Russia moves to outlaw foreign words

Hold your tongue: Even Putin may have to watch his mouth

By Stephen Dalziel BBC Russian affairs analyst

The use of foreign words where suitable Russian ones exist has been forbidden under a new law passed by the Russian parliament.

The new law, which the State Duma passed on its third and final reading, affirms the place of Russian as the official national tongue.

It also outlaws the use in public of offensive or obscene expressions.

But the attempt to rid Russian of words loaned from foreign languages could prove the most difficult part to enforce.

The Russian language is so full of foreign words that many Russians take them to be their own.

Flood of words

Words like "shlagbaum", from the German for a barrier, or "shofyor", a driver, from the French word "chauffeur", speak of a time when the language of the Russian court was not Russian.

More recently, the opening up of post-Soviet Russia to the outside world has seen a flood of English words into the everyday conversations of millions of Russians.

When the terrible events of the Moscow theatre siege happened last October, the show that was interrupted was described as a "myuzikl".

Presumably, under the new law, the show, "Nord-Ost", should be described as a "muzikalnaya komediya".

But, oh dear, there's another problem.

It has a foreign title.

Toilet taboo

Perhaps when it re-opens in a few days' time, it should be re-named, "Severo-vostok".

The clause in the law which bans obscene words and expressions could cause problems for the President, Vladimir Putin.

Just before he sent Russian troops back into Chechnya in 1999, he declared publicly that Russia would find the Chechen rebels, "even if they were sitting on the toilet".

Only that's a rather polite English translation of the original Russian.