People of different nationalities always have their own peculiarities of mentality and thinking. This is due to the geographical location of the country, the history of the people and even the language.
Language greatly affects the way our brains work. And what language we think in literally determines all of our thinking. But how are language and thinking connected?
In this article, we will break down the peculiarities of the Russian language that affect the thinking of Russian speakers.
6 peculiarities of the Russian language
1. Synonyms
The Russian language has a gigantic number of synonyms, descriptions, epithets. This language has the exact word to accurately describe any situation, state and mood.
It is difficult for foreigners to memorize such a variety. But a Russian-speaking person can always express his or her thoughts as accurately as possible with a capacious concept. But in order to apply the right word correctly, a person must be able to deeply analyze the situation and feel the interlocutor.
Synonyms exist for almost all actions and feelings. But these words are not the same at all, they differ slightly in meaning. For example, «to speak», «to talk», «to talk», «to speak», «to broadcast», "to gibber". All these verbs denote speech, but with different emotional coloring and intensity.
2. Complex case system
Six cases is not just a grammatical difficulty, but a training of logical thinking. To put a word in the accusative or dative case correctly, you need to understand the function of the word in a sentence. This forces the brain to constantly keep track of cause and effect and the relationships between the participants in a situation. For those who studies Russian as a foreign language, mastering cases is one of the most effective ways to develop structural thinking.
3. Creating new words
The Russian language allows you to create new words almost infinitely. Prefixes, suffixes, complex bases - it all works like a constructor. At the same time, a Russian-speaking person will always understand what he or she is talking about, even if it is the first time he or she hears a new word.
This flexibility stimulates creative thinking. A person learns to «assemble» concepts from parts, to see hidden connections between phenomena, and to operate with abstractions. This is especially useful when teaching Russian as a foreign language - it literally teaches you how to think in Russian.
4. imagery
Phrases like «to nail on the nose», «to lead by the nose», «to go out of one's way» are not mere ornaments of speech. They reflect Russian speakers« metaphorical perception of the world. Understanding such phrases requires not direct translation, but »switching" of thinking. This develops intuition and metaphorical consciousness.
That's why learning Russian for foreigners online often includes work with proverbs and phraseological expressions as a key to the national mentality.
5. Free word order
Unlike most languages of the world, in Russian the word order can be varied without loss of literacy. Back in the primer, kids learn the phrases «Mama washed the frame», «Mama washed the frame», «Mama washed the frame». All three of these variants are correct, only the accents are different.
This feature teaches you to manage the listener's attention, to set meaningful accents. It develops rhetorical skills and awareness in communication - especially important in an era of information overload.
6. Emotionality
The Russian language is as emotional as its speakers. There is always a word in the Russian language that will express any emotion and amplify it 100 times.
Perhaps that's why Russian swear words are considered some of the most colorful and diverse in the world, and any display of emotion through words becomes a real storm.
Russian-speaking people, like no one else, know how to love, sympathize, and hate.
Language directly affects our brains and thinking. Slavic emotionality created such a rich language, and language continues to shape the thinking of Slavic people.
