Everything will pass, and it will pass, or What is historicism?

The course of time moves inexorably forward, absorbing everything that, according to its natural data, has an end. Even intangible words become its victim - with the passage of time, many words and phrases that are widely used in a certain period also disappear together with the people who use them. For such words, the term "historicism" was invented.

Definition

Turning to a more scientific and strict terminology, one can explain what historicalism is, in the following way. There are a number of previously widely used words in the speech or phrases tied to the objects that designate them, but as a result of their disappearance, they ceased to need their designation, and accordingly these phrases and words began to rapidly disappear from use. The definition of historicism is contrasted with archaism, which has a similar, but more fortunate destiny. When the words began to become obsolete, they were not "thrown overboard", but replaced with more modern synonyms, but more on that later.

At the present time, words recognized as historicisms are included in the so-called passive dictionary of the Russian language. They are used solely to impart some ancient coloring or to emphasize the period about which the narrative occurs, whether it be a story, a film or a work. That's what historicism is!

Aging of terminology

The phenomenon of historicism is fairly relative. One has only to ponder - some words now recognized as historicisms, some centuries ago were in use. For example: a prince, a caftan, a county, a penny, a boyar . Some words and phrases were even "in the language" even with our grandparents, such as the tax, the education program, the baggage ticket , etc. Accordingly, one can draw a logical thread and make sure that after a while those words that We used, we will also become historians. To those already in the near future can be attributed floppy, cassette, pager - these words in 20 years can be safely given as an example, explaining what historicalism is.

Basically, words that fall under the definition of historicism, owe their fate to progress. As noted above, time changes everything around. With each new day, with each new minute in the world something happens: the new is invented, the old is modernized and improved, accordingly, from the stragglers from the course of time objects and concepts try to get rid of in the first place. However, thanks to the work of numerous historians, many objects of everyday life, as well as titles, ranks and processes occurring in past times, are successfully recreated for the preservation of the cultural heritage of any nation. And what is it, historicism would not be historicism, if there were no people who let us know that such expressions were once used.

The basic principle

"Everything in the world makes sense," says the popular wisdom. It is just as easily applicable to the term of historicism. In order to study why a particular object came out of use, and why it was not replaced by a synonym, like, for example, archaism, and such a mechanism for studying certain phenomena as the principle of historicism was created. With its help, it is possible to consider the cause-effect relationships relating to the history of a certain subject, the factors that influenced its origin. It is also possible to consider various historical changes that led to a subsequent decline in the use of the word, including a direct disappearance from conversational speech and a transition to the section of historicisms.

This principle helps to quite successfully link a certain era, in the time of which historicalism was used, to the reasons for which it was needed at that time and because of what later became out of use. Thanks to this, the complete picture of the "life cycle" of the word that has come out of use remains.

Differences between historicism and archaism

Previously indirectly mentioned such a definition as archaism, and put in antonyms to historicism. Is this really so, and are historicalisms and archaisms really "on different sides of the barricade"? In fact, the fate of words and phrases relating to archaisms and historicism, in fact, the same - they all went out of use. An exception, thanks to which they are separated from each other, has become a more "fortunate" fate of the latter - in the modern world they have been successfully replaced by synonymous words and phrases. For example: lepota became beauty , eyes became eyes , the verb hoped was replaced by a suitable one according to the meaning of hope, and so on.

Unlike historicisms, archaisms somehow keep pace with the development of the language and if not completely, then by sounding are carried to the mouth (a vivid example of the use of the archaism of the present word of the lips ) of the people of the present time.

In literature

In attempts to describe in artistic language any period and for a more plausible transfer of the plot line in a certain epoch, the historicism of literature was invented. Thanks to its use in the literature, the authors were able to present the idea that was the basis of their work more successfully and more colorfully.

However, this term can and must be viewed from two perspectives. First, not as a deliberate move, thanks to which the author purposefully introduced obsolete and out-of-speech words for coloring, but as a phenomenon inherent in any work of art and not dependent on the time frame in which it is used. That is, the author, using the current historicalisms, by the standards of that time, did not pursue the goal of using them, as for the period of writing they were fully used and did not cause any special contrasts.

The second position is the use of historicisms directly for a clear indication of the period about which or in which the narrative is going. Thanks to the introduction of similar words and phrases, the reader unwittingly more thoroughly immerses himself at that time and receives much more vivid and memorable emotions.