82 A Reference Grammar of Russian

‘bakery’, ghƒxtxyfz ‘laundry’, while younger speakers use [c˛n]. (Some words have

‹

consistent [c˛n]: rbhg∫xysq ‘brick’.) Maintaining [sn] is a feature of Old Muscovite
‹	‹

pronunciation, as speakers are aware. Lidiia Chukovskaia, referring to the word gjlcd†xybrb ‘candlesticks’, exclaimed that Anna Akhmatova “so magnificently

pronounces ≤gjlcdtiybrb≥ [= [sn˛], AT]. I adore that venerable Russian i, which

‹

has not been replaced on her lips by modern x.”96

2.5 Morpholexical alternations

2.5.1 Preliminaries

Sounds occur only in combination with other sounds in conventionalized, lexical combinations. Related forms of a word or related words share most of the same sounds, but not all. It is then possible to example the correspondences of sounds from one word or word form to another, which can be termed m o r p h o l e x i c a l (or “morphophonemic”) alternations.

2.5.2 Consonant grades

Aside from automatic alternations involving voicing, consonant alternations go back to the palatalizations of Slavic and East Slavic. C o n s o n a n t g r a d e s -- the different forms consonants can take -- are summarized in Table 2.10. We can define the form of the consonans not affected by any alternation (specifically, by palatalization) as the basic grade, or C0 .

There are two major patterns of alternation. Firstly, an alternation of C0 with Cj, reflecting the historical first palatalization of velars before j and iotation of dentals and labials, occurs in verbs of the type {CVC-a : CVCj-|e|}, among which C0 occurs in the past-infinitive stem, Cj in the present stem: gbcƒnm ‘write’, 1sg gbié, 2sg g∫itim and gkƒrfnm ‘cry’, 1sg gkƒxe, 2sg gkƒxtim. Secondly, C0 alternates with Ci, which reflects first palatalization of velars and “bare” palatalization of other consonants before front vowels, within the “middle” forms of the present tense of obstruent stems: compare [s] in 1sg ytcé ‘I carry’ vs. [s˛] in 2sg ytc=im or

[k] in 1sg gtré ‘I bake’ vs. [c˛] in 2sg gtx=im. In i-Conjugation verbs, Cj in the first

‹

singular and past passive participle alternates with Ci elsewhere: 1sg vjkjxé ‘I thresh’, passive participle -vjkj´xty versus vjkjn∫nm, 2sg vjkj´nbim. It could be noted that Cj and Ci have the same values for velars. Clusters of fricative and

stop (= ST) have developed the unique sounds [s˛z˛] (or [ˇz ]: §2.3.7): uhecn∫nm ‘be

‹ ‹

sad’, 1sg uheoé, gjkjcrƒnm ‘rinse’, 1sg gjkjoé, †plbnm ‘ride’, 1sg †p;e.

Ci has been subject to changes that have led to the development of secondary patterns. Many derivational suffixes that now begin with consonants originally

96 Lidiia Chukovskaia, Zapiski ob Anne Akhmatovoi, vol. II (Moscow, 1997), 437.

Ci

Sounds 83

Table 2.10 Consonant grades

Co

Cj

Ci

Ci

Ci

C

o

={p b f v m}

Pl˛

P˛

o

o

P˛

Po

Po

P

To={t d s z}

{c‹‹‹‹z s z}

T˛

T

T˛

T˛

Ko

={k g x}

ˇ

ˇ

ˇ

ˇ

K˛

C ={c‹‹‹s z}

C={c‹‹‹s z}

C={c‹‹‹s z}

C={c‹‹‹s z}

R

= {n r l}

R˛={n˛r˛l}˛

R˛={n˛r˛l}˛ {n r l}˛

R˛={n˛r˛l}˛

R˛={n˛r˛l}˛

ST

(st sk zd

ˇˇ

˛ ˛ ˛

=

}

= {s…‹s…‹z…‹}

began with m. As a front vowel, m conditioned palatalization (hence Ci) in the consonant preceding the suffix before it disappeared, leaving behind a consonant cluster. Palatalization has been restricted in consonants in the position before other consonants, a development which has reduced the scope of Ci and led to an alternative pattern, labeled the Ci grade in Table 2.10. Thus before adjectival {-n-} the consonants are not palatalized in hß,ysq ‘fish’, v†cnysq ‘local’, e,ßnjxysq ‘unprofitable’, ldthyj´q ‘pertaining to a door’. (The exception is [l˛], which is preserved: jnl†kmysq ‘separate’.) As a variation on Ci , labeled

