Introduction
Introduction
(1) The Russian Cyrillic alphabet contains 33 letters, including 20 consonants, 10 vowels, a semi-consonant/semi-vowel ( c ), a hard sign (t ) and a soft sign (v ). (2) There are a number of different systems for transliterating the Cyrillic alphabet. Three of these, that of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), that of the British Standards Institution (BSI) (whose system is used throughout this Grammar), and that of the Library of Congress (LC) are listed alongside the Cyrillic alphabet, as well as the Russian names of the individual letters: :ZCyrillic letters>Z@ Letter name ISO BSI LC ;[ >[w@ aaa <\ >\w@ bbb =] >]w@ vvv >^ >^w@ ggg ?_ >_@ ddd ,z >z@ zzz eee zh zh @`Aa >`waw@@å zzz Bb >b@ iii Cc >bdj áldh_@ j ±± Dd >dZ@ kkk Ee >wev@ lll 2 Introduction 1–2
Cyrillic letters Letter name ISO BSI LC Ff >wf@ mmm Gg >wg@ nnn Hh >h@ ooo Ii >iw@ ppp Jj >wj@ rrr Kk >wk@ sss Ll >lw@ ttt Mm >m@ uuu Nn >wn@ fff Oo >oZ@ h/ch kh kh Pp >pw@ ctst s Qq >q_@þ ch ch Rr >rZ@ šshsh Ss >sZ@ãþ shch shch Tt >l\zj^ucagZd@ ””” Uu >u@ y { y Vv >f·]dbcagZd@ ’’’ Ww >wh[hj ólgh_@ eÛ é ¡ ju yu i u Yy >y@ Xx ja>x@ ya i a
Note (a) Certain letters with diacritics and accents which appear in the VWDQGDUG%6,V\VWHP zIRUz±IRUc é for w { IRUu DUHXVHG without diacritics and accents here. (b) The ligatures used over certain combinations of letters in the standard LC system (t s, i u i a) are often omitted by other users. (c) $Q DSRVWURSKH ¶ IRU WKH VRIW VLJQ v LV XVHG RQO\ LQ WKH bibliography. (d) 7KHHQGLQJVucbcDUHUHQGHUHGDVmLQQDPHV
2 The international phonetic alphabet (IPA)
The following symbols from the IPA are used in the Introduction for the phonetic transcription of Russian words.
Vowels i DVLQbe [il] 7 DVLQiue [p7 l] 8 DVWKHILUVWYRZHOLQb]e á[8 gla] DVWKHILUVWYRZHOLQ^uj á[d ra] 2Introduction3
0 DVLQe_k [ 0V@ e DVLQ\_kv [v, e ] a DVLQjZ^ [rat] æ DVLQiylv [ æ ] : DVWKHILUVWYRZHOLQh^§g [: in] G DVWKHILUVWYRZHOLQohjhr ó[xG r: ; o] o DVLQfho [mox] ö DVLQlzly [ öG ] u DVLQ[md [buk] ü DVLQdexq [k üt; ]
Semi-consonant/semi-vowel j DVLQ[hc [boj]
Consonants j DVLQihe [pol] DVLQizk [ os] b DVLQ[Zd [bak] DVLQ[_e [0O@ t DVLQlhf [tom] DVLQl_f [0P@ d DVLQ^hf [dom] DVLQ^_gv [ e ] k DVLQdZd [kak] DVLQd_f [ 0P@ [ ol] , DVLQ]b^ DVLQ]he [,it] fas inne ójZ [ florG ] DVLQn_g [ 0Q@ v DVLQ\hl [vot] v, DVLQ\bg ó[v, 8 no] s DVLQkZf [sam] DVLQk_\ [0I@ z DVLQam[ [zup] DVLQa é[jZ [ 0 brG ] ; DVLQrmf [; um] DVLQ`md [ uk] x DVLQoZf [xam] DVLQo§fbd [ L 8N ] ?? DVLQs_d á[??8 ka] 9 DVLQp_o [90[@ 4 Introduction 2–3 t; DVLQqbg [t; in] m DVLQfhe [mol] DVLQf_e [ 0 l] n DVLQghk [nos] DVLQg_l [0 t] l DVLQeZd [lak] DVLQey] [ ak] r DVLQjZd [rak] DVLQj_d á[8 ka] jas in ·fZ [ jamG ]
Pronunciation
3 Stressed vowels
