Two years have passed since the appearance of the brilliant work of I.V. Stalin "Marxism and questions of linguistics". This work not only made a profound revolution in the science of language, it also gave prospects for further development and all other sciences.
During these two years, many works appeared based on the Stalinist doctrine of language. And only in the field of classical philology very little has been done. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the disdainful attitude towards classical philology, which was so characteristic of Marr and his entire school, has not yet been overcome.
There has been a decline in research into the history of classical languages.
Neglect of this scientific field was reflected in the entire system of modern philological education. The Latin language was removed from curricula pedagogical higher educational institutions in the departments of Russian language and literature and in the faculties of history. In foreign language departments, the number of hours in Latin was reduced from 140 hours to a ridiculous figure of 86 hours. Even postgraduate students of linguistic departments do not study Greek and Latin in pedagogical universities, although every university employee understands that it is impossible to conduct lecture courses on introduction to linguistics and general linguistics without gaining knowledge of both modern and ancient languages. Young scientific linguists from pedagogical higher educational institutions do not study ancient languages at all, and they usually know only one of the new languages. Only those who independently try to improve their level of linguistics by purchasing additional textbooks and downloading free video courses on complet-info.ru can boast of a higher level of training.
At the departments of foreign languages, even the course on ancient literature was removed, and students of these departments do not receive the slightest idea at the university about the greatest figures of ancient culture. There is also a prejudice against classical philology among some employees of the Ministries higher education and enlightenment.
Due to this attitude towards classical philology, almost all classical departments were closed “as unnecessary”. The rest - at Moscow and Leningrad universities - accept only 10-15 people, and then every other year.
Students in secondary schools where Latin has been taught overwhelmingly understand the importance of this language in common system education. Workers of the Department of Classical Philology of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute named after. V.I. Lenin, on behalf of the Institute for Advanced Teacher Education, examined Moscow schools where Latin was taught, talked with students, and even conducted a questionnaire about what knowledge of the Latin language gave students. With a few exceptions, students emphasized that knowledge of the Latin language helped them understand many Latin words that were part of the Russian language, that it helped them in understanding the spelling of these words, and helped them in mastering new languages, especially French and English.
Meanwhile, under the current situation, students graduating from the department of language and literature of pedagogical higher educational institutions and going to work in secondary schools cannot explain various words of Latin origin in the vocabulary of the Russian language (revolution, constitution, federation, literature, communism, republic, ministry , student, graduate student, doctor and many other words).
The Latin language is necessary in the system of training literature teachers, and even more so, both ancient languages are required in the training of scientific personnel of linguists. Without knowledge of Latin it is impossible to engage in general linguistics. Good training in ancient languages also helps in learning new languages, especially Romance ones.
The importance of knowledge of ancient languages has always been emphasized by both the classics of Marxism-Leninism and Russian revolutionary democrats. Chernyshevsky also wrote to his son about this: “If you want to be a philologist, then study the Greek language even more than Latin... If you want to be a historian, then constantly check the opinions of historians with the original texts of the sources.”
Without knowledge of ancient languages, especially without knowledge of Latin, the preparation of an educated person is impossible, much less the preparation of a language teacher and a young linguist.
It is necessary to expand the teaching of Latin in high school, consider it mandatory in pedagogical higher education educational institutions for students of literary departments and for graduate students of linguistic departments. Particular attention should be paid to the training of future teachers of the Latin language. It must be openly admitted that partial failures in teaching Latin in schools (and sometimes in universities) are associated with unsuccessful selection of teachers. Qualified specialists who have passed good school, very little. Many Latin teachers received training in an old, pre-revolutionary school or accidentally found themselves teaching.
Currently, it is more expedient to train teachers of the Latin language for secondary schools in pedagogical institutes in the literary and historical faculties and departments of foreign languages. The programs should include a historical course in Latin, lasting for about three years, 3-4 hours per week.
