The Soviet Union actively tried to incorporate
Marxist ideals into the study of linguistics.
Linguists had important positions in the early
Soviet state, as they were needed to develop
alphabets for languages that previously had
never been written.In the 1920s, language
began to be seen as a social phenomenon, and
Russian and Soviet linguists tried to give
a sociological explanation to features of
language.
At the same time, Soviet linguists sought
to develop a "Marxist" linguistics, as opposed
to the early theories that were viewed as
bourgeois.
Based on this, linguists focused more on the
spoken forms of the language, and devoted
more time to the study of non-standard dialects
than previous linguists had done.
This can be seen in the work of Boris Alexandrovich
Larin and Lev Petrovich Iakubinskii.The leading
linguist of the early Soviet era was Nicholas
Marr, known for his Japhetic theory.
The theory suggested that the Kartvelian languages
had a common origin with the Semitic languages.
He also applied the idea of class struggle
to the development of language.
After Marr died, a likely ghost-written article
credited to Stalin blasted Marr's theory,
stating "Soviet linguistics cannot be advanced
on the basis of an incorrect formula which
is contrary to the whole course of the history
of peoples and languages."
Politically, World War II caused a rise in
nationalism, which Japhetic theory argued
against.
This theory was never accepted outside the
Soviet Union.
== See also ==
List of Russian linguists and philologists
== References ==
