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What language norms exist. Language norms: concept, types

The concept of language norm

Every cultured person should be able to correctly pronounce and write words, place punctuation marks, and not make mistakes when forming word forms, constructing phrases and sentences.

The concept of linguistic norm is closely related to the concept of correct speech.

Language norm – This is the generally accepted use of linguistic means: sounds, stress, intonation, words, syntactic constructions.

Basic properties of the language norm:

objectivity – the norm is not invented by scientists or prescribed by them;

mandatory for all native speakers;

sustainability - if the norms were not stable, easily subject to various influences, the connection between generations would be broken; stability of norms ensures continuity cultural traditions people, development of national literature;

historical variability - as a language develops, language norms gradually change under the influence of colloquial speech, various social and professional groups population, borrowing, etc.

Changes in language result in variations of some words. For example, the options are absolutely equal tunnel - tunnel, galoshes - galoshes, cottage cheese - cottage cheese

However, more often the options receive different assessments: the main option is considered to be the one that can be used in all styles of speech and has a broader meaning; An option whose use is limited is considered secondary. For example, in all speech styles the option agreement, while the form agreement has a conversational tone. Form phenomenon can be used in all meanings of the word, and the colloquial version phenomenon used only in the sense of "a person with unusual abilities."

Many forms that have a vernacular coloring are outside the boundaries of the literary language: rings, got it, put it down and etc.

The admissibility of traditional and new pronunciation gives rise to the idea of two types of norms - “senior” and “younger”: senior - recommended, more strict; the only one possible in stage and announcer speech; the younger one is acceptable, more free, characteristic of everyday speech.

Society consciously cares about preserving language norms, which is reflected in the process codification– streamlining of language norms. The most important means of codification are linguistic dictionaries, reference books, and teaching aids, from which we can glean information about the correct use of language units.

In relation to the literary norm, several types of speech are distinguished, for example:

elite speech, which is characterized by compliance with all literary norms, mastery of all functional styles Russian language, transition from one style to another depending on spheres of communication, compliance with ethical standards of communication, respect for the partner;

average-level literary speech, which most of the intelligentsia speaks;

literary and colloquial speech;

conversational-familiar type of speech (usually speech at the level of the family, relatives);

colloquial speech (speech of uneducated people);

professional speech.

Types of language norms

The most important quality of good speech – correctness – is based on compliance with various language norms. The types of language norms reflect the hierarchical structure of the language - each language level has its own set of language norms.

Orthoepic norms – it is a set of rules that establish uniform pronunciation. Orthoepy in the proper sense of the word indicates how certain sounds should be pronounced in certain phonetic positions, in certain combinations with other sounds, as well as in certain grammatical forms ah and groups of words or even individual words, if these forms and words have their own pronunciation features.

Let us give some examples of mandatory spelling norms (pronunciation of consonants).

1. The plosive sound [g] at the end of the word is deafened and [k] is pronounced in its place; pronunciation of the fricative [γ] is allowed in the words: God, Lord, good.

2. Voiced consonants, except for sonorant ones [r], [l], [m], [n], at the end of words and before voiceless consonants are deafened, and voiceless consonants before voiced ones, except for sonorant ones, are voiced: [teeth] - [zup] , [kas'it'] – [kaz'ba].

3. All consonants, except [zh], [sh], [ts], before vowels [i], [e] become soft. However, in some borrowed words the consonants before [e] remain hard: chalk[m'el], shadow[t'en'], but pace[tempo].

4. At the junction of morphemes, the consonants [z] and [zh], [z] and [sh], [s] and [sh], [s] and [zh], [z] and [h'] are pronounced as long hissing sounds: sew[shshyt’], squeeze[burn’].

