Release:
2024. Vol. 10. № 3 (39)About the author:
Georgiy A. Molkov, Dr. Sci. (Philol.), Leading Researcher, Department of Russian Historical Lexicology and Lexicography, Institute for Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; georgiymolkov@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6165-2040, https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/AAH-5103-2021Abstract:
This article looks into the history of forming the category of indeclinable adjectives in the Russian language. Contrary to the insufficient existing research literature, the starting point of this process should be the Petrine era (early 18th c.) — a period of active translation activity. This research aims to fill in this lacuna, since traditionally, the first examples of indeclinable adjectives date back as far as to the end of the 18th c. The Dictionary of the Russian Language of the 18th Century provides some insight on the functioning of these forms throughout the century, although it describes the forms of our interest fragmentarily and not entirely consistently. The results show that, during the first half of the 18th c., a number of terminological systems and their parts were borrowed from European languages, in which indeclinable attributes play a significant role; these terminological systems are used in essays on mathematics, military affairs (fortification), and shipbuilding. The study systematizes the material of indeclinable forms and assesses their contribution towards the process of forming a new morphological category in the Russian language. A distinctive feature of this stage is the non-viability of most indeclinable forms found in texts, which fell out of use by the middle of the 18th c., when the process of normalization of the language began from the standpoint of linguistic purism.References:
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