Theories of language and style in grammar textbooks and teaching practice of middle ages and modern age: learning foreign languages in Russia and Western Europe (two methods of mastering literary languages)

Abstract

In the article, the author discusses the issues of linguistic education and the way it was implemented in particular European countries in the Middle Ages and in the early Modern Age. The author has identified, at least, two educational paradigms, developed in the West and East of the continent in different periods of history of the European culture. Paradigm One deals with the Latin tradition of language learning, which is based on the breakdown of educational disciplines into “seven liberal arts” headed by grammar. Paradigm Two is based on the study of literary texts. The objective of this research project consists in the reconciliation and analysis of interrelation between the two paradigms. The loss of several grammatical forms by the literary Slavic language caused this language to turn into the literary Russian language of the Modern Age. In his research, the author employs methods of the retrospective analysis of primary sources, comparative linguistics, general research methods of deduction, induction, and inference by analogy.