16A Reference Grammar of Russian

inventory of letters, ≤q э =≥ were introduced in the course of the eighteenth century.

Russian Cyrillic took its contemporary form in a reform of October 1918, which built on the results of earlier commissions (most immediately, the commission of 1917). The notable changes were that remaining duplicate letters were eliminated (≤b≥ in place of ≤î≥, ≤t≥ for ≤˜≥, ≤a≥ for ≤f≥) and the “hard sign” ≤(≥ was eliminated from the ends of words after consonant letters, where it had previously been required. For example, nineteenth-century ≤,˜c(≥ ‘demon’ became ≤,tc≥. Other changes concerned the spelling of specific morphemes (for example, adjectival msc sg ≤juj≥ in place of ≤fuj≥).

The principles established in 1918 were canonized by the publication of Rules of Russian Orthography (= Pravila) in 1956. The principles and detailed rules have largely been stable, despite occasional discussions of possible further reforms of some annoying -- but in the larger scheme of things, insignificant -- inconsistencies (for example, in 1964).18 There was uncertainty, and continues to be uncertainty, with respect to the vexed question of how much to use ≤=≥. Other unresolved questions include: use of the hard sign ≤(≥ as mark of separation; spelling of ≤b≥ or ≤s≥ after ≤w≥; spelling of ≤t(=)≥ or ≤j≥ after ≤; i x o≥; spelling of ≤mj≥ and ≤qj≥ in borrowings; use of ≤э≥ after consonants; use of double letters in borrowings. At this moment, there is a renewed impetus to address certain details of writing, notably those involving compounds.19

1.3.3 Etymology of letters

As noted, most Cyrillic letters were based on Greek upper case (majuscule) letters. Many of the contemporary Cyrillic letters look like Greek letters, and as a first approximation they can be read as one might expect on that basis. Among Cyrillic letters for consonants, we observe the following similarities (Greek majuscule prototypes are written in parentheses; the approximate sound value is recorded in Table 1.3): ≤u/U≥ (Greek ); ≤l/L≥ ( ); ≤p/P≥ (Z); ≤r/R≥ (K); ≤k/K≥ ( ); ≤v/V≥ (M); ≤y/H≥ (N); ≤g/G≥ ( ); ≤h/H≥ (P); ≤c/C≥ ( / ); ≤n/T≥ (T); ≤a/A≥ ( ); ≤[/X≥ (X). From the single Greek /B, Cyrillic has ≤,/<≥ (a bilabial stop [b]) and ≤d/D≥ (a labio-dental fricative [v]).

The consonant sounds of Slavic that did not have obvious correspondences have unique symbols without any obvious source in the Greek or Latin alphabets; they apparently derive from Glagolitic, which did have distinct letters for these sounds: ≤;/:≥, ≤w/W≥, ≤x/X≥, ≤i/I≥, ≤o/O≥. Though these letters are unfamiliar, sounds somewhat similar to those represented by these letters occur

18Comrie, Stone, and Polinsky 1996 (ch. 8) gives a comprehensive survey from 1917 forward (see also Chernyshev 1947). For the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, see Grot 1873.

19Proposals and rejected changes were accessible on www.gramota.ru/ <01.XII.01>.

Russian 17

in European languages. The most exotic is the sound spelled as ≤o/O≥, a consonant of double length; it can be approximated by combining two tokens of the sound written in English as ≤sh≥ in two words: Josh should, fish shop.

