MOSCOW, 21 February 2023. In anticipation of Mother Language Day, Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey among Russians on the language purity and borrowed words.

Language and speech: evolution and distinctiveness

Today a majority of Russians are against changes to the language situation; they say that it is important to safeguard the Russian language and fight for its purity (56%); since 2019 this indicator has reduced by 12 p.p. The opposite opinion (the language reflects the actual situation in the society and should develop independently, with no intervention) is shared by 38% (+11 p.p. compared to 2019). Compared to 2008, the distribution of answers has almost not changed.

Those Russians who think that it is important to safeguard the Russian language consider that this should be done by those who are indifferent to the language (49%; 26% say that this should be done by professional linguists. Least of respondents mention politicians (10%), NGOs (5%). Young respondents aged 18-24 are more likely to point to professional linguists than others (37%).

On loanwords

There were periods in the history of Russia when the upper class was broadly proficient in foreign languages, namely French, German, English, Italian and others; during the Peter the Great rule the Russian language enriched with engineering, military and other professional terms. This led to the assimilation of the foreign words and their active use, and today many of these words look commonplace and even seem to be originally Russian. However only two out of ten listed words were defined as the Russian words by most of respondents:  infantry (81% called this word Russian) and airplane (83%). The word “car”[1] was wrongly called Russian by 57% of respondents (the word came from German); 49% were wrong to define the word “hand frag”, which is Italian. Right answers prevail for the rest of the proposed words: “highway” is correctly defined as a borrowed word (derived from German) by 74% of Russians; “airfield” (derived from French), by 53%; “communism” (derived from French), by 51%; “pilot” (Italian), by 50%; “aviation”(French), by 47%; “bomb” (French), by 45%.

How should the new notions be named?

As to how  to cope with new notions (goods, ideas, processes, etc.) that already exist in the real world but not in the language, 45% of Russians say it does not really matter whether  it be a loanword or a Russian one, the most important thing is to make it understandable. This viewpoint is shared by Russians from different socio-demographic groups. Thirty-four percent of respondents think that new Russian words should be invented to name new notions. Those who think so are mainly older Russians (46% of those aged 60+), active TV viewers (46%), and rural area residents (42%). A further 16% think that it is better to use a foreign word to name a new notion that came from abroad. This stance is closer to young people aged 18-24 (35%), persons with higher education degree (21%), active Internet users (27%) and those who live in Moscow, St Petersburg, million-plus and large cities (500-950 thousand inhabitants) (25%, 22% and 21% respectively).

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 12 February, 2023. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted according to social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, survey of February 12, 2023:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.8260; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0206; response rate (RR)*** = 0.1037.

[1] See. Etymological Online Dictionary of the Russian Language by G.A.Krylov URL

: lexicography.online/etymology/krylov/.