Russian has ten vowelZwuhm letters: y_bzx (1) : is pronounced with the mouth opened a little wider than in the pronunciation of ‘a’ in English ‘father’HJaZe>]DO@ ‘hall’. (2) W is pronounced like ‘e’ in ‘end’, but the mouth is opened a little wider and the tongue is further from the palate than in articulating English ‘e’ in ‘end’, e.g. wlh> 0 tG ] ‘this is’. (3) M is pronounced with the tongue drawn back and the lips rounded and protruding.HJ[md>EXN@ The sound is similar to but shorter than the vowel in ‘school’H ‘beech’. (4) is also pronounced with rounded andm protruding lips, but to a lesser extent than in the pronunciationHJ[hd>ERN@ of . The sound is similar to the vowel in Englishu ‘bought’ ‘side’. (5) The vowel m is pronounced with the tongue drawn back as in the HJpronunciationkug>V of but with the lips spread, not rounded or protruding, i- n] ‘son’.y _>M0@z x w(6)hDQG Them LHWKH\DUHSURQRXQFHGOLNHWKRVHYRZHOVSUHFHGHGE\WKH vowels [ja], [jo] and [ju] are ‘iotated’ variants of a, sound [j]). The vowel b resembles ‘ea’ in English ‘cheap’, but is a ‘closer’ sound, that is, the centre of the tongue is nearer to the hard SDODWHLQDUWLFXODWLRQHJfbj> ir] ‘world, peace’. After a preposition 3–4 Pronunciation 5 or other word ending in a hard consonant, however, stressed initial b is pronounced [7@ hl¦]hjy>: t 7GG ], cf. also 4 (4) note.
Note Vowels can be classified as: (a) back vowels (pronounced with the back part of the tongue raised towards the back of the palate): mxhz (b) central vowels (pronounced with the central part of the tongue raised towards the central part of the palate): uZy (c) front vowels (pronounced with the central part of the tongue raised towards the front of the palate: bw_
4 Unstressed vowels 8QVWUHVVHGmxbDQGu The sound of unstressed mx is similar to that of English ‘u’ in ‘put’: ^m] á [du J a] ‘arc’xe á [ju la] ‘top’. Unstressed b and u are shorter and pronounced in a more ‘relaxed’ fashion than their stressed equivalents: b]j á [8 ra] ‘game’[ue á [b la] ‘was’. , does not appear in unstressed position. The other vowels are ‘reduced’ in unstressed position. 5HGXFWLRQRIhDQGZ (i) The vowels h and ZDUHSURQRXQFHGDV>h@DQG>Z@RQO\ZKHQWKH\ they are reduced,DSSHDULQVWUHVVHGSRVLWLRQ h being^hf the>GRP@ vowelaZe>]DO@,QXQVWUHVVHGSRVLWLRQ most affected by various forms of reduction resulting from its position in relation to the stress. h (ii) InZ pre-tonic position: @ orihl as thef>S unstressed: initial letterh^ in§g> :a word and iZj are pronouncedf>S: [ Zd ó eZ>: tom]G ‘afterwards’ in] WRSUHWRQLFSUHSRVLWLRQV ‘one’ ó ih^f rom] ‘ferry’ j_fý>S: kul ] ‘shark’.P@ This also appliesgZ^ fhf>Q: G ó d m o ‘under theZZ sea’ZhhZ ó d dom m]::@HJ ‘abovekhh[jZa§lv >Vthe:: ^house’. The combinationsT: are pronounced [ hh b i ] ‘to