in Table 2.10, palatalization can be maintained in dentals before labials and velars while being lost in dentals before dentals and lost in labials: rjymrƒ (nom sg rjy=r ‘hobbyhorse’), dim z´,kjymrf ‘apple-tree’, [jlm,ƒ ‘walking’, htpm,ƒ ‘carving’, ujym,ƒ ‘pursuit’. In another minor variation on Ci (very restricted, and so not recorded in Table 2.10), the suffix {-sk-}, which conditioned Ci in the consonant preceding the suffix, allows the dental sonorants over and above [l˛] to be palatalized: b÷ymcrbq ‘of June’, jrnz´,hmcrbq ‘of October’, as well as gjhneuƒkmcrbq

‘Portuguese’. This minor pattern would be: {Po, To, {c s z}, R¸}.

‹‹‹

These variations on Ci involve tinkering with how well palatalization is preserved before suffixes beginning with consonants. The original Ci grade has also developed in another direction. The Ci grade of velars, historically palatal consonants, has been yielding to palatalized velars by analogy to palatalized dentals and labials in certain contexts: note substandard dee ,thtuz´ ‘protecting’, standard 2sg nr=im ‘you weave’, substandard ;u=im ‘you burn’, gtr=im ‘you bake’, analogous to ytcz´, ytc=im, uht,z´, uht,=im. This variation on Ci, in which {K¸} re-

ˇ	i	is maintained for dentals and labials, is the pattern used in
places {C} while C

adjectives formed productively with the suffixes {-icesk-} and {-icn-}. These suf-

‹ ‹

fixes evoke palatalized velars rather than palatals: gcb[∫xtcrbq ‘psychological’, pjjkju∫xtcrbq ‘zoological’, gtlfuju∫xysq ‘pedagogical’, fyfh[∫xysq ‘anarchic’.

In addition to Cj as stated, there is a special variant with the Church Slavonic reflexes of tj and dj, a pattern that is not recorded in Table 2.10.

The third row would then	be {ˇs˛zd‹}	(or {[ˇs˛zd‹¸]}): djpdhfn∫nm/djpdhfoƒnm
‘return’, gj,tl∫nm/gj,t;lƒnm	‘vanquish’.	The statement of alternations in

84A Reference Grammar of Russian

Table 2.10 makes no provision for the reflexes of the Slavic second and third palatalization of velars: if the alternation of consonants that derives from these changes had been maintained, there would be a synchronic series {c z (z˛) s (s˛)} corresponding to {k x}, but the possible alternations resulting from this palatalization have been eliminated.

2.5.3 Types of softness

Much in Russian phonology depends on whether consonants are palatalized or not. A notion of softness (to use the informal term) is relevant at different levels. It may be useful to review the role of softness on different levels.

The concept in the first place is phonetic. Phonetically soft consonants are those with a certain articulatory configuration. That configuration influences adjacent vowels by co-articulation in the same way in different consonants, and in this effect all phonetically soft consonants are equal. By this criterion [T¸], [P¸ ],

and [R¸] are phonetically soft, and so are [c˛], [s:],˛ [z˛], and [j]. In contrast, ordinary

‹ ‹ ‹

[To], [Po], [Ko], and [c s z] are hard.

