Sovok
Sovok (Russian: совок) is a pejorative term related to the Soviet Union: the state itself, the mindset and way of life of average Soviet people, and vestiges of the Soviet Union in the psychology of people in modern Russia.[1][2][3]
Etymology
[edit]Borenstein explains the catchiness of the term because it phonetically resembles the concept it is applied to. "Soviet", and it is a repurposed existing term "dustpan".[4] Several people are commonly credited with the introduction of the term.[5][4] Lyudmila Kasyanova writes that the direct lowly meaning of the term predefines the negative evaluation of the topic and enhances the pejorative perception of the subject it is referring to.[3]
There are a number of derived words: adjective: "sovkovy" (совковый), "pertaining to 'sovok'"; noun: совковость ('sovkovost', "sovokness") the totality of the traits of a sovok, and the adverb совково ('sovkovo', "in a sovok way).[6]
Soviet Union
[edit]In its generic meaning the term implies something dysfunctional, commenting on why things are run poorly or why a person behaves badly. Borenstein writes: "When the Soviet Union is called 'sovok', everyone knows what this means: economic deprivation, administrative incompetence, defective consumer technology, an intrusive public culture, bombastic rhetoric that is easily ignored, and widespread hypocrisy."[2]
Soviet people
[edit]Borenstein concisely defines a "sovok" person as "Soviet yokel"[7] and the first two chapters of his book Soviet Self-Hatred are devoted to the analysis of this category of people.[1] In the opinion of Alexander Genis, among the features of a sovok are "a violent thirst for equality, a deaf hatred for anyone else's success, and an indolence that blazes energy".[8]
Modern Russia
[edit]Many people think that in modern Russia, despite its transition away from Communism, the negative sovok traits are preserved.[9][10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Eliot Borenstein, Soviet Self-Hatred: The Secret Identities of Postsocialism in Contemporary Russia, Cornell University Press, 2023, JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctv2t8b73r
- ^ a b Eliot Borenstein, A Sovok is a Person, Place, or Thing (Russia's Alien Nations)
- ^ a b Людмила Юрьевна Касьянова, Оценочная семантика нового слова, Вестник Челябинского государственного университета, 2008. № 9. pp. 45–51
- ^ a b Eliot Borenstein, 2. The Rise and Fall of Sovok from Soviet Self-Hatred
- ^ Михаил Эпштейн, К ИСТОРИИ И ЗНАЧЕНИЮ СЛОВА "СОВОК"
- ^ Толковый словарь языка Совдепии.- СПб.: Фолио-Пресс. Мокиенко В.М., Никитина Т.Г.. 1998.
- ^ Eliot Borenstein, Soviet Self-Hatred, book summary
- ^ Alexander Genis, "Sovok", Russian Studies in Literature, Volume 31, 1994 - Issue 1, pp. 5–11.
- ^ Совок-2012. Что такое «совок» и кто такие «совки» в нашей нынешней жизни? COLTA.RU отвечают поэты, писатели, художники, режиссер и музыкант, October 15, 2012
- ^ «Совок»: живее всех живых?, editorial, Levada Center, September 11, 2012