Turkisms in Russian

Historical interaction and close proximity added to the diversity of Russian lexicon

Russian – the strong and mighty language – has an estimated range of 150.000 to 500.000 words (depending on what is counted). And many of them sound challenging, some might sound “harsh” while others don’t sound like Russian at all.

It’s because they’re not!

Russian possesses at least 2000 words of turkic origin, that is words loaned from proto-Turkic languages and changed to fit the Russian phonetics and spelling rules. Many of these include what we would consider “regular”, day-to-day words like “watermelon”:

Most of the times the phonetical change is so drastic that many, even native speakers, would have never noticed that certain Russian words were derived from a non-Slavic group of languages that are traditionally situated in the Asian subcontinent. But what’s the history behind that?

Russia has been a trans-continental empire for the last 3 centuries, engulfing large territories that stretch from Eastern European grasslands to Siberia’s eternal tundras and covering the Northern part of Caucasian mountains. From both colonial and non-colonial interactions such as conquest and trade respectively, Russian as a language been in tight-knit contact with its Turkic neighbors for a while which left a considerable impact on its vocabulary. Whether it’s Kazakh, Turkish, Tatar or Yakut (Sakha), porto-turkic languages have given Russian a range of useful terms that we keep on using in our everyday lives.

The scope of Turkic and Mongolic lands (circa 13-14th centuries)

A more in-depth history of Turkish’s in Russian originates in the middle of 13th-century, commonly referred to as “pre-Mongolian period”. That’s when Russian as a language gained words like “шатер”- tent, “богатырь”-soldier, “жемчуг”-pearl and even “лошадь”-horse! The borrowing of the word “horse” attested in the inventories of the 12th century, and caused a reverse restructuring in the semantic relationship of Russian lexicon.

Beginning in 14th century, Russia has been under economical rule of the Golden Horde that consisted of various Turkic tribes that will further progress into modern-day Turkic ethnicities. During this period, a number of important words entered the Russian language related to the state (yam, yamshchik, yarlyk, kazak, to roam), military (esaul, karaul, ensign, dagger, ataman, saber, koshevoy) and economic system (denga, treasury, treasurer, tamga, profit, owner, food, and even possibly bondage). Other borrowings relate to such areas of life as construction (brick, tin), jewelry (earring, emerald), drinks (braga, buza), vegetable garden (watermelon, rhubarb), fabrics (satin, braid), clothing and footwear (shoe, caftan, trousers, sheepskin coat, pimy, bashlyk, sarafan, cap, veil, stocking), everyday life (glass, chest), weather.

But in 16th century is when Turkic influence has grown even bigger. Borrowings from this period are particularly numerous, which is explained by the enormous cultural influence of the Ottoman Empire. This influence extends even to the early 18th century: such well-known borrowings as the bashka (head), the ocher (imperfection), the pencil (pencil), and porcelain (porcelain) date back to the Petrine era.

Turkic expansionism in Russian vocabulary of that era is also directly tied to Russia’s colonial expansion in Central Asia and Siberia. Imperial conquest did a number of indigenous culture and languages but ironically enough made Russian “absorb” a list of terms, and words from the languages that Russians considered to be of “lower culture”.

So the next time you stumble across a word that sounds “weird” — you have photo-turkic languages to thank for that linguistical diversity!

How to learn a language without taking classes

This article is aimed at those of you who want to learn a language, but, for whatever reason, don’t have time to take classes at Reed. On campus, we’re really lucky to have access to all kinds of resources that allow you to study and practice languages at your own pace!

  1. Tutoring

Even if you only have 10 minutes, feel free to come by the Language Lab to spend some time with a language tutor. All of them are super friendly and supportive, and happy to help you no matter what stage in your language-learning you’re at. Drop-in hours will be soon be posted on the bulletin board in the Lab, and you can get to know a little bit about the tutors through our Tutor Interviews Series on this blog.

2. Language houses

If you plan on living on campus next year, consider living in a Language House! In these houses, you’ll be surrounded by other students looking to learn (or already speakers of) the same target language, and you’ll be roommates with a native-speaker language scholar! Also, whether you live in a Language House or not, everyone is welcome to the weekly events hosted there by the language scholars. These are great opportunities to practice your language, meet like-minded people, and eat yummy food!

3. Language scholars

Language scholars also hold office hours! If you have a question or just want to chat, you can drop them an email to find out when they’ll be in office.

4. Events

At the Language Lab, we often host fun (and catered!) events that are open to everyone regardless of language level, where we practice languages while doing a fun activity (in the past we’ve done craft nights, karaoke, and trivia). Also, apart from weekly events at the Language Houses, each language’s scholars are tasked with organising two larger events per semester, so look out for these!

