The evolution of terms in Russian journalism: From vedomosti to media

Abstract

The author of this article considers some aspects of the functioning of terms denoting various mass media, historical aspects of their origin and semantic transformation in the Russian language, languages-sources of borrowing. The history of the terms gazeta, zhurnal, kuranty, vedomosti, radio, kinozhurnal and televidenie, internet is considered in detail. The first Russian periodical was “Vesti-Kuranty” or “Vestovye Pisma”, as it is conventionally referred to in research, a handwritten newspaper published since 1600 (regularly — since 1621). Since the beginning of the 18th century, printed “Vedomosti about Military and Other Matters Worthy of Knowledge and Memory” have been published. Soon the word gazeta was borrowed from the Italian language, which was first found in the papers of Peter I for 1707, but its spread in the Russian language was probably influenced by Prince Boris Ivanovich Kurakin, who spoke Italian well and used this term in his papers. The word gazeta was popular in many European languages, it was regularly included in the gemeronyms. The word zhurnal was borrowed from the French language to refer to time-based book publications. In the Russian language, the lexemes almanac, vedomosti, bulletin, tabloid are also used to refer to periodicals, scientific periodicals and non-periodical publications including words with a gemeronymic meaning: uchyonie zapiski, trudy, chteniia, materialy, kommentarii, akty, memuary, etc. Radio and television also joined the mass media system, and at the end of the 20th century, the Internet. The existence of the terms SMI and media in modern usage is noted, the latter’s frequency of usage is actively increasing. There is a derivational explosion of almost limitless new formations from this term. The term SMI also continues to exist in the Russian language, fitting into the composition of abbreviations and having a transparent semantic content with the full use of the abbreviation.