Vowel letters are largely based on Greek prototypes. As discussed below, there are two parallel sets of vowel letters. In the first set (hard-vowel letters) we find: ≤f/F≥ (Greek /A), ≤э/Э≥ (an innovation, based on older Cyrillic ≤æ≥), ≤j/J≥ (Greek o/O), ≤e/E≥ (Greek /Y), ≤s≥ (derived from a combination of two letters, the uniquely Slavic letter ≤(≥ and the Slavic adaptation of Greek ì/I). The sound corresponding to ≤s≥ is perhaps the single most difficult for non-natives to pronounce. Some Russians use this sound as a substitute for the vowel of pit or hip in speaking English. A closer approximation would be a vowel that changes from an [u]-like vowel to an [i]-like vowel, something like pituitary or phooey, but pronounced as one syllable, not two. In the other set of vowel letters (soft-vowel letters), two derive from Greek: ≤t/T≥ (from Greek ε), pronounced as [e], and ≤b/B≥ (Greek /H), pronounced as [i]. One has a source in Glagolitic (≤//?≥ = the sound [u]) and two others arose in the history of Russian Cyrillic writing (≤z/Z≥ = the sound [a]; ≤=/+≥, derived from Cyrillic ≤t/T≥ = the sound [o]).

Identifying the etymology of letters does not, of course, explain how the Cyrillic alphabet works. But it should make it clear that the majority of the letters, in their graphic shape and (approximate) sound value, are familiar from a cursory acquaintance with the Greek alphabet.

1.3.4 How the Cyrillic alphabet works (basics)

The Cyrillic alphabet is a good guide to pronunciation. It is generally clear how a sequence of letters should be pronounced. One complication is that in every word in Russian one vowel is strongly stressed, and the remaining unstressed vowels are pronounced less clearly than the one stressed vowel (unstressed vowels are “reduced”). Once one knows which syllable is stressed, phonetic reduction is not difficult for speakers of English. Unstressed vowels are commonly the indistinct “schwa” vowel; Russian Vƒif is pronounced with [ə] in the second syllable, thus [mƒˇsə], much as the final vowel of the English version of this name, Masha, is spoken. However, most writing does not indicate which vowel is stressed. In this respect, spelling does not give complete information about pronunciation.

To understand how the Russian Cyrillic alphabet works, it is necessary to mention one fact about consonant sounds. Most consonants can be pronounced in two significantly different ways: not palatalized, when they are somewhat similar to consonants in English, or palatalized, when the tongue is raised towards the front and top of the mouth, towards the area behind the teeth. The effect of palatalization is similar to the beginning of English few, pew, or, in one

18 A Reference Grammar of Russian

pronunciation, tutor, duke, with the difference that in English, there is a distinct segment between the consonant and the vowel, while in Russian, this raising of the tongue extends over the duration of the consonant. In Western sources, there are many ways of representing palatalization in consonants. It is common to write a superscripted letter (≤i y j≥) after the consonant to indicate that there is a brief transition to the following vowel similar to a vowel [i]; thus the familiar word ytn ‘no’, in which the “n” sound is palatalized, might be written as [niet] or [nyet] or [njet]. An alternative is to write an apostrophe or acute accent

above or after the consonant letter, [n’et] or [net] or [n et] In this study, palatal-

⁄

ization will be written as a cedilla, [n˛et], for the reason that palatalization is generally pronounced throughout the duration of the consonant; it is not just a transition to the following vowel. (When it is important to emphasize that a consonant or group of consonants is not palatalized, the degree sign is placed after the consonant letter: “Co”.) The m u t a b l e consonants -- those that can be either palatalized or not -- are the consonants spelled by the letters ≤g , d a v n l c p y r u [ h k≥. The remaining consonants, those spelled by the letters ≤x o i ; w≥, are immutable: they are either intrinsically palatalized (the

sounds [c˛s…˛] spelled by ≤x o≥) or intrinsically not palatalized (the sounds [s z c]

‹‹ ‹‹

spelled by ≤i ; w≥, respectively). Informally in the Russian tradition, consonants that are not palatalized are called “hard,” palatalized consonants “soft.” This convenient informal characterization is often used in the following.