‹‹

The pairs [To] vs. [T¸] and [Po] vs. [P¸ ] are capable of occurring in the same syntagmatic environment and are capable of distinguishing words. In this respect, [T¸] and [P¸ ] are phonemically soft. The pair [K¸] vs. [Ko] is moving in this direction. Moreover, exactly these sets of consonants are paired in the sense that the hard sounds are replaced by the soft ones before the {-e} of the locative singular of Declension<Ia> and Declension<II> (and the dative singular of Declension<II>): ;ty† ‘to the wife’ [n˛†], j xtkjd†rt [k˛ì].

The details of stressed vocalism depend on the phonetic softness of consonants. Unstressed vocalism is also sensitive to phonetic softness, but the picture is more complex. In pretonic position in roots, [c] behaves as an ordinary hard consonant

with respect to {a} (gen sg wfhz´ [c ]). After the unpaired hard consonants [s z],

‹‹

there is variation between the inherited [ï] (;fk†nm [zï‹] ‘pity’) and the innovative

[ ] (;ƒh ‘heat’, ;fhƒ [z ]). The innovative [ ] is what one expects after a hard con-

‹

sonant. The high quality of [ï] rather than the lower [ ] is merely a back version

of [ì]. By virtue of eliciting this high variant [ï], [s z] are morphophonemically

‹‹

“soft.”

The different criteria for defining softness are summarized in Table 2.11. Softness is additionally relevant in two other places. First, most nouns of

Declension<Ia> use one of two overt endings in the genitive plural. Stems ending in paired hard consonants, including velars, take {-ov}, while stems ending in paired soft consonants take {-ej}. On this basis, one might define any stem-final consonant that takes {-ov} as morphologically hard, and any that takes {-ej}

as morphologically soft. The phonemically unpaired consonants [c˛], [s…˛], [s z]
‹ ‹	‹‹

					Sounds 85
Table 2.11 Types of “softness”
	phonetic independent morphophonemic morphophonemic morphophonemic
	softness	(phonemic)	softness {a} > [ì]	softness gen pl	softness
	[C¸]	softness	([ï])	{-ej}	{ Ci {† ì}}
[T˛]	√	√	√	√	√
[p]	√	√	√	√	√
¸	√	±		√
[K¸]			n.a.		n.a.
[j]	√		√		√
[c]					√
[c¸]	√		√	√	n.a.
[s˛z‹ ‹(z˛‹)]	√		√	√	n.a.
[s z]			±	√	n.a.
‹‹

√ = counts as soft

= fails to count as soft

n.a. = not applicable, indeterminate

± = partial, to some extent soft

take {-ej}, and in this respect are morphologically soft. Curiously, [j] and [c] take {-ov}, making them by this criterion morphologically hard.97

In certain word forms, vowels alternate with the absence of a vowel. The overt vowel can take different forms under stress. One variant (labeled {º Ci{† ì}}: §2.5.5) occurs consistently before following paired palatalized consonants: ptv†km ‘land [gen pl]’, htv†ym ‘belt’. It also occurs before [j] (cdby†q ‘pigs [gen pl]’, hex†q ‘brook’ and [c] (jn†w ‘father’, rjy†w ‘end’), which according to this test would be evaluated as morphophonemically soft. (The alternation of vowels does

not occur before [c˛s˛s z].)98

‹‹ ‹‹

Thus, each process defines a set of consonants as soft, but the definitions are not entirely consistent for different processes. A consonant may behave as morphophonemically soft, even if it is not phonetically or phonemically soft in synchronic terms.

2.5.4 Vowel grades

Alternations in vowels date from various time periods. The oldest derive from Slavic reflexes of Indo-European ablaut relations. Only residual traces remain of the q u a l i t a t i v e a b l a u t of e and o (dtpn∫ ‘lead<dt>’, djp∫nm ‘lead<id>’,

97The motivation is presumably historical: {-ej} derives from the original i-stem declension (from

-mjm). Some words in the i-stem declension ended in [c˛], [s˛], [s z], and so {-ej} was understood to

‹‹ ‹‹

occur after these consonants. As the masculines that belonged to the i-stem declension moved over to Declension<Ia> , they brought the ending {-ej} with them.

98 Hard labials have both: cel†, (newer célt,) but yf=v.