatory;

9) compliance with the use, customs and capabilities of the language system.

The protection of the literary language and its norms is one of the main tasks of speech culture. Literary language unites people linguistically. The leading role in the creation of a literary language belongs to the most advanced part of society.

Each of the languages, if it is sufficiently developed, has two main functional varieties: literary language and living spoken language. Every person masters live spoken language from early childhood. The mastery of a literary language occurs throughout human development until old age.

Literary language must be generally understandable, that is, accessible to all members of society. Literary language must be developed to such an extent as to be able to serve the main areas of human activity. In speech, it is important to observe the grammatical, lexical, spelling and accentological norms of the language. Based on this, an important task for linguists is to consider everything new in a literary language from the point of view of compliance with the general patterns of language development and the optimal conditions for its functioning.

This publication will help you systematize previously acquired knowledge, as well as prepare for an exam or test and pass it successfully. The manual is intended for students of higher and secondary educational institutions.

• 1 CONCEPT AND SIGNS OF LITERARY LANGUAGE
• 2 MULTIFUNCTIONALITY OF THE RUSSIAN LITERARY LANGUAGE. DIFFERENCE IN THE FUNCTIONS OF LITERARY LANGUAGE AND THE LANGUAGE OF FICTION
• 6 LANGUAGE NORM, ITS ROLE IN THE FORMATION AND FUNCTIONING OF LITERARY LANGUAGE
• 7 FUNCTIONAL STYLES IN MODERN RUSSIAN LITERARY LANGUAGE
• 11 NORMATIVE, COMMUNICATIVE, ETHICAL ASPECTS OF ORAL AND WRITTEN SPEECH
• 12 OFFICIAL BUSINESS STYLE, SCOPE OF ITS OPERATION, GENRE DIVERSITY
• 17 PREPARATION OF A SPEECH: SELECTION OF A TOPIC, PURPOSE OF SPEECH, SEARCH FOR MATERIAL, STARTING, DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLETION OF SPEECH
• 18 BASIC TECHNIQUES FOR SEARCHING MATERIAL AND TYPES OF SUPPORTING MATERIALS

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by liters company.

1 CONCEPT AND SIGNS OF LITERARY LANGUAGE

Literary language is a national written language, the language of official and business documents, school teaching, written communication, science, journalism, fiction, all manifestations of culture expressed in verbal form (written and sometimes oral), perceived by native speakers of this language as exemplary. Literary language is the language of literature in a broad sense. The Russian literary language functions both in oral form and in written form.

Signs of a literary language:

1) the presence of writing;

2) normalization is a fairly stable way of expression that expresses historically established patterns of development of the Russian literary language. Standardization is based on the language system and is enshrined in the best examples of literary works. This method of expression is preferred by the educated part of society;

3) codification, i.e. fixed in scientific literature; this is expressed in the availability of grammatical dictionaries and other books containing rules for using the language;

4) stylistic diversity, i.e. the variety of functional styles of the literary language;

5) relative stability;

6) prevalence;

7) common use;

8) universal obligatory;

9) compliance with the use, customs and capabilities of the language system.

The protection of the literary language and its norms is one of the main tasks of speech culture. Literary language unites people linguistically. The leading role in the creation of a literary language belongs to the most advanced part of society.

Each of the languages, if it is sufficiently developed, has two main functional varieties: literary language and living spoken language. Every person masters live spoken language from early childhood. The mastery of a literary language occurs throughout human development until old age.

Literary language must be generally understandable, that is, accessible to all members of society. Literary language must be developed to such an extent as to be able to serve the main areas of human activity. In speech, it is important to observe the grammatical, lexical, spelling and accentological norms of the language. Based on this, an important task for linguists is to consider everything new in a literary language from the point of view of compliance with the general patterns of language development and the optimal conditions for its functioning.

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The given introductory fragment of the book Russian language and culture of speech. Cheat sheet (E. A. Shcherbaeva) provided by our book partner -

One from features of a literary language - its processing.“The first who understood this perfectly was Pushkin,” wrote A. M. Gorky, he was the first to show how the speech material of the people should be used, how it should be processed.”