5. Combination Thu in words what, to, nothing pronounced [pcs].

No less important for orthoepy is the question of stress placement. As noted by K.S. Gorbachevich, “correct placement of stress is a necessary sign of cultural, literate speech. There are many words, the pronunciation of which serves as a kind of litmus test for the level of speech culture. It is often enough to hear from a stranger the wrong emphasis in a word (such as: youth, store, invention, newborn, tool, document, percentage, whooping cough, beets, athlete, self-interest, associate professor, briefcase, condolences, transferred, transported, make it easier, people, etc. .p.) in order to form a not too flattering opinion about his education, the degree of general culture, so to speak, the level of intelligence. Therefore, there is no need to prove how important it is to master the correct stress” [K.S. Gorbachevich. Norms of modern Russian literary language. M., 1981].

Issues of pronunciation of words are discussed in detail in orthoepic dictionaries, for example: Orthoepic Dictionary of the Russian Language. Pronunciation, stress, grammatical forms / edited by R.I. Avanesova. M., 1995 (and other editions)

Lexical norms- these are the rules for using words in accordance with their meanings and compatibility possibilities.

Is it possible to name the exhibition vernissage? The seagull on the curtain is mascot Art theater or its emblem? Is the use of words the same? thanks to– because of, become – stand up, place – place? Is it possible to use expressions a cavalcade of buses, a memorial monument, a forecast for the future? Answers to these questions can be found in lectures no. 7, № 8, № 10.

Like other types of norms, lexical norms are subject to historical changes. For example, it is interesting to trace how the norm of using the word has changed enrollee. In the 30s and 40s, applicants were also called those who graduated high school, and those who entered the university, since both of these concepts in most cases refer to the same person. IN post-war years the word for those graduating from high school has become graduate, A enrollee in this meaning has fallen out of use. Applicants began to be called those who pass entrance exams at universities and technical schools.

The following dictionaries are devoted to the description of lexical norms of the Russian language: V.N. Vakurov, L.I. Rakhmanova, I.V. Tolstoy, N.I. Formanovskaya. Difficulties of the Russian language: Dictionary-reference book. M., 1993; Rosenthal D.E., Telenkova M.A. Dictionary of difficulties of the Russian language. M., 1999; Belchikov Yu.A., Panyusheva M.S. Dictionary of paronyms of the Russian language. M., 2002, etc.

Morphological norms- these are the rules for the formation of words and word forms.

Morphological norms are numerous and relate to the use of forms different parts speech. These norms are reflected in grammars and reference books.

For example, in the nominative plural of nouns, most words, according to the traditional norms of the literary language, correspond to the ending -s , -And : mechanics, bakers, turners, searchlights. However, in a number of words there is an ending -A . Forms with ending -A usually have a conversational or professional tone. Only some words have an ending -A corresponds to the literary norm, for example: addresses, shore, side, board, century, bill of exchange, director, doctor, jacket, master, passport, cook, cellar, professor, class, watchman, paramedic, cadet, anchor, sail, cold.

Variant forms, forms corresponding to the literary norm, are described in detail in the book: T.F. Efremova, V.G. Kostomarov. Dictionary of grammatical difficulties of the Russian language. M., 2000.

Syntactic norms- these are the rules for constructing phrases and sentences.

For example, choosing the right form of control is perhaps the most difficult thing in modern oral and written speech. How to say: dissertation review or for a dissertation, production control or for production,capable of sacrifices or to the victims,monument to Pushkin or Pushkin, control destinies or fate?

The book will help answer these questions: Rosenthal D.E. Handbook of the Russian language. Management in Russian. M., 2002.

Stylistic norms– these are the rules for choosing linguistic means in accordance with the communication situation.

Many words in the Russian language have a certain stylistic connotation - bookish, colloquial, colloquial, which determines the characteristics of their use in speech.

For example, the word dwell has a bookish character, so it should not be used in combination with words that are stylistically reduced, evoking ideas of a reduced character. This is why it is incorrect: I went to the barn wherethere were pigs...

Mixing vocabulary of different stylistic colors can be used for artistic purposes, for example, to create a comic effect: The forest owner loves to feast on polydrupes and angiosperms... And when the siverko blows, how the dashing bad weather makes fun - the general metabolism of Toptygin sharply slows down, the tone of the gastrointestinal tract decreases with a concomitant increase in the lipid layer. Yes, the minus range is not scary for Mikhailo Ivanovich: no matter where hairline, and the epidermis is noble...(T. Tolstaya).

