Open AccessTalking to the enemy…: the military phrasebooks by the litterateur Osip Senkovskii (1828) and Lieut.- General Nikolai Biasi (1941). Part 1
Author(s) -
Nikolaj Serikoff
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
orientalistica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2687-0738
pISSN - 2618-7043
DOI - 10.31696/2618-7043-2022-5-1-157-172
Subject(s) - german , literature , turkish , adversary , ivanovich , history , classics , art , philosophy , sociology , linguistics , computer science , russian federation , archaeology , computer security , regional science
The article offers a comparison between two military phrasebooks the “Pocket-book for the Russian soldiers on the Turkish frontline” ( Karmannaia kniga dlia russkikh voinov v turestkikh pokhodakh ) (St. Petersburg, 1828) by Osip Ivanovich Senkovskii (1800–1858) and the “Concise Russian-German military phrasebook for a private soldier and subaltern” ( Kratkii russkonemetskii razgovornik dlia boitsa i mladshego komandira ) (Moscow, 1941) by Lieut.‑Gen. Nikolai Nikolaevich Biiazi (1893–1973). The author argues that these types of scholarly and literary production cannot be considered as ‘phrasebooks’ par excellence , since such reference books could be hardly used on the battlefield. The research makes it evident that these “phrasebooks” were designed as “teach yourself” manuals of colloquial Turkish and German and adapted to the needs of a non-specialist audience. The first part of the provides information regarding the origins and reasons for compiling the phrase-books and analysis of their composition.