The reformist nature of A.S.’s creativity Pushkin is recognized by everyone. He believed that any word is acceptable if it accurately, figuratively expresses the concept, conveys the meaning. Folk speech is especially rich in this regard. Acquaintance with his works shows how creatively and originally Pushkin included colloquial words in poetic speech, gradually diversifying and complicating their functions.

And in the future, Russian writers and poets took part in enriching the literary language. Krylov, Griboyedov, Gogol, Turgenev, Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. Tolstoy, Chekhov did especially a lot. Politicians, scientists, cultural and artistic figures, journalists, radio and television workers participate in the processing of the Russian literary language and its improvement.

“All material – and especially language,” A.M. rightly noted. Gorky, - requires a careful selection of all the best that is in him - clear, precise, colorful, sonorous, and - further loving development this is the best." That's what processing is all about language.

Another distinctive feature of the literary language is availability of written and oral forms, as well as two varieties - book and colloquial speech.

Thanks to writing carried out accumulative function of language, its continuity, tradition. The existence of functional-style spheres of the literary language, that is, book and colloquial speech, allows it to be means of culture (fiction, journalism, theater, cinema, television, radio). There is constant interaction between these two varieties, interpenetration. As a result, not only does the literary language itself become richer and more diverse, but also the possibilities for its use increase.

A sign of a literary language is considered presence of functional styles. Depending on the goals and objectives that are set and solved during communication, various linguistic means are selected and unique varieties of a single literary language, functional styles, are formed.

Term functional style emphasizes that varieties of literary language are distinguished based on the functions (roles), which performs tongue in each specific case.

Scientific works, textbooks, reports are written scientific style; memos, financial reports, orders, instructions are drawn up in formal business style; articles in newspapers, speeches by journalists on radio and television are mainly conducted in newspaper and journalistic style; in any informal setting, when everyday topics are discussed, impressions of the past day are shared, it is used conversational everyday style.

Multifunctionality literary language led to the emergence variable units at all levels: phonetic, word-formation, lexical, phraseological, morphological, syntactic. In this regard, there is a desire to differentiate the use of variants, to endow them with shades of meaning and stylistic coloring, which leads to an enrichment of the synonymy of the Russian language.

The variability of linguistic units, the richness and diversity of lexical-phraseological and grammatical synonymy distinguishes the literary language and is its characteristic.

The most important feature of a literary language is its normativity. Norm – uniform, exemplary, generally accepted usage elements of language(words, phrases, sentences); rules for the use of speech means in a certain period of development of the literary language.

Standards exist for both oral and written speech. For example, accentological (stress) and orthoepic (pronunciation) norms relate to oral speech; Orthographic (spelling) and punctuation norms are characteristic of written speech. Word formation, lexical, morphological, syntactic norms] must be observed in oral and written speech.

All of the listed features constitute a feature of the literary language as the highest form of the national Russian language.

Literary norm

Literary language is a strictly standardized form of the national common language. All aspects of the language are subject to processing and normalization in a literary language: writing, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, word formation. The rules governing the use of words, their formation, combination, grammatical forms, pronunciation, spelling, sentence construction are called literary norms.

The literary norm changes and develops over time, and at different language levels the degree of mobility of the norm is not the same. For example, orthoepic norms (pronunciation and stress) underwent significant changes throughout the 20th century, while grammatical norms (rules for the formation of sentences, phrases and words) were more stable.

Literary norms have very important social significance. Without firmly established language norms, people would have difficulty understanding each other.

Also, the literary norm protects the national language from the introduction of everything random and private. Literary and linguistic norms are mandatory for the mass press, radio and television, and entertainment enterprises; they are enshrined in reference literature, dictionaries and textbooks.

A significant contribution to the development of literary and linguistic norms was made by N.M. Karamzin, M.V. Lomonosov, M. Yu. Lermontov, A.S. Pushkin and other classics of our literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. “Create a language,” according to V.G. Belinsky, is impossible, because it is created by the people; philologists only discover its laws and bring them into a system, and writers only create on it in accordance with these laws” [Belinsky 1988: 244].

