Дома русского зарубежья имени АлександраSome time ago, or rather in 1962, Korney Chukovsky, fumbling for the epigraph to his book, «Alive Like Life», chose the words of Gogol:
«The Russian language has all the colors and shades, all the transformations of sounds from the most harsh to the most gentle and soft ones, it is endless and being alive like life may enrich itself with every minute».
More than half a century later, keeping the pot of his great predecessor boiling, Leonid Niessmann remembered this quotation, along with the lines of other classics (Lermontov, Pushkin, Turgenev and others) in his book «The Russian Language. Difficulties, Mysteries, Subtleties and Something Else.»
I am convinced that Korney Chukovsky would welcome the publication of this book with all the might of his boisterous temper. Because all his life he served Russian literature and Russian language and was able to make any investigation associated with texts, words, phraseology, linguistics involving and grasping. This is exactly the first thing that distinguishes the brilliant work of Leonid Niessmann among others.
Back in his time Boris Slutsky wrote: «Physicists are in honor now, lyrists are in dishonor». Our hero disproved this wonderful poet's formula.
Being a distinguished engineer and creator of automatic design systems, the author of many technical inventions, Leonid Niessman has been faithful to art and literature so far. It is difficult to list all his friends among actors and celebrities in politics and culture, one would consider honor to stand next to. Let's name Mikhail Derzhavin, Artur Chilingarov, Alexander Shirvindt, and of course, Yuri Luzhkov.
Leonid Niessman was born in the Arbat and lived in the house where Stage Directing Department of Shchukin Art School is located today, so he first-hand absorbed the unique traditional Moscow speech. Generally he belongs to the people who, despite everything, remain interested in life in an easy childlike manner.
Being an obvious digithead, as it would seem, he easily fits into the most evident humanitarian projects. Having moved to Germany, Niessmann did not look back at the past hard feelings received at home like other new immigrants, but plunged into the great life of the vast Russian world. Becoming a member of the Presidium of the International Union of Compatriots he gained respect of such «greats» as Prince Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky and Count Pyotr Sheremetev. Both have repeatedly spoken highly of Niessmann, and these people do not heap compliments for no reason.
The truth is that Leonid Niessmann has most radiant personality and, of course, talent to inspire others by his good deeds. «The Russian Language. Difficulties, Mysteries, Subtleties and Something Else.» is a magnificient example to the subject.
Just fancy! A man lives in Germany. He is an engineer, not a professional philologist or linguist, but he is writing a book about the Russian language. And he delivers this awesome work in the frame of sayings, comparisons, different catch-phrases, and set-expressions. And those unaware of what treasure the Russian language is, will be fascinated and stunned by such discoveries.
Well, who, for Chrissake, knows that the Russian word «vrach» (doctor) comes from the verb «vrat'» (to lie), moreover, it has more distant roots to the word «zagovarivat'» (cast a spell). «Filkina gramota» (a meaningless paper) was born after the tragedy of Metropolitan Philip, who stood against the power of Ivan the Terrible. One remembers this image realized by unforgettable Oleg Yankovsky in one of his last films. «Yerunda» (nonsense) comes from the word «gerund»– the rule that was hated by students, studying Latin. The saying «The Moor has done his duty» does not derive from the passions of Othello, but was pronounced in Schiller's play «Fiesco's Conspiracy in Genoa». The saying «Zhiv Kurilka» (alive and kicking) does not appear to be invented by Pushkin, but originates from an old children's game, when children passed each other a burning long dry stick until it went out. As for the arrogant phrase «blue blood», it comes from excessive pride of the Spanish aristocrats. Unlike the Moors they had blue veins standing out on their white hands. The Russian saying «Seven Fridays in the week» (equal to «Rain at 7, fine at 11») originated from holding markets and bazaars on Fridays before the weekend. Many buyers took the goods, and promised to pay next Friday. And so on and so forth…
These seem to be amusing investigations only at first glance. But in fact, there is more behind it – a great cultural and historical layer, which remarkably extends the «person's self-identity», described by Pushkin.
Niessmann feels absolutely at ease with sayings and set-phrases, and at the same time he very easily and without any compulsion explains how certain catch-phrases and collocations, often used with mistakes, are actually spelt. He is not afraid to approach the present day, and quotes a full bag of Viktor Chernomyrdin's comments, which have already become the flesh and blood of Russian identity. And here we also face the history of our language and history of our culture.
But yet, this is not the whole story. The author also cites a number of sayings and collocations from other languages and compares them with the Russian ones. Just to name a few, the Croatian «Day of Holy Noone» means our «When crawfish whistles on a hill» (When pigs fly) and the English «Raining cats and dogs» is equal to our «pouring from a bucket». By the way, it turns out that the Portuguese call their downpour a «Rain of toad beards».
And that is what lifts the veil on other cultures and visions of the world in an easy and intriguing manner. Leonid comes up with a lot of buddy tales and anecdotes, but all of them have been thoroughly chosen to serve the main goal – to educate. Here is, for example, a funny section – «How were different languages invented?» Let's take Japanese.
Let's pronounce all the sounds in the same tone? The way a dog barks. To make everyone have cold feet.
At the same time, the author, who has done so much to let the Russians feel at ease and confident outside their country, finds words from different languages, which sound similar to Russian, but have completely different meanings. Just take, for example, the Czech «úžasný» which in our language means «perfect.» However, the word «klobasa» will be clear to anyone.
Do not think I intend to sound ostentatious, but the book by Leonid Niessmann is an example of real, genuine patriotism, of love and service to Russian culture and Russian language. He presents his fundamental and very important work lucidly and with humor. Meanwhile each line is full of millenary history and thorny way that the mighty Russian language has passed and serves us today. It is so good that this work is coming out just now, when the most important ethical and moral guidelines seem to be getting lost. Such books remind us again and again who we are and where we have come from.
