Sciknow Publications Ltd.

OJARC 2014, 1(1):8-13

DOI: 10.12966/ojarc.05.02.2014

Open Journal of Art and Communication

Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

Can Word Origins Serve as a Guide to the Psychology of the

Language Carriers?
Len Malinin*
Gen3 Partners, Boston, USA
*Corresponding author (Email: len.malinin@gen3.com)

Abstract - Can linguistic associations and word origins affect, at the subconscious level, the psychology of the language carriers?
Is it possible to derive some common psychological characteristics of a nation (the national soul) from etymology of a few
words in the spoken language? This article brings forward a few arguments for a positive answer to this question, by considering
a few examples in Russian and English where etymology can shape, unintentionally, the attitudes of the native speakers.
Previous studies (Wierzbicka, 1997) explore the effect of language on the psychological characteristics from a different angle,
primarily focusing on the words that do not have equivalents in other languages. In contrast, this paper looks at the effects that the
word origins can have on the speaker without him/her being aware. It can serve as an invitation to develop a more comprehensive
methodology for further research in this area.
Keywords - Word Origins, Subconscious Influence, Psychological Characteristics

1. Introduction (Smile on Your

Adversary1)
It was stated that culture specific words are conceptual tools
that reflect a societys past experience of doing and thinking
about things in certain ways; and they help to perpetuate these
ways (Wierzbicka, 1997). The logical extension of this
position is that etymology can affect the psychological
characteristics of the native speakers. In what follows this
statement is supported by a few examples.
One of the most common impressions that an American
traveler to Russia shares upon return is that people there dont
smile. A typical article in The Times, for instance, is titled
Grin and bear it. To a Russian, Western pleasantries are
tedious and a sign of insincerity, not warmth (Ingram, 2004).
The author continues, The Russians dont smile
indiscriminately, as they freely admit. Likewise, Russian
entrepreneurs or scientists doing business in the US are often
urged to show their teeth in a conversation to comply with the
local communication norms. (The ensuing face mimics should
more often than not be called a grin or a smirk). The usually
stated reason for these cultural differences is that life in
Russia is grim and people have no reason or dont know how
to smile. In fact, the explanation goes deeper and can serve as
an example of how linguistic associations and word origins
affect, at the subconscious level, the psychology of the
1

Counsels of Wisdom 41:45 (Lambert 1996)

language carriers.
The word smile in Russian (ulybka []) has the
same root as forehead (lob []). The meaning of smile
can be traced to the old meaning of the word forehead,
skull (e.g., the Calvary in Russian is lobnoe mesto
[ ], or literally place of the forehead, which of
course is the same as Golgotha, place of the skull). The verb
to smile initially meant to grin like a skull, to expose
teeth like a skull. Not surprisingly, friendly partners would
not use such macabre mimics in a conversational interaction,
but rather would follow the recommendation smile on your
adversary. At the level of cultural norms, a constant smile on
the face was at least not encouraged and at most considered a
sure sign of the village idiot (Enough fleer a wolf fleers,
says a Russian proverb).
The situation is similar with the word joke. In English,
it descends from the Latin jocus "sport, pastime", whereas in
Russian the initial meaning of joke (shutka []) was
something empty, or hollow (in Bulgarian, shutka still
means vulva).
Even the word laugh (smekh []) in Russian, which
has the same root as smile in English and is etymologically
neutral (does not have negative underlying meaning), has
downbeat connotations in the language. Many proverbs
present the act of laughing in negative context (Laugh leads
to crying, One can laugh with a fool, and grief is here).
But laugh can at least be found in Russian proverbs,
whereas the word smile can only be found on a rare

The Open Journal of Art and Communication (2014) 8-13

occasion2.
Most of the Russian native speakers are not aware that
when they smile, they grin like a skull. However, many still
refrain from unprovoked smiling, subconsciously complying
with the cultural imperatives hardwired in the historic
memory of the people.