Features of the literary language

Literary language has a number of distinctive properties. These include:

1) stability;

2) mandatory for every native speaker;

3) processing;

What is the meaning of language processing can be understood from the words of A.M. Gorky. He noted that “any material - and language especially, requires a careful selection of all the best that is in it - clear, accurate, colorful, sonorous, and - further loving development of this best” [Vvedenskaya 2001:34].

In the article “On How I Learned to Write,” Gorky notes: “It would be appropriate to recall that language is created by the people! The division of a language into literary and folk means only that we have, so to speak, a “raw” language and one processed by masters. The first who perfectly understood this was Pushkin, he was the first to show how the speech material of the people should be used, how it should be processed” [Gorky 1953: 491].

4) Another feature of the literary language is the presence of oral (sounding speech) and written forms of speech (graphically fixed).

Oral speech presupposes the presence of a listener, an interlocutor. Written speech is usually directed towards the absent. The writer can only mentally imagine his reader. At the same time, the reader’s reaction, his emotions, feelings do not affect written speech. Oral speech in most cases is interactive, i.e. depends on the perception of the listener - the reaction can change the nature of speech or stop it altogether.

The speaker creates his speech immediately. The writer can improve and correct the written text.

5) the presence of functional styles;

In accordance with the goals set during communication, a variety of linguistic means are selected and varieties of a single literary language are formed, that is, functional styles. The term functional style emphasizes that, depending on the functions that the language performs in each individual case, varieties of literary language are distinguished:

Scientific style (they write textbooks, reports, scientific works);

Official business (financial reports, orders, instructions);

Journalistic style (articles in newspapers, magazines, speeches on radio and television);

Conversational style (in an informal setting).

6) normativity;

Standards exist for both written and oral speech. For example, oral speech includes accentological norms (stress) and orthoepic norms (pronunciation); Punctuation and spelling norms (spelling) are characteristic of written speech. In all forms of speech, lexical, word-formation, syntactic, and morphological norms must be observed.

All of the listed features constitute a feature of the literary language as the highest form of the national language.

Literary language is a non-dialectal form of existence (subsystem) characterized by certain features. These include codification, normativity, stylistic differentiation, multifunctionality, as well as high prestige in society, among its bearers.

In this article we will look at the signs of a literary language, its functions, as well as this concept itself, its properties and definition.

Literary language is the main means that serves communicative needs in the social environment. It is contrasted with other, uncodified subsystems - dialects, urban vernacular (in other words, urban koine), as well as social and professional jargons.

Two ways to define a concept

Literary language as a concept can be defined by the linguistic properties that are inherent in this subsystem of a particular national language, as well as by delimiting the entire population of people who are the bearers of this subsystem, separating it from the general mass of speakers of this language. The first is a linguistic method of definition, and the second is a sociological one.

Literary language from the point of view of V. V. Vinogradov

From the point of view, a literary language is a common language in which there is a written language of a certain people or several of them. That is, it includes the language of all cultural manifestations, most often expressed in written form, but sometimes also in oral form, as well as fiction, journalism, science, written and everyday communication, school teaching, and official business documents. Therefore, it differs in such forms as oral-conversational and written-book.

Various terms associated with this concept

This term is associated in origin with such a concept as “literature”, and in the etymological sense it means that it is based on “literature”, that is, on a letter. Accordingly, it is a written language. Indeed, if we consider the language of the Middle Ages, we will only talk about the written language, a set of texts that have a literary purpose. Other features of literary language follow from this definition using the term, and therefore seem understandable and logical.

The diverse terms layered on a given subject are, strictly speaking, only an attempt to get out of the dead end; conceptual features are revered as belonging to a non-existent object, and the object itself is defined through them. The features of a literary language will be discussed below.

Literary language as a function of national

Of the many definitions, the most acceptable is to define it as a function of the national language. That is, literary is only a type of use of the Russian language, and not a separate, independent language. This understanding is in line with the scientific tradition; it is determined by the historical approach to the analysis of literary language. At the same time, this interpretation explains the existence and development of various spheres of “cultural speaking”, since the existence of a literary language as a term is justified. In fact, the latter is only a form of existence of the national (folk) language, and not just speech in the narrow sense of the word. Over time, colloquial forms were replaced by increasingly developing “cultural” ones; the selection of linguistic forms as the structure of the language developed constitutes the main content of this historical process.

