Church Slavonic as a Conserving Language

Church Slavonic language along with classical Greek and Latin is a conserving language. It is these three languages that determined and in some cases formed European culture and language space of modern age. Behind each of these three languages there is not just a separate nation with its centripetal interests, but Christian civilization. In it, centrifugal processes in the form of missionary activity, but presuming indispensable perseverance of the centre, are the most important.. The specific traits in which modern Church Slavonic language differs from modern Russian literary language are the following: kind of existence; major influence of Usus on paradigmatics in Church Slavonic; tradition and not norm being the principle mechanism in Church Slavonic; super national functioning of Church Slavonic, its super ethnic nature; “sobornost”-based development of Church Slavonic. Church Slavonic language is special in the way that it was initially and specifically created for the sole purpose of Christian preaching, gospel translation, divine service conduct. Its connection with Latin is evident, since both languages are linked to the Greek tradition, but in different ways. Latin had been imbibing Greek since the ancient (pagan) times, so that taking in the Byzantine tradition was just a continuation. For Slavonic cultural tradition Greek (middle Greek, Byzantine) was a discovery and the beginning of its own Christian tradition. Church Slavonic language can be regarded as a continuation of classical Greek.

Keywords: Church Slavonic language, conserving language, connection of Church Slavonic with Greek and Latin languages, distinctive features of modern Church Slavonic and modern literary Russian language.

Church Slavonic as a Conserving Language