Russian Colloquial Speech: Aspects of Research and Relevant Issues

Abstract

This article provides an analytical review of the development of colloquial speech studies, a linguistic discipline aimed at researching modern Russian conversational speech. Currently, the phenomenon is regarded as a genetically primary subsystem of the national Russian language, one characterised by qualitative linguistic peculiarity in comparison with the codified varieties of the literary language. The authors aim to trace the formation of colloquial speech studies in a linguistic framework and in terms of its interaction with other branches of the humanities. The task is to characterise the developmental stages of colloquial speech studies with reference to certain scholarly paradigms and identify the most relevant issues facing researchers of colloquial material. The article reflects results published by specialists in fixing colloquial material, analysis, and lexicographic synthesis. The authors also demonstrate that changes to the object of research itself have been caused by the development of modern information technologies. The structure of the article is based on the aspect principle. The first section describes the linguistic and linguo-pragmatic (speech) aspects proper of colloquial speech studies. The second section concerns the formation of an integrated linguistic and cultural direction in research on the living speech of citizens based on the convergence of colloquial speech studies and cultural studies. Linguistic research on spoken language began with the establishment of the status characteristics of the object and its system and structural description. With the development of communicative linguistics, colloquial material is now viewed as a speech activity in the context of a specific situation, with discursive analysis of conversational dialogue being formed. At this stage, the language/speech status of colloquial material, the interaction of colloquial speech, the system of functional styles of the Russian language, and the problem of integrativeness of colloquial dialogue are the most relevant issues of colloquial speech studies. As of now, the cultural significance of spoken language as a natural medium of information about a national culture has been realised but it has not taken any specific form. The authors characterise the communicative and cultural approach, the purpose of which is to describe the peculiarities of colloquial speech. This is based on the concepts of linguo-pragmatics and linguistics of text and the scenario method. Currently, it is most relevant to study the value content of informal speech communication by referring to the concepts and paradigms of cultural studies (speech ideal, value system), which is known as the cultural dimension of colloquial speech studies proper.