This is especially easy to organize in the departments of foreign languages: the specialty itself imperiously requires the study of the Latin language: in the third year when studying the history of the language in all departments foreign faculty(French, Spanish, English and German) you cannot do without knowledge of this ancient language. In some of these departments, first of all, of course, in the departments of French and Spanish languages, you can enter Latin as a second language. Then students graduating from these departments will have a second specialty. Studying Latin, in turn, will increase the level of knowledge of the language that is their main specialty.
Of course, for those who will study Latin as a second language, it is necessary to provide the appropriate methodology. The tasks of the Ministry of Education are to organize work on such a methodology. Classical philology must take its rightful place in the system of linguistic education, and then knowledge of the Latin language will become a wide property of the Soviet people.
S.L. Heydarova
MOBU Romnensky secondary school named after I.A. Goncharova,
With. Romny, Romnensky district, Amur region
TEACHING LATIN IN A RURAL SCHOOL
The topic is the teaching of Latin at a secondary school. The ways the students learn the dead language.
The term “Education” according to Ozhegov means: training, enlightenment; education is a body of knowledge acquired through special training. We include the study of a language that has had an extraordinary fate and played a role in special education. important role in the history of Europe and the whole world. This language is called Latin (Lingua Latina) because once, about 3 thousand years ago, it was spoken by the Latins, a small people who lived in the lower reaches of the Tiber River in Italy.
In the 5th century AD, after numerous raids by barbarian tribes from the north, the Roman Empire fell, Rome was conquered and destroyed, and new nations and states began to form in the place of the former Roman provinces. The transition to the Middle Ages meant in many ways the end and oblivion of the achievements of ancient culture. International treaties were written in Latin, negotiations were conducted, they taught in schools and universities, they composed poems and chronicles, and they offered prayers in churches. From the Vistula to Gibraltar and from Ireland to Sicily, it was Latin that united and shaped what is now called Europe.
Only to XVIII century Latin was forced out of the everyday life of European peoples by their national languages, but in subsequent centuries it was well used in science, religion and diplomacy.
Currently, Latin continues to retain some importance in medicine, biology, partly in legal science and the Catholic Church.
According to the existing classification, Latin is classified as a so-called “dead” language, i.e. It is not spoken by any of the nations. So why is she needed? to modern man in the age of space exploration and genetics, computerization and other technical “miracles” of our time?
Why have children been studying Latin in the rural Romny secondary school for 16 years? How does a “dead” language help a modern student to socialize in society? Do not rush to say, following A.S. Pushkin: “Latin has gone out of fashion now...” and treat its study as an old-fashioned eccentricity.
First of all, let us recall that in our country, after Peter I the Great, the Latin language until the October Revolution of 1917 occupied, and in most foreign European countries it still occupies, one of the most honorable places in the program of humanitarian “classical” gymnasiums. Knowledge of the Latin language has always been and is considered the basis of European education. Knowing Latin, a person receives the key to the vast layers and riches of the culture of antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
In addition, if Latin is “dead,” then its “death” was beautiful - it “died” for a thousand years and enriched most European languages, becoming the basis for some (Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Moldavian and some others ) and endowing other languages with hundreds and thousands of words and terms. It is a fact that most of the terms of any science, diplomacy, education, culture, religion, politics, etc. comes from Latin. And the Russian language did not escape this influence. You will be convinced of this by reading the text, where words of Latin origin are highlighted:
« The school principal presents matriculation certificates to applicants in the classroom , which are then handed over college exams. Rector of the university, deans of history, economics, law and philological faculties, as well as professors, associate professors, doctors and candidates sciences working on departments of faculties, give lectures to students and graduate students in classrooms and conduct special seminars on literature, history, ancient culture, linguistics, political economy of capitalism and socialism and other humanitarian disciplines.”
As you can see for yourself, “dead” Latin continues to live in new languages; Every day we use many words in our speech, not suspecting that Latin gave them to us: minute, product, fruit, plus, form, line, matter, January, motor, interest, factory and many others. This leads to another advantage that a speaker of this language has: he can consciously perceive and use numerous terms of most sciences, and it will be many times easier for him to learn any other European language.