2. Subjects and Methods

Is it possible, based on this and other differences between
word origins and use in Russian and English, to come up with
a hypothesis how certain cultural characteristics (or,
stereotypes) have formed? While answering this question
goes beyond the scope of this article, some observations can
be helpful.
2.1. Life in the forest holds no hardship3
One feature that arises from etymology of a few common
Russian words is life in the forests of those who spoke the
language. This is not the case with the respective English
terms.
We start from the word health, which in Russian
literally means a healthy tree (zdorove [] is
derived from su- (good) and *dorvo (tree))4. The closest
analogy in English is robust (from robur, oak tree), but
robust is not used in the same sense as healthy. And, the
word Hello (zdravstvuy []), which can be used
many times during the day, means be healthy, but literally,
be like a healthy tree5.
The next word is road, which in Russian is derived from
the verb to tear (doroga, []) from drat [],
that is, to root up, to stamp the word conveys the efforts
required to lay a path in the dense forest. In contrast, road
in English is derived from ride, which comes as something
less painful that tearing.
(The word dense in the above paragraph corresponds to
Russian dremuchiy [], which may be translated
as both thick and primeval. There is no direct equivalent in
English. Like Eskimos having more terms for snow, Russian
may have more forest-related words than other languages).
Some Russian forest-related words are used less often, but
they are even more picturesque. An older expression meaning
on his deathbed (na odre [ ]) means literally at the
deck, or at the board, leaned against a tree. The longer
translation again means that there is no direct equivalent in
English.
It is worth noting that many centuries later, in 17-18th
2
One might also look into possible existence of same or similar proverbs
in other languages to be able to draw a correct conclusion if the social
phenomenon they reflect is specific to this nation or international. These
proverbs only serve to illustrate the typical attitude towards smiling and
laughing.
3
Ramayana, To the Forest (Valmiki, 2006).
4
The prefix su- can also be found in Russian words for death (smert
[]) and happiness (schaste []), meaning literally good (from
natural causes) death and good share, good part.
5
Again, most Russian speakers are unaware of this.

centuries, the Old Believers, who separated from the

mainstream Russian Orthodox Church after 1666, returned to
burying their dead in the woods. This custom can be traced to
the fact that since the pagan times a burial ground has been
literally called
growth
(roshchenie
[])
(Nakhimovsky & Nakhimovsky, 1985, p. 45).
The important role that the forest and the trees played in
the life of ancient Russian communities is also supported by
multiple sources, saying, e.g., that the pagan Russians had
idealized the tree as a sacred cult (Stasov, 1872). Here we
have arrived to similar conclusions looking only into word
origins.
Life in the forests was likely less organized and less
controllable than of those other tribes who lived in larger
groups. This can be seen from evolution of meaning of a few
words, such as the Russian word for snitch (yabeda [a]).
The word came into Old Russian from Old Scandinavian,
where its meaning was neutral (related to service, duty), and
acquired distinct negative connotations in Russian (the
snitch in the afterlife is hanged by the tongue6, says another
proverb). What was legitimate service for Germans,
transformed into snitching for Russians.
2.2. We are not slaves7
Another consequence of life in forests was certain
technological and political backwardness, which adversely
affected the defense capabilities in conflicts with the
neighbors. On this background, we look at somewhat
unexpected origins of a few more words, starting from child
(rebenok []). This word () literally means
slave (it has the same root as the English orphan). While
orphan developing in the slave can be understood, the
fact that the same word acquired universal meaning for a
child can only be explained in the environment where a
child by default would become a slave unless protected by
relatives or a sponsor. An older word for a boy (otrok
[]) means literally having no right to speak and used
to mean a servant8. A colloquial (appearing much later) word
for a boy (patsan []) is derived from rat and also
indicates low esteem a child could expect from the society.
The norms typical for a society with prevalent slavery can
also be found in a few fixed expressions in Russian language,
such as the wedding formula pronounced by the newly-wed:
Getting married a servant of God, and some seemingly
innocent old words e.g., petition (chelobitie []),
which literally means beating the forehead (against the
floor).
These observations suggest early exposure to slavery of
the Slavonic tribes. Indeed, in most European languages, the
words slaves and Slavs are very similar. Historically, they
were identical. The word slave first appeared in English
6
The souls hanged by the tongue can be found in Acts of Thomas and
other Apocrypha, but these souls are slanderers, not snitches.
7
Russian alphabet, 1918.
8
Compare with infant, which also means "not able to speak", but due to
age.

