Derleth
December 18, 2012, 7:04am
1
Some Russians take peeving to a whole new level. Viktor Chumakov, an 80-year-old retired engineer, thinks the CIA is behind a linguistic shift he disapproves of ; namely, the fact the letter Ё (Yo) is being replaced by the letter Е (Ye) in some contexts:
The Wall Street Journal has a long, charming article on the ups and downs of a Russian letter that is fading from the vernacular. The Cyrillic-alphabet letter, ë, is pronounced “yo.” Apparently, people are starting to drop the dots, even though the resulting e is pronounced “ye” in Russia. The distinction does matter: it’s why Russians know their former leader as Nikita Khrushcho v rather than Khrushche v, as he is commonly called by the rest of the world.
[snip]
Mr. Chumakov sees a more sinister motivation. He alleges the [Russian Language Institute] is at the heart of a plot by the Central Intelligence Agency to weaken Russia.
“In any country, the alphabet is an instrument to bring order,” he says, carefully brushing a loose wisp of white hair behind his ear. “If it isn’t respected, everything falls to pieces.”
The end of the Cold War really hit some people hard.
Here’s the important part: a CIA spokesperson formally denied the charge that the U.S. spy agency is behind the letter’s gradual fade from popular usage. “There is absolutely no truth to this allegation,” the spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal. “The Agency supports the practice of good grammar and pronunciation in any language.”
And, as you may expect, Chumakov is a bit nostalgic for Stalin:
Chumakov, for whatever it’s worth, also blames the letter’s decline on the death of Josef Stalin, whose government apparently promoted ë. And the Journal points out that the letter “has a mischievous side, bringing to mind a Russian swear word meaning ‘copulate,’ some forms of which start with ë.”
The Cold War, Stalin, the CIA, and sex, all referenced by changing one letter into another.
njtt
December 18, 2012, 2:51pm
2
I think this guy would fit right in here at The Dope.
Well… “Six sax sex sox” means the horn player is good for almost a week of solo gratification. Change any of those letters, and it sux.
I think it is a great idea, mess with their grammer and spelling - undermine their civilization from the inside.
The Russian response was to secretly fund technology that lead to texting. It was a master blow.
Cliffy
December 18, 2012, 6:32pm
6
You’re on the list, Elmer J. Fudd !
–Cliffy
tdn
December 18, 2012, 6:52pm
7
I don’t think alot of weakening a country by changing it’s language in subtle ways.
They’re not really serious about changing the language. This is just training for when they make their move to overthrow the Academie and start fucking with French.
Wake up SHEE- er, llamrades!
Chimera
December 18, 2012, 8:06pm
10
This is what happens when your crappy language has an E that sounds like an O.
Knorf
December 18, 2012, 8:54pm
11
Михаил Сергеевич Горбачёв, aka Mikhail Syergeyevich Gorbachyov, suffered from this: in print and in the U.S. media his name was always “Gorbachev.”
But a “ё” in Russian ain’t an “e” in English, whether long or short.
Maybe I’m insufficiently paranoid, but I’m not sure I see how the CIA has sufficient power to alter the American English alphabet, let alone that of another country.
I think he’s got it backwards–it’s a KGB/FSB plot to make the language difficult for foreigners to learn.
They’re not allowed to operate inside the U.S.
They’re spies . If there’s one thing they can do by definition, it’s sneaking into places!
Hey, if Mossad can make sharks attack egyptians , the CIA should be able to change letters.
It must make Russian “Wheel of Fortune” a little difficult.
“Oleg, I’d like to buy a ‘Yo.’”
“Sorry, Piotr, ‘Yo’ is no longer for sale.”
Hypno-Toad:
It must make Russian “Wheel of Fortune” a little difficult.
“Oleg, I’d like to buy a ‘Yo.’”
“Sorry, Piotr, ‘Yo’ is no longer for sale.”
Which is unfortunate for Pyotr especially, since his name includes the letter.
^^^That was great.
As a Russian language learner, I approve of Chumakov’s outrage. It’s hard enough reading a text that distinguishes between e and ё, but when you’re reading one that doesn’t, and you’re not fluent in the language, and you’re looking at a word like сестры and trying to determine if that’s truly сестры (genitive singular) or actually сёстры (nominative plural), you get a headache.