Our children have had this opportunity since 1993 thanks to pre-gymnasium classes. According to the requirements of the program, in the 5th and 6th grades, in addition to English, Latin was also to be studied. There were requirements, but methodological support did not have. Materials were collected bit by bit, the school director always contributed to our initiative. We were given a program for the course “Latin” edited by E.M. Ryanskaya for 5th and 6th grades in the amount of 136 hours. This program involved the study of Latin as a general educational linguistic discipline. The practical goal of the course was to develop students' reading skills, lexical, grammatical, word-formation analysis and translation of texts.
On the one hand, goals and specific tasks were set for us, the topics of the lessons were outlined, on the other hand educational material was completely absent. There was no one to turn to for help within the area. The IPPC was very surprised when they learned that this course needed to be taught in our village, and suggested contacting colleagues from school-gymnasium No. 5 in the city of Blagoveshchensk, but they couldn’t help us there either. Our savior was Tatyana Dmitrievna Kargina, a teacher at BSPU, who loaned out her Latin textbook. Since there was only one textbook for four groups, the children wrote from dictation, drew tables, made formulas for the formation of times, and drew illustrations for legends and myths about the heroes of Hellas.
Every year on May 23, finishing the Latin language course in the 6th grade, a big celebration was held at which students showed the knowledge and skills acquired over two years. On this holiday, called Viva voce! (oral exam), students who studied Latin and those who were going to study it, willing teachers, school administration, and representatives from the education department were invited.
In 1995 it was Olympic Games, where the Argonauts arrived on their ship Argo. What was unusual was that the land was made inside the hall, and the gods (the school administration) sat on the massive structure. The competitions were held according to the same canons as the Olympic Games in ancient times. The children were dressed in appropriate costumes. In 1996, students conquered Mount Parnassus through an intricate labyrinth. In 1997, the 750th anniversary of the founding of Rome was celebrated, where eleventh-graders also played a role, taking an optional course in the study of the Latin language. Each Viva voce ended with a performance of the legend, always a premiere.
These holidays were interesting not only for students, but also for subject teachers, who enjoyed attending our theatrical shows and took an active part in them as actors, jury members and video operators.
Traditionally, after the announcement of the results of the show, high school students solemnly took an oath of allegiance to the Latin language, and then they were awarded master's caps and diplomas for their success in learning the language. The final chord was the choral performance of the students' anthem "Gaudeamus".
The new subject was of interest not only to high school students, but also to high school students, who, together with their parents, asked to teach Latin as an elective. And already since 1994, in parallel with the pre-gymnasium classes, elective classes for high school students were organized. Students came to the classes, planning to connect their lives with medicine, biology, linguistics, law, and journalism.
With the next reform in education, changes have affected our subject. Pro-gymnasium classes ended their existence in 2000; The teaching of Latin continued only as an elective for students in grades 10–11. The goals and objectives of training have changed accordingly. Great emphasis is already being placed on expansion lexical material, it addresses the diverse professional interests of students. For those who have decided to connect their lives with medicine, this course helps to master the basics of pharmaceutical terminology based on grammar, Greek-Latin and word-formation funds; teaches how to write prescriptions medicinal substances; introduces the names of diseases and pathological conditions.
Students are attracted to such forms of work in elective classes as commenting on proverbs, popular expressions, sayings of ancient authors, mythological stories, literary sources and historical references. They master the grammatical system of the Latin language in comparison with the system of Russian and English languages; learn more than a thousand lexical units and a word-formation minimum, the basic rules of word formation, the origin of commonly used international words.
High school students develop skills in lexical and grammatical analysis and translation of educational and original author's texts. After completing the training course, they know more than 250 Latin proverbs and popular expressions, can freely write out recipes, sing two songs in Latin (“A Christmas tree was born in the forest,” “Gaudeamus”), and can recite the text of the “Our Father” prayer in the original.
Experience in teaching the Latin language has accumulated and now it is possible to talk about the results. Judge for yourself.
