Philologist explained why foreign words are not always replaced by Russian

The Russian word does not necessarily become a full-fledged replacement for a foreign word just because it is fixed in the dictionary. In order for the analogue to truly enter into use, it must be fixed in living speech. About this "Science Mail" told Russian philologist, associate professor of St. Petersburg University Fedor Dvinyatin.

“The presence of a Russian word is also not a criterion, because this Russian word can be some sort of refined, completely colloquial, dialectal, artificially created,” the expert said.

As an example, Dvinyatin gave the word “waste”. In some reference books, it is indicated as the Russian name for cyclamen, but in ordinary speech this word is practically not used - the plant is called cyclamen.

According to the philologist, “rag” occurs mainly in the context, where it is separately explained that cyclamen can be called this word. Therefore, one mention in the reference book is not enough for the Russian analogue to gain a foothold in the language and become a common substitute for a foreign word.

The situation is different with professional vocabulary, said Dvinyatin. Terms often appear along with new technologies, objects, and phenomena, and then gradually evolve into common language. In such cases, foreign words can be fixed in speech regardless of the existence of Russian variants, the Russian philologist explained.

In recent years, the topic of replacing foreign words with Russian analogues has been discussed not only by philologists, but also at the legislative level. In 2023, a law was passed restricting the use of foreign words with common Russian analogues when using Russian as the state language. The exception was borrowings for which there are no corresponding Russian words.

In July 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the foundations of the state language policy. Among the threats to the Russian language is the unjustified use of foreign words that have common analogues.

At the same time, philologists, who were previously interviewed by RBC, noted that it is impossible to completely stop the appearance of borrowings in the language. According to experts, foreign words are a natural part of the development of the Russian language, and their fate depends on how they are fixed in use.