Of course, we should not forget about spelling rules, which are given the most attention in school course Russian language. These include spelling standards– rules for writing words and punctuation norms– rules for placing punctuation marks.

A person is manifested, first of all, in its correctness. It covers not just one side of the language, but concerns absolutely everyone, necessarily both for oral and oral language.

Language norms- these are the rules on the basis of which certain means of language are used at a certain stage of its development. It is also the generally accepted, exemplary use of phrases, sentences and words in speech.

The following languages are distinguished:

Word formation (norms for the formation of new words);

Orthoepic (or pronunciation norms);

Morphological;

Spelling;

Lexical;

Syntactic;

Punctuation;

Intonation.

Some of them are typical for both and some are only for oral or only for written.

Language norms are a historically formed phenomenon. Some of them appeared a long time ago and have remained unchanged to this day, while others have disappeared. Some even come into conflict. For example, the German word “applicant” comes from a Middle Latin word meaning “one who is going to leave”, and today it is used to describe someone who, on the contrary, is going to enroll to study. That is, over time the norm of using this word has changed.

Orthoepic language norms are also not stable. For example, the borrowed word “bankrupt” was written as “bankrupt” before the 18th century. Until the end of the 19th century, both forms were used, and then it won and became the norm after all. new form its use.

The pronunciation of the combination -chn- has also undergone changes. So explanatory dictionaries The 1935-1940s represent different norms than those that exist today. For example, in the words “toy, snack bar” the combination -chn- was pronounced as -shn-, which is now completely unacceptable. Some words have retained a double variant: bakery, decently.

Morphological language norms also change. This can be clearly seen in the example of the endings of nouns. male in the plural and nominative case. The fact is that some have the ending -s, while others have the ending -a. This is due to the existence of the dual number form in the Old Russian language until the 13th century, which was used when it was necessary to indicate two objects. Thus, three variants of endings were obtained: zero for singular nouns, ending -a to indicate two objects, and ending -ы to indicate the number of objects exceeding two. At first, the ending -a was preserved in those words that denoted paired objects: eye, side, etc. Gradually it almost replaced the ending -ы in other words as well.

But animate nouns in the plural mostly retain the ending -y: accountants, drivers, engineers, lecturers, inspectors and inspectors, but professors.

Sometimes you also need to take into account For example, the word “teacher” with the meaning “teacher” has in the nominative case plural the ending is “I”, and with the meaning “chapter of teaching” - the ending is -i; the word “leaf” (of paper) has the ending -ы, and the word “leaf” (of wood) has the ending -я.

The multivariance of norms testifies to the incredible richness of the Russian language. But at the same time, this creates certain difficulties, since it becomes necessary to choose the right option from this number. This can be done correctly only if the characteristics of each option and its syntactic coloring are known. As a result of a detailed study of the use in and written) different options created by linguistic scientists special dictionaries and explanatory dictionaries, which record language norms characteristic of the modern literary language.

These are the rules for using existing linguistic means in a specific historical period evolution of the literary language (set of rules of spelling, grammar, pronunciation, word usage).

The concept of a language norm is usually interpreted as an example of the generally accepted uniform use of such elements of language as phrases, words, sentences.

The norms under consideration are not the result of the invention of philologists. They reflect a certain stage in the evolution of the literary language of an entire people. Language norms cannot simply be introduced or abolished; they cannot be reformed even administratively. The activities of linguists who study these norms are their identification, description and codification, as well as explanation and promotion.

Literary language and language norm

According to the interpretation of B. N. Golovin, the norm is the choice of a single linguistic sign among various functional variations, historically accepted within a certain language community. In his opinion, she is a regulator speech behavior many people.

The literary and linguistic norm is a contradictory and complex phenomenon. Exist various interpretations of this concept in linguistic literature modern era. The main difficulty of definition is the presence of mutually exclusive features.

