We celebrate the Day of the Russian Language on June 6, on Pushkin's birthday. But the language lives not only in museums and textbooks. It breathes in chats, TikTok videos, in advertising, in angry comments under news. What is its true nature? And what will it be in 20 years? About this, without panic, without enthusiasm, honestly.

Russian language today: numbers and facts

Russian is one of the six official languages of the UN. About 260 million people speak it worldwide. It ranks 8th in popularity (after Chinese, Spanish, English). In the countries of the former USSR (Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan), it remains the language of interethnic communication. However, its position is weakening: young people in the Baltic states, Georgia, Ukraine use Russian less and less. In Russia itself, the number of speakers is decreasing due to migration and demographics. But the main thing is that the language itself is changing.

What is happening with Russian right now

Main trends: borrowings (almost all new technologies come with English); clipness (short phrases, emojis, abbreviations like "lol", "kek", "hze"); blurring of norms ("their", "losers" in news); growth of profanity (especially on the internet). Many are sounding the alarm: the language is dying. But this is not extinction, but transformation. Literary language remains in books and official documents, while spoken language changes. The problem is not in changes, but in a gap: school teaches one thing, life teaches another. Children do not understand classic literature, and adults do not understand slang.

The Day of the Russian Language as a reminder

June 6 is not a linguist's day. It is a day for everyone who speaks Russian. Schools hold dictations, libraries hold readings. On social networks, there is a flashmob "my favorite Pushkin's poem". But the main meaning is to pay attention to how we speak. Not to "punish for a mistake", but to think: is it convenient for us to communicate? Do we understand each other? Isn't it time to clean up our speech from verbal garbage?

Challenges of modernity: neural networks and globalization

Neural networks write texts in Russian better than many people. They do not make spelling mistakes. But they do not feel the subtext, irony, beauty. In the future, it is possible that mass texts (news, reports, advertising) will be generated by AI, and living Russian will remain only in personal communication. Plus globalization: English is penetrating all spheres — IT, science, business. Young scientists prefer to publish in English. Russian risks becoming a "domestic" language, not a language of science. This is a challenge.

What will happen to Russian in 20 years

Predictions: will dialects survive? No, they are almost gone (thanks to TV and the internet). Will there be a "new language"? Partially: simplification of grammar (falling declensions?), growth of analytical constructions (like in English). But Russian is too rich to become coarse completely. Most likely, there will be stratification: elite Russian (for literature, science) and simplified (for chats). The problem is that the elite may know only a few. The task of the Day of the Russian Language is not to let a chasm become a bottomless pit.

How to preserve the language: what everyone can do

Read aloud (to children, to yourself). Check yourself with an orthographic dictionary (online). Do not be lazy to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words. Refuse to use word parasites (not all, but at least from "kind of"). Less watch news (where often illiterate anchors), more read books. Discuss interesting words with friends. Write letters on paper. Use auto-substitution, but not blindly. Respect the language, do not be embarrassed to ask if you are not sure about the stress.

The role of Pushkin in the future

Pushkin today is not just a poet. It is a filter. If a person does not understand "Eugene Onegin", they cannot consider themselves a full-fledged carrier of Russian culture. But this should not be a reason for snobbery. Pushkin should not be museumified, but humanized. Retell in modern language, find parallels with today. Then he will remain not a dead weight, but a living example.

The Russian language will not die as long as it is spoken and written. But it can become poor and mean. The Day of the Russian Language is not a celebration, but a warning. We are responsible for how it will be passed on to our grandchildren.

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