10

The Open Journal of Art and Communication (2014) 8-13

around 1290, spelled sclave. The spelling was based on Old

French esclave from Medieval Latin sclavus, Slav, slave,
first recorded around 800 (The American Heritage
Dictionary, 2006). Slavs became slaves around the beginning
of the ninth century when the Holy Roman Empire tried to
stabilize a German-Slav frontier. At that time, both Vikings
and Khazars were actively involved in slave trade originating
in Eastern Europe (From [Khazaria] come cows, sheep and
innumerable slaves (Brook, 2009, p.73).
A few other words in English, such as slovenly or slut (a
slovenly woman), likely also come from the same root.
The theme of national slavery has been painfully
discussed over and over by authors and philosophers in Russia
and abroad. We limit ourselves here by just three quotes of
Russian
classic
authors
(Nekrasov,
Lermontov,
Chernyshevsky; Lenin especially loved the last quote):
1) Fate held three heavy parts:
The first was to be married to a slave,
The second was to be the mother of a slaves son,
The third was to submit to slave to the grave.
All of these terrible lots fell upon
The woman of the Russian land.
2) Farewell, unwashed Russia,
Land of slaves, land of masters.
3) "A poor nation, a pathetic nation! A nation of slaves - from
top to bottom, all entirely are the slaves... ",
and one inevitable citation from Marquis de Custine:
About all Russians, whatever position they may occupy, we
can say that they revel in their slavery (de Custine, 1839).
Abundant further quotes on this matter can be found in (Figes,
2003).
The opinions and interpretations of the underlying
spiritual capacity for suffering that should have explained
tolerance to slavery of the Russian peasantry vary from the
truly Christian attitude (Dostoevsky, 1873-76, p. 135) to
derived from the cult of suffering (Rancour-Laferriere,
1996). In the context of this article, which is focused at word
origins, the hypothesis in the latter source that the periods of
slavery, observed many times in the Russian history, are
explained by intrinsic Russian masochism, has to be rejected
due to absence of the term for masochism in Russian language.
(Besides, the arguments called to support the existence of
unique Russian masochism are applicable to multiple cultures
and often lack specificity). The peasants themselves would
certainly vote for the truly Christian version, as can be seen
from their self-designation (in Russian peasants, krestyane
[] literally means Christians). Where in most
European languages the terms for peasants are related to
leaving on the land, (peasant, paysan, Landwirt), in Russian
the word for common people designates the common faith.
(To say Russian was to say Orthodox [Figes, 2003, p.
301]; The common stock of the Russian soul is such that the
Christian idea is, we can say, its nature, noted poet Vyach.
Ivanov [Ivanov, 1979] in 1909).
Looking at the word

foreigner (inoverets [], adherent of a different

faith), we can see again that for Russians denomination was
the determining factor in self-identification.
The historical memory of these years of slavery may have
contributed to appearance of the statement We are not
slaves ( ) in the very first edition of the Soviet
alphabet (Fig. 1). Of all possible slogans (abundant in the
years after the revolution), the first message that the new
power deemed necessary to convey was to defy this
association of the people with slavery.
These days a similar transformation occurs with another
Russian word (a female name), Natasha. A Russian web site
notes that. in some countries (Turkey, Greece, Spain,
Germany), the name "Natasha" - the perfect Russian name - is
synonymous with whores and prostitutes 9. More field data to
that effect can be found in the thesis, published in 2004: in
some countries such as Turkey, Israel, England and the US,
the name Natasha has become a synonym for a prostitute and
is used as a common denigrating label for all women from the
Eastern European region, whether they are sex workers or
not. respondents accounts of their daily life in Bologna
show that, whether due to ones physical appearance or a way
of dressing, they too have been affected by the discourse that
conflates women from former Russian states with prostitutes
(Andrijasevic, 2004). An alphabet exclaiming We are not
sluts might be in the offing.

Fig. 1. We are not slaves. Russian alphabet, 1918

http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/ym4/720855-echo/

The Open Journal of Art and Communication (2014) 8-13

2.3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth10
The people living in the forest and their descendants were,
under normal circumstances, unaggressive and God fearing,
but not really longing for a structured hierarchical society.
One of the most common Russian last names (the most
common, according to the Atlas of Russian Surnames 11) is
Smirnov, derived from the word smirny (; meek;
gentle; manageable, literally, good-measured 12 ).
The
respective state of mind (smirenie [], humility) is
considered a specifically Russian Orthodox feeling and is
highly praised in multiple proverbs. The nickname of the
second tsar of the Romanovs dynasty, Alexey Mikhailovich
(1629-1676), was Tishaishiy, which can be translated as
the most serene (Serenissimus), presumably because he
expressed the serenity of mind for which he was highly
praised (the most attractive of Russian monarchs [Platonov,
1925]).
Another word showing the attitude of Russian language to
meekness is farewell (proshchay []), which literally
means forgive me, do not think bad about me. Where an
English speaker wishes well to the other party, a Russian says
remember me kindly. A colloquial equivalent of farewell,
ne pominayte likhom [ ], can be
translated as remember me meek. It means literally do not
remember me as an unbalanced person, where the word
likho [] means exceeding measure, extraneous,
which is the exact opposite of good-measured in the sense
of meek (smirny []).
It is tempting in this context to note that the word fool
(durak []) is related to words that in other languages
(Greek) mean inrush, impatient and therefore to see
meekness as opposite to foolishness and equivalent of being
smart. The other side of the coin is that the other word which
originally had meaning close to meek and gentle is laziness
(len [], the closest root in English is let, like in let it
be). So in this case the language, in a sense, appreciates
meekness as a virtue and does not encourage excessive
activity.
2.4. All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword
13

