The German Context at the Beginning of the Language Standard Formation in Russian Grammaticography
The methodological principles presented in grammars of the Catholic abbot J. I. Felbiger (1724 - 1778) as well as in his book translated and published in Russia under the title On the Obligations of Man and Citizen are considered. Thanks to Felbiger’s school reforms the standardization process of the German language actively took place in Austria, overcoming the variability associated with the existence of dialects. In his grammatical writings, Felbiger became the guide of Johann K. Gottshed’s linguistic norms in Austria. The school reform carried out by Catherine II according to Austrian model made provisions for the use of Felbiger’s books in folk schools. Felbiger’s German grammar was ordered as a mandatory model for compilation of the Russian language grammar textbook. It was found that Concise Russian Grammar by professor of Moscow University E. B. Syreyshchikov followed to a considerable extent the methodological principles presented in Felbiger’s writings. The appearance of Syreyshchikov’s grammar due to its popularity, practical orientation, succinctness and clear invariant regulation of the usage allowed to avoid an unjustified variety of language means and contributed to the introduction of the codified language standard most suitable for communication among the educated Russian society in the last quarter of the 18th century.