The most important fact about Russian orthography is that it is organized around the question of how to spell palatalization in consonants. As noted above, there are two sets of vowel letters. Vowel letters indicate not only what vowel is to be pronounced (as might be expected), but they also indicate what sounds come before the vowel. In particular, letters of the soft set ≤b t z = /≥ indicate that the preceding consonant is palatalized when they follow a consonant letter from the set of mutable consonants ≤g , d a v n l c p y r u [ h k≥. Thus: ≤z≥ = the sound [a] plus palatalization of the consonant, as in ≤Lzubktd≥ ‘Diaghilev’, pronounced [d˛ƒ]; ≤/≥ = the vowel [u] plus palatalization in the preceding consonant, as in ≤h/vrf≥ ‘wineglass’ pronounced [r¸úmkə]; ≤t≥ = the sound [e] plus palatalization, as in ≤ytn≥, pronounced [n˛ét]; ≤=≥ = the sound [o] plus palatalization, as in the name ≤A=ljh≥, pronounced [f˛j´dər]; and ≤b≥, as in the name ≤Lbvf≥, pronounced [d˛´ımə]. If no consonant letter precedes -- at the beginning of a word, after another vowel, or after the boundary signs ≤m (≥ (discussed separately below) -- a soft-vowel letter as a rule indicates that the glide sound [j] precedes the vowel. Thus, at the beginning of the word, the soft-vowel letter ≤z≥ is pronounced with [j] before the [a] sound, as in ≤Zknf≥ -- that is, [jaltə], whence the common English form Yalta (in Library of Congress transliteration, Ialta); the soft-vowel letter ≤/≥ begins with [ju], as in ≤?hbq≥,

Russian 19

whence English Yuri (Library of Congress Iurii); after a vowel, the soft-vowel letter ≤t≥ is automatically pronounced with [je], as in ≤Ljcnjtdcrbq≥, as is indicated by one of the possible English spellings, Dostoyevsky.

Letters from the set of “hard-” vowel letters ≤s э f j e≥ indicate which vowel is pronounced and, when they follow a consonant letter from the set of mutable consonants ≤g , d a v n l c p y r u [ h k≥, they indicate that the preceding consonant is not palatalized: ≤Vfif≥ ‘Masha’ indicates that [m] is followed by [a], and the [m] is not palatalized; ≤Genby≥ ‘Putin’ indicates that unpalatalized [p] is followed by [u]. When no consonant letter precedes -- at the beginning of a word or after another vowel letter -- a vowel from this set indicates that there is no [j] before the vowel: ≤fkmn≥ ‘viola’ [al˛t] begins with [a], not [ja]; ≤enrf≥ ‘duck’ [útkə] begins with [u], not [ju].

After the consonant sounds spelled by the letters ≤x o i ; w≥, which are pronounced the same regardless of the following vowel, a mixed set of vowels is used (§1.3.5).

When no vowel letter follows directly after the consonant letter, palatalization is marked by a special symbol ≤m≥, called the “soft sign” (vzurbq pyfr). For example, the ≤m≥ at the end of ≤vfnm≥ ‘mother’ tells us that the sound of ≤n≥ is palatalized [ t˛], and ≤m≥ tells us that the initial consonant sound of ≤nmvf≥ ‘darkness’ is palatalized [ t˛].

The principles of Russian orthography can be presented as a set of branching decisions involving combinations of vowel letters and contexts, as in [1].

[1]Algorithms of Russian spelling

if a consonant is spelled by ≤x o i ; w≥, it is pronounced the same in all contexts;

it can be spelled at the end of words or before another consonant letter; a following vowel letter is one of the set ≤b t f j e≥

if a consonant is spelled by ≤g , d a v n l c p y r u [ h k≥, it is pronounced as palatalized (soft) if

it is followed by ≤m≥ at the end of a word or before another consonant letter; or, a following vowel letter is one of the set ≤b t z = /≥;

if a consonant is spelled by ≤g , d a v n l c p y r u [ h k≥, it is pronounced as non-palatalized (hard) if

it occurs at the end of a word or before another consonant letter; or, a following vowel letter is one of the set ≤s э f j e≥.