5.Language Lab Blog

Finally, check out more posts on the blog! Here, we post media recommendations and free language-learning resources, and we announce events. Myself and Pulpi welcome you to our little nerdy community <3

Tutor interviews: Sara Tapalova (Russian)

D: Hi Sara! Please introduce yourself to those who don’t know you.

S: My name is Sara and I’m a junior physics major. I’m a native Russian speaker, which is the main reason why I ended up as a Russian tutor. I was born and raised in Central Asia, so I was brought up in a very bilingual environment – I’ve been speaking Russian and Kazakh since I was a little baby, and if you asked me to choose a “first language” I wouldn’t be able to tell you… I started learning English when I was 6, so I know how to empathise with language-learners. If you feel nervous or embarrassed about mistakes, don’t be! I’ve been there too and I know how hard it is.

D: How and why did you decide to become a tutor?

S: I was appointed as an HA for Russian House last year, and most advanced Russian students are studying abroad in Central Asia or Estonia right now, which is great for them and their learning and growth, but it means that we kind of ran out of students to tutor. I think that’s why Amaan Mohiuddin (Tutor Program Director) reached out to me to be a tutor since I already have experience as an HA, and it was a great idea!

D: Any advice for Russian learners?

I have a couple of pieces of advice: first, seek non-Russian sources (Caucus, Central Asia, Baltic States, Eastern Europe). Unfortunately, the Russian-learning environment can be pretty strict in a toxic way, so broadening your sources can diversify your Russian and show you all of the different ways to speak this language. Secondly, don’t be afraid to speak. It’s obvious, but for Russian it truly is practice that makes perfect. It’s one thing to learn grammar, pronunciation, spelling, but if you never take that out into the real world, it’s hard to utilise it in practice. Finally, when I was learning English, for instance, I found “gradual replacement” to be really practical. You first take small aspects of your life one at a time (eg: phone settings) and you change them into Russian, and then from those casual things you can move onto things like switching out your literature and music for Russian.

D: Спасибо, Sara!

Editor’s note: Sara’s drop-in hours are posted in the Language Lab

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!

Hispanic Heritage Month starts today, September 15! Learning a language is more than memorizing grammar and vocabulary—it’s about connecting with people and cultures from around the world. Hispanic Heritage Month occurs every year from September 15 to October 15, in commemoration of the many independence days and national celebrations across Latin America. Whether it’s meeting new friends at Spanish House’s weekly events, celebrating with Latinx Student Union, or engaging with the Hispanic community in Portland, here are some ways to celebrate Hispanic culture all month long!

Continue reading “Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!”

LANGUAGE LAB AT REED RESOURCE EXPO

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 11:30-1:30, QUAD (KAUL IN CASE OF RAIN)

You heard right. Get excited: the Language Labbies shall be attending the ball (Reed Student Resource Expo)! Ourselves and (of course) Pulpi the octopus will be tabling at the expo to show you all — student, staff, and faculty — the wonders of our humble oasis in the basement of the library.

If our mere presence is not enough to summon you, we offer you the chance to voice your opinion and maybe win a prize in our recommendation raffle! Also, the event is great way to learn more about the resources available to students in general, and free food will be provided.

Patricio’s Last Recommendations…

Sadly I am graduating, so this will be my last blog post 🙁 Before I leave, I wanted to give everyone some media recommendations as well as some advice on things to do with the time you have left at Reed.

Go to the language conversations groups! If you have not gone to them yet, you really should. I met some of my best friends at both Pause Café and Sobremesa (which fun fact was previously called Picadita). These groups are such a unique resource that you will likely not find after Reed. Think about it, it’s a chance to meet new people by immersing yourself in the language you’re learning while eating free food! Which is usually delicious as the language scholars are amazing. Seriously, if you haven’t met them yet you should. And new ones come each year, so you get a clean slate next semester!

Continue reading “Patricio’s Last Recommendations…”

Language Laddering with Duolingo

Perhaps we at the Language Lab have been too harsh on Duolingo—it can’t all be bad. While I believe that learning a language from a (human) speaker of the target language works the best for me, there are still ways to use Duolingo in a way that complements what I learn in a classroom. I’ve found that Duolingo can be an effective way to try out the language laddering technique. Language laddering is when you use your second language to learn a third. For example, as a native English speaker, I could use French to learn Chinese. This technique takes your native language out of the equation entirely. Not only will you build skills in your third language, but it strengthens what you already know in your second language. For anyone with dreams of becoming a polyglot, this technique may work well for you!

Continue reading “Language Laddering with Duolingo”

Beginner-friendly French songs!

Listening to music in French is a great strategy to absorb more of the language throughout your day. For beginners just starting out your adventures into the world of Francophone music, I found this album, Non Ouais! by Pink Martini (which fun fact – originates from Portland!). This album is well-suited for beginning French learners, as it has simple grammar, clear pronunciation, and familiar vocabulary. You might be surprised with how much you can understand! Here are two of the most popular songs to give you a taste: