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The language is the creed of people.
There is nature, soul and the way of life of people in the language.
P.Vyazemsky.
А language is not a simple system of various means of speaking and an instrument of a dialogue, or ideas exchange. A language is a great wonder, presented to people by nature.
Every nation speaks its own language. We speak Russian, although there are more than 3000 languages in the world. In ancient times there were fewer languages, but people settled in different parts of the world, moved to different places, divided into different nations. They forgot and changed the language of their ancestors. As you know, people in different places lived in different natural and economic conditions and so they changed some words and invented new words. All changes in the life of people find their reflection in the language that’s why the language is a history of people. As the result of this development Russian words appeared in many languages. Everybody knows the words "Paleh", "Hohloma", Gzhelie", "matreshka".
The history of mankind is reflected in its languages, traditions and customs. These things can be vividly seen in the Russian language. The great writer of 20th century Mikhail Bulgakov said: "Manuscripts don't burn", meaning that the word is imperishable. So peoples' memory is kept and transferred, first of all, in the Word. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers have left to us, as a heritage, the centuries-old wisdom, dressed in the "Word" (in proverbs and sayings, songs and fables). There are a lot of international proverbs, they have similar meanings in different languages, and they reflect moral values. For example:
"Never say die" (while in Russia we say "Hope dies the last…"),
"Rome was not built in a day", (while in Russia we say "Moscow was not built in a day... ")
These proverbs teach the people of the world to be patient and to hope for the better.
But Russian people have some proverbs which characterize their national character traits. Russian people have their own broad soul full of extremes; we are very hospitable, always ready to help. Our ancestors were proud, courageous and hotly loving their country people. And their love became deeper and stronger when it was penetrated by knowledge and understanding. It led to the comprehension of the secret and the deep sense of the language. The centuries-old history of our country testifies that it was necessary for our ancestors to defend the boundaries from different enemies. The borders of the country changed very often, therefore, the word "Rodina" comes from "rodnaya", which means "native", "dear". In England the borders of the country didn't change so often and that’s why the word "Homeland" comes from a root "place". Also a lot of words reflect traditions and customs of the people. As you know in Russia a fiance saw a fiancee for the first time only on the wedding day, that’s why the translation of the word "nevesta" means "indefinite", "unknown", but in English these words are of the same root. So we can see that English and Russian words have similar meanings, but the origin is a bit different.
A language is a strong link, which connects all generations in one great whole. The Russian language is a national property of Russian people; it is a state language of The Russian Federation and the language of the interethnic dialogue. The Russian language is the main element of the Great Russian literature. And it is recognized all over the world as the great language of the great people.
From early childhood all of us remember the amazing words of Ivan Turgenev, which were inverted to the Russian language: "Only you are my support and assistance, great, mighty, truthful and free Russian." But ruthlessly we spoil and deform it…
K. Paustovskiyi wrote: "A man, who is indifferent to the language, is an unsociable person. He is a wrecker and his indifference to the language is explained by uttermost indifference to the past, the present and the future of his country". A man, who loves his country, culture and people is obliged to learn the details of his native language, he should take care of it.
The language helps us to join the spiritual culture of the past, enter the spiritual world of our ancestors and to keep the history of our native land.
Let's remember К.Paustovskiyi's words: "We have the richest and, really, magic Russian language".
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