The Russian Duma recently approved an absurd law that, like similarly silly French Laws, bans the use of rude, offensive and foreign words. The Russian press (much maligned in the West as not a truly free press) had a free for all with the law. This article in particular went out of its way to use as many foreign words as possible to lampoon the law. It also ridiculed one of the law’s supporters, Vladimir Wolfovich Zhirinovsky, who is the leader of a political party that has three foreign words in its four-word title, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. (My friend Dan likes to point out that the LDPR is not liberal, democratic, nor is it really even a party as much as it is a cult of personality...a very, very disturbed personality.)
And this press release from one of Russia’s truly liberal political parties, Yabloko (a proper Russian word that means ‘apple’), gets to the crux of the law's absurdity.
Sergei Mitrokhin (Yabloko) expressed bewilderment: the law forbids the use of "foreign words if there are common analogs in the Russian language". But the word "analog" itself is also of foreign origin.
Posted by Xander at February 25, 2003 10:51 PM | TrackBackI heard somewhere recently that the British government was considering allowing members of parliament to use more modern forms of address in parliamentary debate. ... can't find any details on Google though.
In the UK, you're not allowed to insult members of parliament but members often make a good show of asking the Speaker whether or not they can use certain language in order to get their point accross. Such as "Mr. Speaker, point of clarification, is it acceptible for me to call the Honourable Member from Upper-Philpot-Upon-Thames an 'odorous porcine?'"
Posted by: JFH on March 4, 2003 09:51 PM