comprehend’. (iii) In pre-pre-tonic position (except as initial letters, see (ii)) or in post-tonic position both vowels are pronounced [G@ WKXV iZjho ó^ [pG r: xot] ‘steamer’fheh^ óc>PG l: doj] ‘young’j ágh> ranG ] ‘early’, \§edZ> vilkG ] ‘fork’ 7KLV DOVR DSSOLHV WR SUHSRVLWLRQV ih^ \h^ óc [pG d v: doj] ‘under water’gZ^]heh\ óc>QG d G l: voj] ‘overhead’) and to the initial letters of words governed by prepositions \ h]hj ó^_ [v G: ro 8 ] ‘in the market garden’ FIh]hj ó^>:: rot] ‘market garden’)). 6Introduction4
Note (a) Unstressed hLVSURQRXQFHG>h@LQDQXPEHURIZRUGVRIIRUHLJQ áh ‘cocoa’ j á^bh ‘radio’ o áhk ‘chaos’), with an RSWLRQDO>h@LQRULJLQ\ dZd élh ‘veto’^hkv é ‘dossier’rhkk é ‘highway’ and some other words. In certain cases, pronunciation is differentiated stylistically. The pronunciation [:@LQZRUGVVXFKDVihwl ‘poet’ DQGrhkk é ‘highway’, said to be the more colloquial variant, has gained ground in educated speech and is found even in the SURQXQFLDWLRQRIIRUHLJQQDPHVVXFKDVRhi ég>;: S0Q@>; o S0Q@ ‘Chopin’, especially where these have gained common currency HJ Lhev·llb ‘Togliatti’ +RZHYHU >h@ LV UHWDLQHG LQ ZRUGV ‘trio’. (b) The vowel Z isZKHUHLWIROORZVDQRWKHUYRZHO pronounced [lj] §inh pre-tonic position after q and s : WKXVqZk± [t; s7 ] ‘clock’sZ^§lv>?? i ] ‘to spare’. The pronun- ciation of unstressed Z as [ ] after `r is now limited for many VSHDNHUVWR`Ze élv> e ] ‘to regret’dkh`Ze égbx>N sG e ju] ‘unfortunately’DQGHQGVWUHVVHGSOXUDOREOLTXHFDVHVRIe órZ^v ‘horse’HJJHQSOehrZ^ éc>OG; ej]. PZ is pronounced [ts ] in WKHREOLTXHFDVHVRIVRPHQXPHUDOV ^\Z^pZl§ [dvG ts i] ‘twenty’ (gen.). 5HGXFWLRQRI_DQGy (i) In pre-tonic position both _ and y are pronounced [(j)@ ya±d>M z7 k] ‘language’i_j_\ ó^> vot] ‘translation’7KXVjZaj_^§lv ‘to thin out’DQGjZajy^§lv ‘to unload’ have the same pronunciation. (ii) In post-tonic position _ is pronounced [@ i óe_> po ] ‘field’), while y is usually pronounced [G@ ^±gy> d7G ] ‘melon’). However, post- tonic y is pronounced [@ EHIRUH D VRIW FRQVRQDQW i áfylv> R a ] ‘memory’ DQGLQQRQILQDOSRVWWRQLFSRVLWLRQ \±]eygme> v7 QXO@ ‘looked out’). 5HGXFWLRQRIw is pronounced [@LQXQVWUHVVHGSRVLWLRQ wl ái> tap] ‘stage’). WNote Unstressed initial b and w and conjunction b are pronounced [ ] after a preposition or other word ending in a hard consonant (see 3 \ áebx>Y ta MX@ ‘to Italy’[jZlb^zldB\ ágm>EUDW ot k vanu] ‘my brother is on his way to seeBl Ivan’gZ^wd\ álhjhf>QG d kvatG rG m] ‘above the equator’. B is also pronounced [ ] in certain stump FRPSRXQGVHJ=hkba^ ál> os zdat] ‘State Publishing House’. 5 Pronunciation 7
5 Hard and soft consonants
With the exception of `p and r , which are invariably hard, and q and s , which are invariably soft, all Russian consonants can be pronounced hard or soft.
