Language and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Russia

Viktor Zhivov (PhD Moscow University) was a professor at UC Berkeley and the Russian Language Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow. His publications included Ocherki istoricheskoi morfologii russkogo iazyka XVII—XVIII veka (2004), Razyskaniia voblasti istorii i predystorii russkoi kul’tury (2002), and Jazyk I kul’tura v Rossii XVIII veka. Professor Zhivov passed away in April 2013.

"Zhivov (Deputy Director, Institute of Russian Language, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia) connects the histories of language and culture in 18th century Russia, describing his main theme as "language and power," by which he means that "language is not merely a system of signs that makes communication possible but an instrument of human ambitions, desires and passion." He traces the formation of Russian literary language through describing the history of codification, how the need for a polyfunctional liguistic standard came to be realized, and how that standard was modified to meet the needs of the situation. He also addresses the institutional components of this history, discussing the role of the Academy of Sciences in codifying the Russian language, as well as the establishment of popular schools and their impact on literary standards and their general acceptance."

• Introduction: Problems in the Prehistory of the New Type of Russian Literary Language; The Petrine Language Reform: The Linguistic & Cultural Situation of the Petrine Era; The Start of Normalisation of the New Literary Language: The Formulation of Linguistie Theories & Literary Practice; The Changed Conception of the Literary Language: The "Slavenorossiiskii Language" & the Synthesis of Cultural & Linguistic Traditions; The New Cultural Differentiation: Linguistic Purity as an Ideological Category; Index.