We will consider the main features of a literary language below. Let's now say a few words about language functions.

Multifunctionality of the Russian language

The concept and characteristics of a literary language arise from its functions. Any sufficiently developed language has two main varieties according to the purpose of use: living spoken language and literary language. We master spoken language from childhood. The development of the second variety occurs continuously, throughout the life and development of a person, right up to his very old age.

The Russian language today is multifunctional, that is, it is used in many different areas of human activity. The means of literary language (grammatical structures, vocabulary) are also functionally differentiated. The use of language directly depends on the type of communication. In the literary language (you will find the signs of the Russian literary language below) there are two main functional varieties: bookish and colloquial. Accordingly, book and spoken language are distinguished. In spoken language there are three styles of pronunciation: colloquial, neutral and full.

The main property that characterizes a book language is the ability to preserve text and therefore serve as a means of communication between different generations.

Its functions are numerous, as are its signs; they become increasingly more complex with the development of society.

The leading role of the literary language

Among other varieties that are observed in the national language (social and vernacular, jargons), it is the literary language that invariably plays the main role. It contains the best ways to name objects and concepts, express emotions and thoughts. There is a continuous interaction between it and other varieties of language, non-literary. This is most evident in colloquial speech.

Thus, the literary language represents the basis of the culture of our speech, as well as the highest form of existence of the national language. It is used in the media, education, literature, culture. Serves various spheres of human activity: science, politics, official business communication, legislation, international, everyday communication, television, print, radio.

Signs of a literary language

We have dealt with the term itself. Let us now note the main features of a literary language. This is stability (that is, stability), processing (since it is a language that has been processed by various word masters: scientists, poets, writers, public figures), obligatory for all people who are native speakers of the language, the presence of certain functional styles, as well as normalization. These are the most important features of a literary language.

Standardization

Normalization means a fairly specific way of expression, which reflects the historically specific patterns of development of a given literary language. This feature is based on the language system itself and is reinforced by the best examples of works of literature. The educated part of the population prefers the standardized method of expression. As a set of certain rules for the use of words, a norm is necessary to preserve the general intelligibility and integrity of the national language, in order to transmit information from generation to generation. If it did not exist, such changes could occur in the language, as a result of which people living in different parts of our country would cease to understand each other.

Processed and codified

Signs of a literary language are also processing and codification. Refinement appears as a result of selection, and purposeful selection, of all the best that is in it. This selection is carried out in the process of using the national language, as a result of research conducted by public figures and philologists.

Codification means the consolidation of its norms in scientific literature. This is expressed in the availability of appropriate grammar dictionaries, as well as other books that contain rules on how to use the language.

These features of a literary language also seem to be very important.

Other signs

The sign of stylistic diversity implies the presence of many functional styles.

Literary language is also characterized by its common use and prevalence, compliance with the customs, use and capabilities of a given language system.

We examined the main features of the Russian literary language. One of the main tasks is to protect it, as well as its norms, because the literary language unites the entire people linguistically. The main role in its creation invariably belongs to the advanced part of the population.

What should the literary language be like?

The literary language must be universally understandable, since any members of society must be able to perceive it. It should be so developed as to be able to serve the main areas of human activity. It is important to observe lexical, grammatical, accentological and language rules in speech. Therefore, a very serious task facing linguists is to consider any new thing that appears in the literary language from the position of compliance with its general trends in language development, as well as optimal functional conditions.

The more accurate and correct the speech, the more accessible it becomes for understanding, the more expressive and beautiful it is, the stronger the impact on the reader or listener. In order to express yourself beautifully and correctly, you need to observe certain logical laws (evidence, consistency), as well as the norms of our literary language, unity of style, take care of euphony, and avoid repetition.

The main features of the literary pronunciation of the Russian language were formed on the basis of Central Russian dialects and their phonetics. Today, under the pressure of normalized, literary dialects, they are being destroyed.