Ivanchenko Roman, 2004: “I hope that your lessons will help me in the future. I found the classes very interesting, as they were always held in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. I especially liked making sentences and learning proverbs. My lovely " Per aspera ad astra" ("Through thorns to the stars"). Thank you for being patient and bringing knowledge to us, because “Scientia potential est” (“Knowledge is power).” Roman is currently studying at the Medical Academy in his sixth year.
Elena Shapovalova, 2006: “Attending the elective in Latin helped me a lot when studying it at the university. At the elective, we received a good knowledge base on the grammar of the Latin language: noun declension systems, verb conjugations, basic verb tenses, infective systems, as well as a large vocabulary. Studying Latin proverbs, fables, and songs not only increased our vocabulary, but also increased our cultural level. In addition, the classes were always interesting and exciting. I am grateful to you for the opportunity to study Latin at school.” Elena Shapovalova is now a fourth-year student at the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, Faculty of Foreign Languages.
Chernenko Tatyana, 2007: “With my future profession I decided 2 years ago. Since I want to become a health worker, I just need to know Latin. From the first lesson, Latin became a part of my life.” Tatyana is studying at a medical college, where she successfully passed the Latin exam.
By understanding Latin, you can easily learn any Romance language and discover the names of all pharmaceutical drugs and alchemical spells. But this is only one, the most famous example from a large list of dead languages. Knowledge of Akkadian, ancient Greek or Welsh is hardly a commercially necessary skill, but it is a good opportunity to immerse yourself in history, literature, philosophy in all their authenticity. T&P tell you where you can learn one of these languages.
Increase citation rates in Ancient Hittite
At Moscow State University there are such academic subcultures as classical scholars, medievalists and Byzantinists. All of them belong to the Department of Ancient Languages at the Faculty of History, which was created in 1937. Scientists of the department teach Latin to students of history and law faculties, Latin and ancient Greek to religious scholars, philosophers, historians, archaeologists and art historians. You can specifically study paleography - study the history of writing and monuments of ancient writing, or epigraphy - here the main topic will be the content and forms of inscriptions on hard materials. Also, dead languages at Moscow State University are studied at the Department of History ancient world- if you choose a program on the history of ancient Western Asia, you can become, for example, a unique specialist in Assyriology, study ancient Hittite, Akkadian and Maya.
There are no short formats here, and you will have to study seriously: in the format of bachelor's, master's, postgraduate, and second higher education. But the history department of Moscow State University is one of the few university faculties that retains part-time and part-time education, and if you study in the evenings, you can complete your bachelor’s degree in five years instead of four.
Cost: free; under contract - 300,200 rubles per year (full-time), 189,500 rubles per year (in-person and part-time)
Duration of training: 4 years (bachelor's degree), 2 years (master's degree)
How to apply: pass a written exam in a domestic or general history and attach the USE results
Ilya Arkhipov, senior researcher at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a graduate of the history department of Moscow State University, studies the Akkadian language:
“I studied at Moscow State University at the Faculty of History and am studying the history of ancient Western Asia. My discipline is called "Assyriology" and studies the Assyrians, Sumerians, Akkadians and Babylonians who lived approximately in what is now Syria before our era. The older the area of interest, the more synthetic the discipline turns out to be: you need to learn ancient languages, read cuneiform sources in the original, know history in order to understand the context, archeology, because half of the data about this period is exclusively archaeological in nature. Anyone who studies the Old Babylonian period, like me, must study everything at once, but like every decent scientist, specialize in something. For example, I received a prize for my work on the material culture of the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia, and last years In general, I am interested in linguistic problems related to the Akkadian language. I brought considerable benefit to Assyriology with regard to the lexicography of the Akkadian language, and in a practical sense I proved that certain metallurgical processes already existed much earlier than was generally believed. For a whole thousand years."
Classical education and ancient Greek
At Dmitry Pozharsky University there are two ways to study ancient languages: enroll in the master’s program “History and Culture of Antiquity” or attend open evening courses. In the first case, Latin and ancient Greek are taught along with ancient art, philology, Roman law and mathematics. The leader and ideologist of the program is Alexey Lyubzhin, philologist and head of the department of rare books and manuscripts at Moscow State University. Evening courses include classes in Old English and Paleography, Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Egyptian and Sanskrit. Taught by candidates of philological and art history sciences; Among the teachers, for example, Andrei Eduardovich Grafov is a famous biblical scholar, translator of the Old Testament and Western European poetry.