(1) Hard consonants (i) A hard consonant is a consonant which appears at the end of a word (e.g. the fLQ^hf>GRP@ ‘house’, the lLQ\hl>YRW@ ‘here is’) or is followed by Zuh or m (w appears only as an initial letter, except in DFURQ\PVVXFKDVgwi ‘NEP’ (New Economic Policy) and rare words VXFKDVkwj ‘sir’ 7KXVWKHFRQVRQDQWVLQWKHZRUGV]heh\ á [ G l: va] ‘head’f±eh> O7NG ] ‘soap’DQG^ ýfZ> dumG ] ‘thought’ are all hard. (ii) Most hard consonants, e.g. [\]adfikn are pronounced in similar fashion to their English counterparts, i.e. ‘b’ in ‘bone’, ‘v’ in ‘van’, ‘g’ in ‘gone’, ‘z’ in ‘zone’, ‘c’ in ‘come’, ‘m’ in ‘money’, ‘p’ in ‘pun’, ‘s’ in ‘sun’, ‘f’ in ‘fun’. However, d and i (and l ; see (iii)) lack the slight aspiration of ‘k’, ‘p’ and ‘t’. (iii) In pronouncing the dentals ^ [d], l [t] and g [n], the tip of the tongue is pressed against the back of the upper teeth in the angle between teeth and gums. (iv) J is a moderately ‘trilled’ [r]. E is pronounced with the tip of the tongue in the angle between the upper teeth and the gum, and the middle of the tongue curved downwards. The ‘l’ sound in English ‘bubble’ is a good starting-point for the pronunciation of this letter. (v) O sounds as ‘ch’ in ‘loch’ or German ‘acht’, but is formed a little further forward in the mouth. (vi) Unlike other consonants, `p and r are always pronounced hard (see, however, note (b), below). This means in practice that the vowels _ and b are pronounced as w and u after ` p and r `_kl> 0VW@ ‘gesture’`bj> 7T ] fat’p_o>90[@ ‘workshop’pbjd>97 rk] ‘circus’, r_kl>;0VW@ ‘pole’fZr§gZ>P: ;7 nG ] ‘car’) while z is pronounced as h after ` and r `zeh[> olG p] ‘groove’rzed>; olk] ‘silk’). A soft sign DVLQjh`v>UR; ] ‘rye’) has no softening effect on the pronunciation of ` or r . Note (a) Neither a soft sign nor the vowel z can be written after p 8Introduction5
(b) R LV VRXQGHG KDUG LQ WKH ORDQ ZRUGV iZjZrµl>SG r: ; ut] ‘parachute’ DQG [jhrµjZ>EU: ; urG ] ‘brochure’, while ` is SURQRXQFHGVRIWLQ`xj§ [C ü i] ‘jury’.
(2) Soft consonants (i) A soft consonant is a consonant (other than `p or r ) followed by a soft sign, e.g. evLQklZev ‘steel’, or by y_bz or x . Thus, the initial FRQVRQDQWVLQf·lZ> atG ] ‘mint’e_k> 0V@ ‘forest’ibe> il] ‘was drinking’gz[h> obG ] ‘palate’DQG^µgZ> unG ] ‘dune’ are all soft. (ii) Soft consonants are pronounced with the centre of the tongue raised towards the hard palate, as in articulating b for example. Correct rendering of the vowels y [ja], _>M0@b [i], z [jo] and x [ju] will assist in the articulation of the preceding soft consonants. Soft [ @DVLQl óevdh ‘only’ is similar to ‘ll’ in ‘million’, with the tip of the tongue against the teeth-ridge and the front of the tongue pressed against the hard palate. (iii) Soft