“Lomonosov lessons” about the terms of geography and scientific language

Abstract

The article examines the terminology introduced by M.V. Lomonosov in geosciences and the stylistic features of his natural science works as applied to the practice of teaching foreign languages at the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, the founder of Moscow University, is a unique person that had the features of a public figure, scientist, historian, poet, artist, philosopher. His scientific heritage covers natural sciences and humanities. The teachers of the Department of Foreign Languages for the Faculty of Geography conduct “Lomonosov lessons” in classes of English, French, German, Spanish. Students give talks on various aspects of the scientific activity and biography of the famous Russian scholar. While preparing presentations students acquire relevant vocabulary, practice public speaking in foreign languages, and master translation skills. In addition to topics directly related to the activities of M.V. Lomonosov in the field of geography, our non-philological students are very interested in talking about Lomonosov, as philologist, especially about his development of Russian scientific and technical terminology and the formation of a style of scientific speech. This article presents the topics of the “Lomonosov lessons” at the interface of geography and philology. The attitude of M.V. Lomonosov to Russian and foreign languages is considered, and his high appreciation of the qualities of the Russian language is explained. The article discusses the origin and application of geography terms based on the study of Lomonosov’s scientific works in the field of various disciplines of Earth sciences, as well as techniques for creating geographical terms. The article analyzes excerpts from some of Lomonosov’s scientific works, where along with a neutral style of presentation there are examples of his original use of terms in metaphorical meanings. and other expressive stylistic means. The results of the study are applicable in the practice of teaching foreign languages to non-philological students.

References

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