Distinctive features of the concept under consideration

It is customary to identify the following features of language norms in the literature:

1.Resilience (stability), thanks to which the literary language unites generations due to the fact that language norms ensure the continuity of linguistic and cultural traditions. However, this feature is considered relative, because the literary language is constantly evolving, allowing for changes in existing norms.

2. The degree of occurrence of the phenomenon under consideration. Still, it is worth keeping in mind that a significant level of usage of the corresponding language variant (as a fundamental feature in determining the literary and linguistic norm), as a rule, also characterizes certain speech errors. For example, in colloquial speech The definition of a language norm comes down to the fact that it is “frequently occurring.”

3.Compliance with an authoritative source(works widely famous writers). But do not forget that in works of art reflects both the literary language and dialects, vernaculars, therefore, when delineating norms, based on observation of texts mainly fiction, it is necessary to distinguish between the author’s speech and the language of the characters in the work.

The concept of a linguistic norm (literary) is associated with the internal laws of the evolution of language, and on the other hand, it is determined by the purely cultural traditions of society (what it approves and protects, and what it fights and condemns).

Variety of language norms

The literary and linguistic norm is codified (gains official recognition and is subsequently described in reference books and dictionaries that have authority in society).

There are the following types of language norms:

The types of language norms presented above are considered to be basic.

Typology of language norms

It is customary to distinguish the following standards:

oral and written forms of speech;
oral only;
only written.

The types of language norms that apply to both oral and written speech are as follows:

lexical;
stylistic;
grammatical.

Special norms for exclusively written speech are:

spelling standards;
punctuation.

The following types of language norms are also distinguished:

pronunciation;
intonation;
accents.

They apply only to oral speech.

Linguistic norms, which are common to both forms of speech, relate primarily to the construction of texts and linguistic content. Lexical ones (the set of word usage norms), on the contrary, are decisive in the issue of the correct choice of the appropriate word among linguistic units that are sufficiently close to it in form or meaning and its use in its literary meaning.

Lexical language norms are displayed in dictionaries (explanatory, foreign words, terminological), reference books. It is compliance with this kind of norms that is the key to accuracy and correctness of speech.

Violation of language norms leads to numerous lexical errors. Their number is constantly increasing. One can imagine following examples language norms that were violated:

Language options

They involve four stages:

1. The only form is dominant, and the alternative option is considered to be incorrect, since it is beyond the boundaries of the literary language (for example, in the 18th-19th centuries, the word “turner” is the only correct option).

2. An alternative option makes its way into the literary language as acceptable (marked “additional”) and acts either colloquially (marked “colloquial”) or equal to the original norm (marked “and”). Hesitation regarding the word "turner" began to appear in late XIX century and continued until the beginning of the 20th century.

3. The original norm is rapidly fading away and giving way to an alternative (competing) one; it acquires the status of obsolete (marked “obsolete.”). Thus, the above-mentioned word “turner,” according to Ushakov’s dictionary, is considered obsolete.

4. A competing norm as the only one within the literary language. According to the Dictionary of Difficulties of the Russian Language, the previously presented word "turner" is considered the only option (literary norm).

It is worth noting the fact that in announcer, teaching, stage, oratorical speech there are only possible strict language norms. In everyday speech, the literary norm is freer.

The relationship between speech culture and language norms

Firstly, speech culture is mastery of the literary norms of a language in written and oral form, as well as the ability to correctly select and organize certain linguistic means in such a way that in a specific communication situation or in the process of observing its ethics, the greatest effect is ensured in achieving the intended communication objectives .

And secondly, this is an area of linguistics that deals with the problems of speech normalization and develops recommendations regarding the skillful use of language.

Speech culture is divided into three components:

Language norms are hallmark literary language.

Standards of language in business style

They are the same as in the literary language, namely:

the word must be used according to its lexical meaning;
taking into account the stylistic coloring;
according to lexical compatibility.

These are lexical language norms of the Russian language within the framework of business style.

