Colloquial Russian 2 by Svetlana s> le Fleming Susan E. Kay (review)

Abstract

708 SEER, 82, 3, 2004 has become Slavonic on the strength of the many Slavonic features it has absorbedthroughimmigrationinto Israelof Slavonic-speakingJews. The volume under review seeksto present the cruciallinguisticfacts of the Rusyn dialects of Eastern Slovakia. It pinpoints not only the areas in which they are distinctfrom Ukrainian (whichremainsthe language fromwhich the independence of Rusyn is being pre-eminently declared in the common perception), but also the areas of overlapwith, or crucialdifferencefrom, the contiguous Slovak (and in part also Polish). Significantly,and wisely, it does not seek to take sides with either the view that Rusyn is a separatelanguage, or the view that Rusyns are reallyUkrainiansand theirlanguage a version of Ukrainian, replaceablefor literary,intellectualor administrativepurposesby Ukrainian. It constitutes, then, a purely descriptive basis, using largely authentic examples, and presented in a discursivetext, structuredin such a way as to be loosely comparableto the chapterlayout in Comrie and Corbett. Avoiding the political aspects of the problem of the Rusyn 'language in the making' (see Paul Robert Magocsi in SEER, 74, I996, pp. 683-86), it also contains no referenceto the earlierlinguisticallyrelevant,but extra-linguistic, especially theological, liturgical, history of the Rusyns (for which see, for example, Elaine Rusinko, 'Between Russia and Hungary: Foundations of Literature and National Identity in Subcarpathian Rus", SEER, 74, I996, pp. 422-44); such aspectswill remain relevantwhatever the final outcome of the status of Rusyn. While a formal 'declaration of independence' of the Rusyn literarylanguage was made on 27 January I995 (see Magocsi, A New SlavicLanguage, p. x-xi), it is by no means obvious that the new statusof the language will achieve universalacceptance, or that one day a general Rusyn, for use in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, former Yugoslavia and the USA and Canada will develop, as hoped by the promoters of its current level of independence. Given the obvious topicality of what might be called 'the Rusyn (or Ruthenian) problem' in the late twentieth century, the availability of a material base in English such as what Vafiko's book represents is a welcome asset. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies DAVID SHORT University College London le Fleming, Svetlana and Kay, Susan E. Colloquial Russian2. Routledge, London andNew York,2003. viii + 344 pp. Illustrations.Tables.Indexes. Cassettes.CDs. f24.46. A teacher of English as a foreign language is spoilt for choice as far as textbooksareconcerned. Imaginative,well-designedand up-to-datematerials exist to teach and test every aspect of linguistic competence. A teacher of Russian as a foreignlanguage is not so lucky.Russiantextbooksarelimited in range and aim mainly at the beginner/intermediate level. The reasons are obvious: the EFL market is ever-expanding, the demand for Russian is apparentlyshrinking.Publishersare reluctant to invest, and if they do, they want to net the whole market. Consequently, every eagerly REVIEWS 709 awaited new Russian language book aims at too wide an audience and leads to disappointment. Publishers'lack of interest is not insuperable. Since textbooks have to aim at a general audience they could use material diverse enough to offer something to a variety of users. The excellent EFL methodology is now used in the teaching of French,Spanish,Italianand othermajorforeignlanguages. Russian stilllagsbehind in thisrespect. Le Fleming and Kay's Colloquial Russian 2 is anothercase where opportunities are missed.This book follows Colloquial Russiani (an ab-initio course)and is accompanied by two CDs or audiotapes. The introductory revision unit is followed by fourteenunitseach containing a dialogue and a text adaptedfrom a magazine or a newspaperarticle,grammarexplanationsand exercises.The materialis well presented;grammarexplanations are clear, and each point is followed by an exercise. The authors say in the introductorypage that they 'provideinterestinginformationabout Russia at the same time as introducing new vocabulary and language points'. The texts come from recent issues of reputablepublicationssuch as Itogi,1Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Moskovskie Novosti, but it is surprisinghow dated some alreadysound. Since Russiais stillin rapid transition, this cannot be helped. But the editing of the material and the somniferouslyslow,ifclear,recordingoftextsanddialoguesmaketheproblem worse. Textbooks are mostlyjudged by their methodology; perhaps they should also be judged as exercises in mythologizing. Textbook authors, native speakersor foreign specialists,constructUtopian realitiesand avoid anything negative. Once my own students, asked after a spell in Russia what they had missed in their...