1.3.5 How the Cyrillic alphabet works (refinements)

In each of the two sets -- hard-vowel letters ≤s э f j e≥ and soft-vowel letters ≤b t z = /≥ -- the letters behave in a similar fashion up to a point, but there are some idiosyncrasies. The basic properties of vowel graphemes and the operational

20 A Reference Grammar of Russian

Table 1.4 Distribution and values of vowel letters

context

≤f≥ ≤e≥ ≤s≥ ≤j≥ ≤э≥ ≤z≥ ≤/≥ ≤b≥ ≤=≥

≤t≥

/≤C≥

/# /≤V≥ /≤m (≥

/≤x i ; o≥ (lexical)

/≤x i ; o≥ (grammatical) /≤w≥ (lexical)

/≤w≥ (grammatical)

Co

Co

Co

Co

Co

C¸

C¸

C¸

C¸

C¸ (Co)

V

V

V

V

jV

jV

V

jV

jV

V

V

V

V

jV

jV

V

jV

jV

jV

jV

jV

jV

jV

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

# = beginning of word

√

=combination occurs

= combination never (rarely) occurs C¸ = palatalized consonant

Co = consonant not palatalized

graphemes ≤m (≥ are given in Table 1.4. Shading indicates a cell that differs from nearby cells.

Asymmetries and irregularities include the following. The pair ≤s≥ vs. ≤b≥ is similar to other pairs at least to the extent that ≤b≥, as a soft-vowel letter, marks a mutable consonant as palatalized (thus ≤nb≥ implies [t˛i]), while ≤s≥ marks a consonant as not palatalized (thus ≤ns≥ implies [tÈ]). In this respect the pair ≤s/b≥ is parallel to the pairs ≤f/z≥, ≤e//≥. However, there is one important respect in which ≤b≥ does not behave the same as other soft-vowel letters. When ≤b≥ is used in initial position or after a vowel, it does not imply a preceding [ j]. Thus no [j] occurs initially in ≤Bujhm≥, English Igor, which is pronounced [ígər˛], not [jígər˛]; and no [j] occurs between the vowels of ≤Hfbcf≥, English Raisa (pronounced [r ísa], not [r jísa]) or in ≤vj∫≥ nom pl ‘my’ (pronounced [m í], not [m jí]).

Cyrillic ≤э≥, until recently, was used sparingly, for historical reasons. Any original e in initial position or after a vowel acquired a prothetic [j], the only exceptions being native demonstrative stems (≤эnjn≥ ‘this’, ≤эnfrbq≥ ‘such a’) and borrowings (≤эnf;≥ ‘floor’, ≤э[j≥ ‘echo’, ≤gjэn≥ ‘poet’). Further, consonants were palatalized before original e. Thus ≤э≥ is spelled only in acronymic formations like ≤YЭG≥ (from yjdfz эrjyjvbxtcrfz gjkbnbrf ‘New Economic Policy, NEP’). It used to be standard practice to spell any foreign “e” vowel with Cyrillic ≤t≥, even when the preceding consonant was pronounced as hard; in a borrowing, a spelling of ≤lt≥, in certain words, might be pronounced not as soft ([d˛]) but as hard [do]: ≤ltnfkm≥ [do] ‘detail, part’, ≤,typby≥ [bo] ‘fuel’. Recently, however, ≤э≥ is being used more often, after hard consonants (≤cэqk≥ ‘sale’, ≤Lэyyb lt Dbnj≥ but ≤,tcn-ctkkth≥) and even after vowels (≤rhbэnjh≥ ‘creator’).