Courses take place in the evening; As a rule, the university sends out the schedule in advance so that the student can choose a topic and sign up. The course usually lasts for several months, classes are held once a week.
The master's program opened only in 2016, the training is free, but the schedule is tight - it's better to forget about combining work and study. This is what the university’s ideologists, especially its patron, were counting on (from ancient Greek - owner, founder, creator. - Ed.) Mikhail Povalyaev, who encourages science for science's sake, separates professional and classical education and finances the project independently. Next year they plan to open a university campus on Lake Shlino in the Tver region - so that students can work on research outside the distractions of city life.
Cost: free
Duration of training: from 1 to 4 semesters (courses), 2 years (master's degree)
How to apply: provide a portfolio and undergo a face-to-face interview (for a master's degree), evening courses are available to everyone
“I have been studying ancient languages in evening courses for several years in a row, simply because the courses represent a truly unique project. I don’t know of any other place in Moscow (or anywhere else in the country) that would provide such a range of opportunities at the same time: free one- and multi-semester regular courses - from popular to highly specialized, high (and sometimes the highest) level of teaching staff. You can take courses five days a week in the evenings. Even after some language classes They made it paid, but there were no fewer people there. In general, ancient language courses are a whole subculture where only like-minded people meet.”
Mayan languages in Mexico and poets in Welsh
The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian State University for the Humanities has a department of ancient languages. The department employs eight people; courses are taught by linguist students, as well as restorers, philosophers, anthropologists, art historians and religious scholars. In addition to Latin, Ancient Greek, Ancient Irish, folk Latin, theoretical grammar of the Latin language, linguist students take unique proprietary special courses, for example, “Languages of Ancient Britain”, and participate in seminars where history and languages intersect: “The Roman Feast”, “The Will of the Gods” ", "Dura lex, sed lex." Latin and Ancient Greek courses here usually last for a year, but philosophers and religious scholars take them for up to 3 years. Other disciplines include Celtic philology, where medieval poets are read in Welsh.
The Institute has an Educational and Scientific Mesoamerican Center named after Yu.V. Knorozov, where they study Mayan writing and the culture of America in the pre-Columbian period. The Faculty of History, Political Science and Law is recruiting groups on the history and culture of Latin America. It has existed here since 2011 Master Program“Civilizations of Ancient Mesoamerica”, the core of which is in-depth training in the study of ancient languages and scripts - Mayans, Aztecs, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, etc. Bachelors, specialists, master's students can study, practice can be completed at the Knorozov Center for Mayan Epigraphy in Mexico and Guatemala . The topics of the coursework are also quite inspiring: “The role of Catholic missions during the period of colonization of America” or “Popol Vuh” as a historical and cultural source.”
Cost: free; under contract - 140,000 rubles per year (bachelor's degree), 198,400 rubles per year (specialty degree)
Duration of training: 4 years (bachelor's degree), 5 years (specialist degree)
How to apply: pass the exams foreign language, Russian language, history
Oleg Plesovskikh, student of the Russian State University for the Humanities, studying in the master's program "Civilization of Ancient Mesoamerica", studying Mayan writing:
“I became interested in Mesoamerica somewhat gradually. First I learned Spanish, then I immersed myself in the culture - it turned out that Latin America, to which we are accustomed, lies a whole layer of authenticity. This layer can be deciphered in modern culture by studying its roots. I especially like this ability to see: it’s like magic glasses, you discover not just writing, but phenomena, you do something big and important. My program is unique in all respects: here they teach the author’s courses “Archaeology of Mesoamerica”, “Ethnohistory of Mesoamerica”, “Mesoamerican religious and mythological systems”, which, perhaps, you will not hear anywhere else in Russia. Now I’m preparing for an internship at the Knorozov Center for Mayan Epigraphy in Mexico.”
