New Russian Software Tracks Language Change Over Time
Program analyzes shifts in Russian vocabulary using big data tools
Researchers in Murmansk have developed a digital tool that analyzes how the Russian vocabulary evolves over time. The software has already processed hundreds of millions of words and identified long-term trends.
A “Digital Sieve” for Words
The project was carried out by researchers at Murmansk Arctic University. The system is based on what developers call a “digital sieve” method. The algorithm automatically calculates word frequency and detects the emergence of new terms.
The analysis draws on data from the National Corpus of the Russian Language, which contains more than 250 million words and examples of usage. The study covers three historical periods: pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet. The program reduces words to their base form, accounting for linguistic variation over time, to ensure accurate comparisons of frequency dynamics.
This approach makes it possible to analyze large-scale datasets rather than isolated words. In effect, it represents full-scale linguistic analytics powered by big data technologies.
Findings Show Evolving Patterns
Researchers identified an interesting trend: the influx of new words is gradually slowing, yet the active vocabulary continues to expand. The language is not becoming poorer but is reallocating its resources.
Terms such as “pseudohallucination” are falling out of use, while words like “translit,” “leasing-based” and “SUV” are gaining traction. Modern texts also show an increase in numerical expressions.
Forecasting Language Development
Developers believe the collected data will help forecast future language development. This has implications not only for linguists but also for artificial intelligence systems that process text.
Such models can improve natural language processing algorithms, refine search engines and train neural networks to better account for real-time changes in vocabulary.
