If I were to receive a research grant, the first thing I would do is find a connection to Russian culture itself. While doing online research is great, I would want to be physically in the culture I am researching. In turn, I would apply for the appropriate travel visa and research what area(s) of Russia are safest for me to live.
Next, I would allocate my grant budget to my desired research topic. If researching Russian culture and language, I would center my research around how the political and geographical atmosphere affect or influence speech patterns. In other words, I would like to research how perhaps the colder climate intersects with the Russian cultural norm of being “colder”– less flagrantly positive, more blunt, etc.
I would also like to study how Russia’s authoritarian rule affects Russian culture, and consequently, the Russian language. Specifically, I am interested in looking at if historical lack of privacy in Russia– mostly a result/factor of communism– has led to (or influenced) the current tendency for Russians to be more reserved.
Through a carefully designed research study, I would investigate linguistic structures and patterns such as syntax (word order and how that placement affects meaning) and articulatory placement frequency, meaning where most Russian words (sub-categorized into groups used for discussing different topics) are produced in the mouth and throat. Through looking at this, I could study how perhaps the Russian language (or specific groups therein) has evolved over time to be articulated more in the back of the mouth and throat, which is often perceived to be quieter. I am interested if there is a correlation between the word groups that are “quieter” in nature and the word groups that are most socially frowned-upon or historically forbidden or harshly discouraged (by both social and even governmental power) within Russian society.
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