Pray in Latin
Department of Ancient Languages at the Faculty of Theology of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University
At the Faculty of Theology there is a department of ancient languages and ancient Christian writing, where you can study ancient Greek, Latin and modern Greek. Access to sacred knowledge is open to students of philosophy, theologians, missionaries (the university has a missionary department) and church artists. Teachers of the department teach a number of disciplines in the department of ancient Christian literature. Topics: ancient literature, epigraphy, Greek of the New Testament, etc. Courses are taught by invitation foreign teachers- C. Tommasi-Moreschini (University of Pisa, Italy), C. Moreschini (University of Pisa, Italy), Anne Coffignier (Director of the Foundation for the Defense of Schools, Paris), Hans Krum (classical municipal gymnasium, Hilversum).
Both bachelors and master's students can choose the department; the programs are slightly longer than usual. Theological students undergo practical training in Solovki, in Ryazan state university them. S.A. Yesenin, at conferences and in foreign libraries. In the process, students become familiar with the way of monastic and parish life.
Cost: free; under contract - 60,000 rubles per year (bachelor's degree)
Duration of training: 4 years (bachelor's degree), 2.5 years (master's degree)
How to apply: pass exams in Russian language, foreign language and literature (bachelor’s degree), provide a portfolio that includes a “Letter of Intent” of 2,000 characters (master’s degree)
Alexey Fedorenko, master's student at PSTGU, Faculty of Theology, studies Latin and Ancient Greek:
“For a theologian, ancient languages are meanings. These are sacred languages of Christian worship and at the same time forms of expression of Christian ideas, and therefore a means of thought and theology. It is important to restore in the minds of Orthodox believers the living connection between theology and the life of the Christian soul; the sacred language should not be dead in our minds, but the living language of church prayer.
Concerning scientific work- we study ancient and early Christian literature, translations, and read many sources in ancient languages. I am participating in a PSTGU project with the Ambrosian Library (Milan, Italy) to translate the works of St. Ambrose of Milan. For me, this is an opportunity to develop scientifically without separation from the spiritual component, such a separation is a big drawback modern education at all".
Ancient wisdom and Sanskrit for yogis
“Greco-Latin cabinet of Yu.A. Shichalina" opened linguistic courses in 1991. They were intended for those wishing to learn an ancient language, in particular ancient Greek and Latin. But first of all, this is a publishing house - the first book published was “Greek-Russian Dictionary” by A.D. Weisman, and the publishing house's library supplies specialists from Moscow State University, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow Theological Academy and other universities.
The course program includes ancient Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and ancient Egyptian. Over time, modern European languages were added to the ancient ones. Particularly interesting are the programs in Sanskrit and Akkadian: the introductory course of the Akkadian language consists of 25 lessons and introduces Old Babylonian grammar and New Assyrian cuneiform. At the same time, students learn to read textbook texts.
Registration for courses begins in September - October. On weekdays, classes are held in the evenings, and, conveniently, daytime lectures are held on Saturdays. For some languages there are beginner and advanced groups, for example for Ancient Greek. There is a peculiarity in studying ancient Egyptian: you need to know English well, tutorial written in English.
Cost: 300 rubles per hour
Duration of training: one semester lasts 4 months - that’s 30 lessons of 1.5 hours each, the basic course lasts 2–4 semesters (1–2 years)
How to proceed: prepay for the first two classes
“I am an orientalist by training, studied in St. Petersburg, live in Moscow, and am interested in Indian culture. In October I started studying Sanskrit - I think this is extremely important for any person passionate about India. As a child, I really loved reading Kipling. After traveling to India four years ago, I became interested in yoga and Hindu mythology and began learning Sanskrit to read yogic texts. In some ways it's anti-science, but modern science it is also anti-human, unlike ancient wisdom. In India, archaeologists are finding cities that are thousands of years old, and these cities already had a central water supply. It was a highly organized civilization that was destroyed. And from the bricks of these ancient cities, the British built supports for railway rails. It’s a pity that I won’t become a sadhu, but my passion inspires me just like that.”
