lodp wrote:I understand now - it was a silly question to ask. What bothers me at the moment is the meaning of "устаревший срез" - I first thought that that means "a departed shift" i.e. a change in language behavior or something the like. Now I'm not so sure anymore... could somebody please comment on that?
Sorry

, I wish I could translate it for you directly into German, aber Ich habe das Deutsche schon vergessen

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Lodp, you’d better translate it as "obsolete (outdated or archaic) sections (layers or strata)" of the language.
The general meaning of the Russian word "срез" is "a cut" or "shear" – both action (cutting) and result (slice, portion). Therefore it can be used as a synonym for "layer" and/or "stratum".
Will try to translate the whole passage...