Russian 21

Cyrillic ≤=≥ is more of a diacritic modification of ≤t≥ than a separate letter. It is not given a distinct position in alphabetical ordering in dictionaries; thus, ≤t;tkb≥ ‘if’ is alphabetized between ≤=;≥ ‘hedgehog’ and its diminutive ≤=;br≥. ≤+≥ indicates that the vowel is stressed [ó]. In addition, after a consonant letter, it indicates that a preceding mutable consonant is palatalized: ≤A=ljh≥ [f˛ódər]. When there is no preceding consonant letter, the vowel is preceded by [j]: ≤=;br≥ [jóˇzïk]. Thus when it is used, then, ≤=≥ has a function parallel to that of ≤z≥ or ≤/≥. But in fact ≤=≥ is not used in all texts or styles of writing. If stress is marked generally -- it usually is not, but it can be, for example, in dictionaries or pedagogical texts for foreigners -- then ≤=≥ is certainly used. Apart from such aids, the more explicit ≤=≥ may be used in certain genres of texts intended for mass audiences: encyclopedias, schoolbooks, publicistic texts. In many other genres of text -- fiction, journalism -- ≤=≥ is generally not used, and ordinary ≤t≥ is used instead. This letter is used in some of the recent postings on the web (for example, in the catalogue of the Russian State Library20), but not in the majority; no pattern is yet clear.

Individual borrowings that might be expected to have ≤=≥ do not necessarily use that letter. Neither ≤=≥ nor ≤t≥ is used to indicate the sequence of palatalized consonant followed by [o] in such borrowings as ≤cbymjh≥ ‘senor’˜ or ≤,ekmjy≥ ‘bouillon’. The sequence ≤qj≥ is used internally after vowels (≤hfqjy≥ ‘region’) and is generally used in borrowings to represent [jo] initially: ≤qjl≥ ‘iodine’, ≤qjuf≥ ‘yoga’, ≤Qjhr≥ ‘York’ (though Japanese names do use ≤=≥: ≤+cfyj≥ ‘Yosano’). The grapheme ≤=≥ is also used, lexically and locally, as an aid to the pronunciation or identification of individual words, notably to distinguish the neuter singular pronoun ≤dc=≥ from the plural ≤dct≥ ‘everyone, all things’: -- F ns dc= эnj jgbib ‘you just describe all that’; Dfkthbq b z dc= ikb ‘Valery and I kept on walking’. In discussions of spelling below, ≤=≥ is characterized as explicit writing style, ≤t≥ as neutral style.

In compounds, soft-vowel letters indicate that [j] precedes the vowel, even after a previous consonant letter: ≤djty/hbcn≥ ‘military lawyer’ [noj], ≤ltnzckb≥ ‘children’s daycare’ [toj]. Remarkably, in borrowings ≤q≥ can be followed by softvowel letters: ≤ajqt≥ ‘foyer’, ≤gfgfqz≥ ‘papaya’, ≤gfhfyjqz≥ ‘paranoia’, ≤Fqz- Cjabz≥‘Hagia Sophia’, ≤(hfcnen) ctrdjqb≥ ‘sequoias (grow)’.

Consonant letters designating immutable sounds (≤x o i ; w≥) have unusual properties, and are followed by a mixed set of vowel letters, normally ≤f≥, ≤e≥ (very exceptionally ≤/≥ in borrowings: ≤,hji/hf≥ ‘brochure’, ≤;/hb≥ ‘jury’), ≤t≥, and ≤b≥. Spelling of stressed [ó] after these letters is complicated. Native roots use ≤=≥ in explicit style, or, in neutral orthographic style, ≤t≥: explicit

≤o=rb≥ ‘cheeks’, ≤;=knsq≥ ‘yellow’, nom pl ≤;=ys≥ ‘wives’, ≤vjkjlj;=ys≥

20Hjccbqcrfz Ujcelfhdcndtyyfz <b,kbjntrf http://www.rsl.ru/ <10.X.02>. The site does not use ≤=≥ on its home page.