For this style, it is extremely important to comply with the qualities that determine the effectiveness parameter business communication(literacy). This quality also implies knowledge of existing rules of word usage, sentence patterns, grammatical compatibility, and the ability to distinguish between the areas of application of the language.

Currently, the Russian language has many variant forms, some of which are used within the framework of book and written speech styles, and some - in everyday conversation. IN business style Forms of special codified written speech are used due to the fact that only their compliance ensures the accuracy and correctness of the transmission of information.

This may include:

incorrect choice of word form;
a number of violations regarding the structure of phrases and sentences;
The most common mistake is the use in writing of incompatible colloquial forms of plural nouns that end in -а / -я, instead of the normative ones in -и/-ы. Examples are presented in the table below.

Literary norm	Colloquial speech
Treaties	Treaty
Proofreaders	Proofreaders
Inspectors	Inspectors

It is worth remembering that the following nouns have a zero-ending form:

paired items (shoes, stockings, boots, but socks);
names of nationalities and territorial affiliations (Bashkirs, Bulgarians, Kyivans, Armenians, British, southerners);
military groups (cadets, partisans, soldiers);
units of measurement (volts, arshins, roentgens, amperes, watts, microns, but grams, kilograms).

These are the grammatical language norms of Russian speech.

Sources of language norms

There are at least five of them:

The role of the norms under consideration

They help preserve literary language its integrity and general intelligibility. Norms protect him from dialect speech, professional and social argot, and vernacular. This is what makes it possible for the literary language to fulfill its main function - cultural.

The norm depends on the conditions within which speech is realized. Language means that are appropriate in everyday communication may turn out to be unacceptable in official business. The norm does not differentiate linguistic means according to the criteria “good - bad”, but clarifies their expediency (communicative).

The norms under consideration are a so-called historical phenomenon. Their change is due to the continuous development of language. The norms of the last century may now be deviations. For example, in the 30-40s. words such as diploma student and diploma student (student who performs thesis). At that time, the word "diplomatnik" was a colloquial version of the word "diplomat". Within the literary norm of the 50-60s. there was a division of the meaning of the presented words: the diploma holder is a student during the period of defending his diploma, and the diploma holder is the winner of competitions, competitions, shows marked with a diploma (for example, a diploma holder of the International Vocal Show).

Also in the 30-40s. the word “applicant” was used to describe individuals who graduated from school or entered a university. Currently, those graduating from high school are called graduates, and an applicant to given value no longer used. They call people who take entrance exams to technical schools and universities.

Such norms as pronunciation are characteristic exclusively oral speech. But not everything that is characteristic of oral speech can be attributed to pronunciation. Intonation - enough important tool expressiveness, which gives emotional coloring to speech, and diction are not pronunciation.

As for stress, it relates to oral speech, however, despite the fact that it is a sign of a word or grammatical form, it still belongs to grammar and vocabulary, and is not a characteristic of pronunciation in its essence.

So, orthoepy indicates the proper pronunciation of certain sounds in appropriate phonetic positions and in combination with other sounds, and even in certain grammatical groups of words and forms, or in individual words, provided that they have their own pronunciation features.

Due to the fact that language is a means of human communication, it needs to unify oral and written formats. Just like spelling errors, incorrect pronunciation draws attention to speech from its external side, which acts as an obstacle in the course of linguistic communication. Since orthoepy is one of the aspects of speech culture, it has the task of helping to raise the pronunciation culture of our language.

The conscious cultivation of literary pronunciation on the radio, in cinema, theater, and school is very significant in relation to the mastery of the literary language by the masses of millions.

Vocabulary norms are those norms that determine the correct choice of a suitable word, the appropriateness of its use within the framework of a generally known meaning and in combinations considered generally accepted. The exceptional importance of their observance is determined by both cultural factors and the need for mutual understanding between people.

An essential factor determining the significance of the concept of norms for linguistics is the assessment of the possibilities of its application in various types linguistic research works.