consonants may also appear at the end of words, e.g. iv and lvLQlhiv>WR ] ‘swamp’DQGfZlv>PD ] ‘mother’; the final sounds in these words are similar to those of the initial consonants in ‘pure’ and ‘tune’ (standard British English ‘Received Pronunciation’). (iv) Unlike other consonants, q and s are always pronounced soft. In practice this means that the vowels Zh and m are pronounced as [ja], >MR@DQG>MX@IROORZLQJWKHVHFRQVRQDQWV qZk ‘hour’q óihjguc ‘prim’, qm] ýg ‘cast iron’ihs á^Z ‘mercy’s ýdZ ‘pike’). (v) The consonant s is pronounced as a long soft r [?? ] (e.g. aZsbs álv>]G?? ?? æ ] ‘to defend’); the pronunciation [? t; ] is falling into disuse. (vi) The double consonants `q fm`q§gZ ‘man’), aq aZd áaqbd ‘client’), kq ih^i§kqbd ‘subscriber’) are pronounced like s [?? ]. The pronunciation [? t; ], however, is preferred in prefixed forms such as [_kq§ke_gguc ‘innumerable’jZkqe_g§lv ‘to dismember’. (vii) @` and a` may be pronounced either as a double soft ` (with the front of the tongue raised towards the hard palate) in words such as \ ó``b> voCC ] ‘reins’^j ó``b ‘yeast’``zl ‘burns’`m`` álv ‘to buzz’ [j±a`_l ‘sprays’ \ba` álv ‘to scream’, éa`m ‘I travel’, ih_a` ác ‘go!’i óa`_ ‘later’, especially in the speech of the older generation, as well as in that of actors and professionally trained announcers, or alternatively as a double hard ` [ vo ], a pronunciation preferred by very many younger speakers. A` is invariably pronounced as hard [ @DFURVVWKHERXQGDU\EHWZHHQSUHIL[DQGVWHP ba`§lv ‘to 5–7 Pronunciation 9 eradicate’. The cluster `^LQ^h`^· ‘of rain’ etc. is pronounced as soft `` by some speakers and as [ ] by others. +DUGDQGVRIWFRQVRQDQWVPD\EHXVHGWRGLIIHUHQWLDWHPHDQLQJFI(3) Use of hard and soft consonantsemd to differentiate meaning [luk] ‘onions’DQGexd> uk] ‘hatch’fZl>PDW@ ‘checkmate’DQGfZlv [ma ] ‘mother’ etc.
6 Double palatalization
Some words contain two adjacent soft consonants, a phenomenon known as ‘double palatalization’ or ‘regressive softening’. The following combinations of letters are involved: (1) [ ], [ ] and [ ] followed by other soft dentals or by [ ], [ ], [t; ], [?? ] or [ ]: óll_i_ev> o ] ‘thaw’^gb> i] ‘days’d ógqbd> ko t;N@ ‘tip’] ógsbd> J o??N@ ‘racer’i·lgbpZ> æWVG ] ‘Friday’i égkby [ eMG ] ‘pension’. (2) [ ] or [ ] followed by a soft dental, [ ], [ ] or [ @ \hag§d [v: ik] ‘arose’jZa^ ée>U: 0O@ ‘partition’a^_kv> e ] ‘here’kg_] [0N@ ‘snow’kl_g á [ na] ‘wall’\f ékl_> X G@ ‘together’. Note ,QVRPHZRUGVVLQJOHRUGRXEOHSDODWDOL]DWLRQLVSRVVLEOH ^\_>G v,0@RU [ v,0@ ‘two’^\_jv>G v, e ] or [ v, e ] ‘door’a\_jv>] v, e ] or [ v, e ] ‘wild animal’i éley> et G ] or [ e G ] ‘loop’k\_l>V v,0W@RU> v,0W@ ‘light’, ke_^>V 0W@RU> 0W@ ‘trace’q él\_jlv> < et v,U ] or [ < e v, U ] ‘quarter’.