While the verse in Matthew does not give a timeframe, it takes

time for a society to raise the technological level to rival those
who come with the sword.
One predictable consequence of having meekness as a
merit that can be traced from the language might have been
the need to borrow the leading technologies of the time from
the neighboring cultures. This is reflected in borrowing from
the Germanic languages (starting from contacts with the
Goths in III-IV centuries; about 50 Germanic ingredients can
be found in pre-Gothis and Gothic strata in East Slavic

11

languages, [Andersen, 2003]) a few key words for new

products, such as a sword, house, bread, and others. The
word for a house (izba []) came from Old Upper-German,
(*stuba), where it meant warm premises, bathhouse.
Bread (khleb []) is derived from Gothic hlaifs. The
word artist (khudozhnik []) also came from
German, meaning literally one having skillful hands.
While borrowing certain basic terms, such as ship
(korabl, []), from other languages (Greek, in this case)
is natural for the forest dwellers, borrowing military terms,
such as sword (mech []) from Gothic (mekeis, Old
English mece) could lead to a danger.
The borrowing was not limited to the technological terms,
but also included political and administrative vocabulary. The
words for political and military leaders came from Swedish or
Khazar languages: prince (knyaz []) from
Proto-German (*kuniggs), knight (vityaz []) from
viking, tsar (kagan [], from Turkic kagan, which
was the title of Vladimir of Kiev, who baptized Rus in the
late 980s). The business terms for money (),
customs (), treasury () were borrowed
from Mongols.
2.5. And behold, there was great turmoil 14
The times when the patience of the meek was exhausted and
they were turning to their swords against those who came with
a sword resulted in a few periods of major upheaval in
Russian history. It was likely during these times of turmoil
that the Russian expression for Good night (Spokoynoy
nochi) was formed, which literally means Have a quiet
night. In most other languages people just wish May you
have a good night, but apparently in Russian having a quiet
night was more important15.
In the time of turmoil, the word formation process in the
language kept going, often with more intensive borrowing
from other languages. One area where this process would
become especially intensive during these times was criminal
slang. This part of the language changes its vocabulary much
faster than others, with a commotion in the society helping a
new wave come on top of the old layer. Because of this much
faster change rate, the known buzz words are usually not older
than 100-200 years (their etymologies are also less reliable).
One of the major purposes of using the slang was to code the
messages and by doing so to make the dialog between the
initiated possible in the presence of law-abiding
compatriots. To that end, argot could be formed by
scrambling native words or borrowing from other languages.
It might be instructive to look at which of the two categories
prevails, to see which groups were more active in the shadows
of this or that crumbling empire. Taking Russian criminal
slang as an example, its characteristic feature is prevalence of
Hebrew and Yiddish roots. In fact, most words borrowed from

10

Matthew 5:5.
http://www.molgen.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=135
12
Smirnov starts from the same prefix su- , meaning good, as was
mentioned in Footnote 4.
13
Matthew 26:52.
11

14

Matthew 8:24.
Another common expression for good night is at your service,
represented by Venetian and later Italian ciao, which meant I am your
slave and could be traced to the same sclavus (slave).
15

12

The Open Journal of Art and Communication (2014) 8-13

Hebrew in the Russian language can be found in argot

(besides a few Bible terms, such as Satan or Sabbath).
The examples include money (lave [], Hebrew
borrower, loan), document (ksiva [], Hebrew
[ writing]), gang (khevra [], Hebrew ),
haunt (malina [], Hebrew shelter), empty
speech (botva [], Hebrew [ to express],
[expression]), "attention" (shukher [], Hebrew
black, based on black uniform of policemen), "commotion"
(kipesh [], Hebrew to search), "frisk" (shmon
[], Hebrew eight, referring to time of the day
(8:00 a.m.) when the cells were frisked each morning in
Odessa prisons), and multiple others16. We leave it for future
study to figure out how Hebrew-speaking gangs or leaders
came to the forefront during the times of disturbance. One
hypothesis states that due to a higher concentration of more
active element within the Pale of Settlement, during turmoil
times forces similar to the osmotic pressure drove these
elements through the Pale, to equalize pressure on both sides
of it.