22A Reference Grammar of Russian

‘newlyweds’, neutral ≤otrb≥, ≤;tknsq≥, ≤;tys≥, ≤vjkjlj;tys≥. ≤J≥ is used in derivation when the vowel is stressed, as in diminutives: ≤yj;jr≥ ‘knife’, ≤,jhojr≥ ‘soup’, ≤nf,fxjr≥ ‘tobacco’, ≤vtijr≥ ‘bag’. In grammatical endings ≤j≥ is used when the vowel is stressed, as in: ins sg<Ia> ≤yj;jv≥ ‘knife’,

≤regwjv≥ ‘merchant’, ≤,jufxjv≥ ‘rich man’, ins sg<II>≤leijq≥ ‘soul’, ≤jdwjq≥

‘sheep’, ≤cdtxjq≥ ‘candle’. Not under stress, derivatives and grammatical endings are spelled with ≤t≥: gen pl dim ≤ryb;tr≥ ‘books’, ≤hextr≥ ‘handles’, ins sg<Ia> ≤gkfxtv≥ ‘cry’, ≤ytvwtv≥ ‘German’, ≤gkz;tv≥ ‘beach’, ins sg<II>

≤elfxtq≥ ‘good fortune’, ≤uheitq≥ ‘pear’. While ≤t≥ (explicit ≤=≥) is usual in roots, ≤j≥ is used under stress in certain lexical items: ≤ijhj[≥ ‘rustling’, ≤ijd≥ ‘seam’, ≤ghj;jh≥ ‘glutton’, ≤j;ju≥ ‘burn’, ≤;jkj,≥ ‘chute’, now usually ≤;=kj,≥ (≤;tkj,≥). Until the orthographic reform in 1918, ≤j≥ was used in other native roots (≤;jknsq≥, pl ≤ojrb≥). In borrowings ≤j≥ is normal: ≤Ijgty≥ ‘Chopin’, ≤ijr≥ ‘shock’, ≤;jrtq≥ ‘jockey’. The principle, simplified somewhat, is that after ≤x o i ; w≥, ≤j≥ is used for a stressed vowel in morphological environments and internally in borrowings, ≤t≥ is used elsewhere (lexical environments, unstressed vowel).

Another complication is that both ≤wb≥ and ≤ws≥ are used; ≤ws≥ occurs in old lexemes (≤wsufyt≥ ‘Gypsies’, ≤wsgk=yjr≥ ‘chick’), ≤wb≥ in modern borrowings (≤wbrk≥ ‘cycle’, ≤wbdbkbpfwbz≥ ‘civilization’). In grammatical endings ≤s≥ is used (nom pl ≤jnws≥ ‘fathers’).

The “hard sign” ≤(≥ and the “soft sign” ≤m≥ do not represent any sound directly. Rather, they are operational graphemes that indicate how adjacent graphemes are to be understood. The “hard sign” ≤(≥, after being eliminated from the end of words in the orthographic reform of 1918, has limited functions. It is used after prefixes before a soft-vowel letter (≤j,(zcyzk≥ ‘explained’, ≤c(tcnm≥ ‘eat up’) and in some borrowings (≤j,(trn≥ ‘object’, ≤rjy(/yrnehf≥ ‘configuration’). It is a boundary grapheme, indicating that the following soft-vowel letter is to be read as if it began a word -- that is, first comes the consonant (which may or may not be pronounced as palatalized), then [j], then the vowel: ≤jn(tpl≥ [ t˛j†st]

[ toj†st].

The “soft sign” ≤m≥ has greater utility. When no vowel letter follows, ≤m≥ indicates that a preceding mutable consonant is palatalized. When a vowel letter follows, ≤m≥ (like ≤(≥) indicates that the vowel letter is to be interpreted as if it were in initial position, hence preceded by [j]; the preceding consonant is palatalized if it is mutable: compare palatalized ≤,m/≥ ‘I beat’ [b˛ju], but unpalatalized ≤im/≥ ‘I sew’ [ˇsju]. When the symbol ≤m≥ is not followed by a vowel letter, it indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized. Thus the ≤m≥ indicates that the lateral consonant is palatalized in gen sg ≤kmlf≥ ‘ice’, ≤njkmrj≥ ‘just’, ≤cnjkm≥ ‘so much’. After ≤x i ; o≥, which designate immutable consonants,