7 Non-palatalization of consonants in some loan words
(1) The consonants l and ^ are pronounced hard before _ in certain loan ZRUGVDQGIRUHLJQQDPHV l éjfhk> W0UPG s] ‘thermos flask’Zgl éggZ ‘aerial’ ZiZjl_§^ ‘apartheid’ Zl_ev é ‘workshop’ [bnrl édk ‘beef- steak’[ml_j[j ó^ ‘sandwich’hl éev ‘hotel’iZjl éj ‘stalls’ij§gl_j ‘printer’kl_g^ ‘stand’ LQZRUGVZLWKWKHSUHIL[bgl_j Bgl_jg él ‘Internet’ d ó^_dk ‘legal code’ fh^ éev ‘model’ klxZj^ ékkZ ‘stewardess’ DQG LQ PDQ\ ZRUGV ZLWK WKH SUHIL[ ^_ ^_]jZ^ ápby ‘degradation’). 10 Introduction 7–10
(2) Hard aKDVEHHQUHWDLQHGLQ[_a é ‘meringue’; hard fLQdhgkhf é ‘consommé’ j_axf é ‘résumé’; hard gLQdZrg é ‘scarf’ [§ag_k ‘business’db[_jg élbdZ ‘cybernetics’lhgg éev ‘tunnel’lmjg é ‘tour’, nhg élbdZ ‘phonetics’wg éj]by ‘power’; hard iLQdmi é ‘compartment’; hard jLQdZ[Zj é ‘cabaret’j_e é ‘relay’; hard kLQrhkk é ‘highway’, wdkljZk égk ‘a psychic’; and hard nLQdZn é ‘cafe’. Note A hard consonant is more likely to be retained in foreign loan words LPPHGLDWHO\SUHFHGLQJWKHVWUHVVHGYRZHO HJl éggbk ‘tennis’). Dental consonants (^lg ) are more likely to remain hard than labials ( [i ). f 8 Hard sign and soft sign
(1) The hard sign appears only between a hard consonant — usually at the end of a prefix — and a stem beginning y_z or x hlt éa^>: WM0VW@ ‘departure’h[tykg·lv ‘to explain’. (2) A soft sign appearing between a consonant and y_z or x indicates that the consonant is soft and that the sound c [j] intervenes between consonant and vowel k_fv· [ ja] ‘family’. See also 5 (2) (i) and (iii).
9 The reflexive suffix -kv ky
(1) The pronunciation of kv as [@LVZLGHVSUHDG [hµkv>E: ju ] ‘I fear’[h·kv>E: ja ] ‘fearing’ etc. (2) The suffix ky is usually pronounced [sG@LQWKHLQILQLWLYH f±lvky ‘to wash’ DQG WKH SUHVHQW WHQVH f ó_lky ‘he washes’), though an alternative soft pronunciation [G ] is also found in the second-person singular and first-person plural. (3) [G@LVSUHIHUUHGLQSDUWLFLSOHV kf_µsbcky>G ] ‘laughing’), the LPSHUDWLYH g_kf écky ‘don’t laugh’ DQGWKHSDVWWHQVH hgkf_·eky ‘he was laughing’) — except for forms in kky or aky i ákky> passG ] ‘was grazing’).
10 Effect of a soft consonant on a vowel in the preceding syllable (1) W and _DUHSURQRXQFHG>0@DQG>M0@ LQ VWUHVVHG SRVLWLRQ ZKHQ followed by a hard consonant (e.g. wlh> 0WG ] ‘this is’e_k> 0V@ ‘forest’), 10–11 Pronunciation 11
EXWDV>_@DQG>MH@ VLPLODUWR)UHQFK ‘e acute’ [é]) when followed by a soft consonant (e.g. wlb> e@ ‘these’\_kv> v, e ] ‘all’). (2) Y is pronounced as [æ], z as [ö] and x as [ü] preceding a soft FRQVRQDQW fyq [ æt; ] ‘ball’lzly> öG ] ‘aunt’dexq>N ü< ] ‘key’. (3) :h and u are also affected as the tongue is raised closer to the SDODWHLQDQWLFLSDWLRQRIDIROORZLQJVRIWFRQVRQDQW HJfZlv ‘mother’, ghqv ‘night’iuev ‘dust’, where Zh and u are pronounced as if followed by a much-reduced b sound).
