“Alive as Life” is Chukovsky’s main book, dedicated to the Russian language, its history and modern life, and the laws of its development.
The author's undisguised and passionate interest in the word as the beginning of all beginnings, combined with an objective scientific analysis of speech, is a distinctive feature of the book. "Alive as Life" is about the Russian language, its living movement, expressiveness and the dangers that threaten this movement. Chukovsky shows how a language can come to life and die right before our eyes - all we have to do is start speaking in officialese, cliches, and other people's words. This book is not about rules and grammar - it is about how we live in language. And how language, in response, shapes our thinking and feelings.
The book consists of observations, analysis of real examples - newspaper headlines, official speeches, letters, essays - and is filled with the author's personal experience of the fate of his native language. Chukovsky is not afraid to be sharp and sarcastic - when it is necessary to expose the "deadness" of the language. But the main thing is that he infects with love for the word. He shows how one can speak and write vividly, how one can be clear and precise even in everyday speech.
Author: Korney Chukovsky
Year of issue: 2025
Publisher: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
Cover type: hardcover
Pages: 288
Dimensions: 220x150x21 mm
ISBN: 978-5-00250-171-7