3. Results and Discussion

This paper demonstrates the existence of implicit cultural
codes, in addition to the explicit ones. The explicit codes are
systems of more or less conventional signs that a member of
a given society must internalize in order to participate
competently in that societys life (Nakhimovsky &
Nakhimovsky, 1985, p. 16). In contrast, the implicit codes are
not consciously learned, but are reflected in cultural practices
and attitudes and internalized by the native speakers at the
subconscientious level.

Blessed are
the meek

Table 1. Russian Chronology: Major turning points

Year

Sword
Carriers

Great
Turmoil

988

Vikings,
Khazars

Conversion to
Christianity

1230 1480

Mongols

Break up of
the Golden
Horde

1605-1613

Poles,
Swedes

1654

Before

After

Pagan

Christian

Sovereign

Mongol yoke

Mongol

Sovereign

Change of the
dynasty

Rurik

Romanov

Poles,
Swedes

Old Believers
separate from
the Church

United
Church

Split Church

1709

Swedes

Re-orientation
to the West.
Patriarchate
replaced by
Holy Synod

Third
Rome

Aspiring
European
country

1914-1918

Germans

Dismantling
of the
monarchy

Monarchy

Republic

1946-1989

Americans

Dismantling
of the socialist
state

Socialist
state

Non-socialist
state

Invasion

References

They that take

the sword

Great
Turmoil

A few common themes used as subsection headers in the

preceding text can be combined together to illustrate a
cyclical representation of the Russian history (Fig. 2). This
cycle has been reproduced several times throughout the
written Russian history, starting from the very beginning and
up to the recent developments (Table 1). A remarkable feature
of this cycle has been a complete negation of the prior period
of the history, occurring several times over last thousand
years, from overthrow of the pagan idols in 988 to dismantling
of the statues of communist leaders in 1991.

We are not
slaves

Fig. 2. Cycles in the Russian history

16
We have omitted a few examples that are based more on impressionistic
comparisons than on solid etymologies.

Andersen, H. (2003). Language Contacts in Prehistory: Studies in

Stratigraphy (Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of
Linguistic Science, Series IV: Current Issues in Linguistic Theory,
John Benjamins Publishing Co.
Andrijasevic, R. (2004). Trafficking in women and the politics of mobility in
Europe, Dissertation, Universiteit Utrecht, available at
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2005-0314-013009/c4.p
df
Brook, K. A. (2009). The Jews of Khazaria, Lanham, MD, Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Custine, A. de. (2001). Journey For Our Time: The Journals of the Marquis de
Custine Russia 1839, Phoenix Press.
Dostoevsky, F. (1994). A Writers Diary, 1873-76, Vol. 1, Quartet Books.
Figes, O. (2003), Natashas Dance, New York, Picador.
Grossman, V. (2009). Everything Flows, New York, New York Review
Books Classics.
Ingram, M. (2004). Grin and bear it, The Times, June 16, 2004, available at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article445700.ece
Ivanov, V. (1979). Collected works, in 4 volumes, Vol. 3, Articles, Brussels,
Foyer Oriental Chrtien.
Lambert, W. G. (1996). Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Winona Lake, IN,
Eisenbrauns.

The Open Journal of Art and Communication (2014) 8-13

Nakhimovsky, A. D., Nakhimovsky, A. S. (Eds) (1985). Semiotics of Russian
Cultural History: Essays by Iurii M. Lotman, Lidiia Ia. Ginsburg, Boris
A. Uspenskii, Cornell University Press, Ithaca-London.
Platonov, S. (1925). History of Russia, New York, Macmillan.
Rancour-Laferriere, D. (1996). The Slave Soul of Russia: Moral Masochism
and the Cult of Suffering, New York, NYU Press.
Stasov, V. (1872). Russkii narodnyi ornament (Russian folk ornament) , St.
Petersburg (in Russian).

13

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

(2006). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Valmiki (2006). Ramayana, Book Three: The Forest (Clay Sanskrit Library),
New York, NYU Press.
Wierzbicka, A. (1997). Understanding Cultures through Their Key Words:
English, Russian, Polish, German, and Japanese (Oxford Studies in
Anthropological Linguistics), New York Oxford, Oxford University
Press.