Today, the following aspects and areas of research are identified within the framework of which the concept under consideration can become productive:

Study of the nature of functioning and implementation various kinds language structures (including establishing their productivity and distribution across various functional areas of the language).
The study of the historical aspect of language changes over relatively short periods of time (“microhistory”), when minor shifts in the structure of the language and significant changes in its functioning and implementation are revealed.

Degrees of normativity

A rigid, strict degree that does not allow alternative options.
Neutral, allowing equivalent options.
A more flexible degree that allows the use of colloquial or outdated forms.

The norm of language is the central concept of speech culture. The degree of correctness, accuracy, intelligibility, clarity, logic, expressiveness, expediency and appropriateness of speech is regulated by linguistic and stylistic norms.
A linguistic norm is the most preferable for serving native speakers of a given language in the process of communication and the most appropriate system of expression at all linguistic levels (means of pronunciation, word usage, word and form formation, syntactic means). Essentially, the norm reflects the tendencies towards improvement that objectively exist in a given society. speech culture. When determining a norm, one should proceed from the idea that it presupposes compliance with the systemic structural foundations of the language as a whole, modern trends language development, adequacy of linguistic expression to extralinguistic needs.
The main criterion of a language norm is the principle of communicative expediency, which contributes to the understanding of the statement.
“A norm is not only a socially approved rule, but also a rule objectified by real speech practice, a rule that reflects the laws of the language system and is confirmed by the word formation of authoritative writers” - this is the definition of a norm given by K.S. Gorbachevich.
Recognition of the normativity (correctness) of a linguistic fact, in his opinion, is usually based on the indispensable presence of three main features:
1) regular use (reproducibility) this method expressions;
2) compliance of this method of expression with the capabilities of the literary language system (taking into account its historical restructuring);
3) public approval a regularly reproduced method of expression (and the role of a judge in this case usually falls to writers, scientists, and the educated part of society).
According to A.A. Murashov, a norm is a linguistically accepted, culturally and socially conditioned rule and phenomenon of language, possessing directiveness (obligation to follow), accepted by the majority of speakers, reflecting patterns of development language systems in general, enshrined in the language of fiction and aesthetically justified.
As is known, modern language, which is a highly organized system of means of communication for all Russians, is represented by such varieties as literary speech (language), territorial dialect speech, and vernacular. The leading form of implementation of the Russian language is literary speech, the norms of which are codified as exemplary (recorded in grammars, textbooks, dictionaries), distributed by means mass media. (Although in the media and on TV there is often a deviation from the literary norm.)
The literary norm (i.e., the norm of a literary language, as opposed to the norm inherent in dialects, professional and social argot, etc.) is characterized by such an important property as the functional and stylistic differentiation of linguistic means. Signs of the norm of a literary language are relative stability, prevalence, common usage, preference and universal obligatory nature, compliance with use, custom (usus) and capabilities of the language system, reflection of its development trends.
A literary norm may be codified, or may be in the process of codification, or in the form of a potential but not yet codified trend. Codification records phenomena that have already developed in the process of language practice. Therefore, we can talk about the dynamic nature of the literary norm and the dialectical nature of the process of its codification in the process of communication.
There are differences between realized (or embodied) and potential, realized (or non-embodied) norms. The implemented norm consists of two parts:
1) updated (modern, productive, active, well-understood and practically codified norm);
2) non-updated (archaisms, outdated variants of the norm, as well as rarely used variants, doublets, etc.). The implemented norm also includes two parts:
1) neologisms and neologisms becoming the norm in different levels language;
2) a fundamentally uncodifiable area speech activity(individual, occasional formations).
The discrepancies between the literary norm and the actual use of language depend on historical stage society, its social structure, as well as on the characteristics of the language situation. Increasing impact of funds mass communication usually accompanied by significant unification of speech practice.
The most important task of speech culture as a linguistic science is the study of language norms at all levels of language (i.e. in all its sections: phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, etc.) in their established traditional forms, as well as in contradictions, in developing or emerging trends towards change, etc.