11 Voiced and unvoiced consonants
(1) Some consonants are pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords (‘voiced’ consonants), and others without such vibration (‘unvoiced’ consonants). (2) There are six pairs of voiced and unvoiced equivalents: [iVoiced Unvoiced ]d ak ^l The eight other consonants include the unvoiced p , o , q , s and the \nvoiced sonants e , j , f , g . (3) ; , ] , a , ^ , \ , ` are pronounced as their unvoiced counterparts when `rthey appear in final position or before a final soft sign. eh[ em] ‘forehead’ is pronounced [lop] jZa ‘meadow’ is pronounced [luk] kZ^ ‘time’ is pronounced [ras] e_\ ‘garden’ is pronounced [sat] 0I@ ‘lion’ is pronounced [ ; ‘husband’fm is` pronounced [mu ] (4) When a voiced and an unvoiced consonant appear side by side, the first assimilates to the second. Thus, voiced consonant + unvoiced 12 Introduction 11 consonant are both pronounced unvoiced, while unvoiced consonant + voiced consonant are both pronounced voiced. ](i)[d VoicedZ + unvoiced (both pronounced unvoiced) G aZý]k ‘sponge’ is pronounced [ upk ] j adh ‘registry office’ is pronounced [zaks] 0VNG e é^dZ ‘sharply’ is pronounced [ G ] \oó ^bl ‘boat’ is pronounced [ lotk W@] `dóZ ‘goes in’ is pronounced [ fxo; G ó ‘spoon’e is pronounced [ lo k ] Note (a) Devoicing also takes place on the boundary between preposition DQGQRXQRUDGMHFWLYH \d ófgZl_> f komnG@ ‘in the room’ih^ óf>SG t st: lom] ‘under the table’. (b) The devoicing of a final consonantklhe may in turn cause the devoicing RIWKHFRQVRQDQWZKLFKSUHFHGHVLW \ba]>YLVN@ ‘scream’^jha^ [drost] ‘thrush’. (c) =LVSURQRXQFHGDV>o@LQez]dbc ‘light, easy’ e é]q_ ‘easier’, f·]dbc ‘soft’DQGf·]q_ ‘softer’DVZHOODVLQ;h] ‘God’ (only in the singular nominative case, however). The initial consonant in = ókih^b ‘Lord!’ is now usually pronounced as [ ], though [h] is VWLOOKHDUG7KHQRXQ[mo] áel_j ‘book-keeper’ is the only word in which o] is pronounced as [h].
(ii) Unvoiced + voiced (both pronounced voiced) nml[ óe ‘football’ is pronounced [fu dbol] d^ ófm ‘towards the house’ is pronounced [ domu] ij ókv[Z ‘request’ is pronounced [ pro bG ] l ád`_ ‘also’ is pronounced [ ta ] f àr[xj ó ‘typing pool’ is pronounced [ma u ro] Note (a) The voicing of consonants also occurs at the boundary between words, especially when the second word is a particle or other XQVWUHVVHGIRUP YkiZk [u_] ó [ spaz b ] ‘I would have saved him’. PLVYRLFHGDV>G]@LQVXFKFLUFXPVWDQFHV Hl ép[ue^ ófZ [: 0G] b7 l] ‘Father was in’) and q as [F @ ^hqv[ue á [doF b la] ‘the daughter was’). (b) < has no voicing effect on a preceding unvoiced consonant, e.g. l\hc>WYRM@ ‘your’. 12–14 Pronunciation 13
12 The pronunciation of - qg -
(1) -qg - is pronounced [;Q@LQFHUWDLQZRUGV dhg éqgh>N: 0; nG ] ‘of course’gZj óqgh ‘on purpose’hq éqgbd ‘spectacle case’ij áq_qgZy ‘laundry’kd ýqgh ‘boring’y§qgbpZ ‘fried eggs’), as well as in the SDWURQ\PLFV Bev§gbqgZ ‘Ilinichna’ K á\\bqgZ ‘Savvichna’ and Gbd§lbqgZ ‘Nikitichna’. (2) However, the pronunciation [< n] is used in more ‘learned’ words such as áeqguc> al< ntj] ‘greedy’Zgl§qguc ‘ancient’ ^h[ á\hqguc ‘additional’DQGdhg éqguc ‘ultimate’. (3) -qg - is pronounced either as [; n] or [ 13 Consonants omitted in pronunciation In some groups of three or more consonants one is omitted in pronunciation. Thus, the first \LVQRWSURQRXQFHGLQa^j á\kl\mcl_ ‘hallo!’q ý\kl\h ‘feeling’ (however, it isSURQRXQFHGLQ^ é\kl\_gguc ‘virgin’DQGgj á\kl\_gguc ‘moral’), ^LVQRWSURQRXQFHGLQa\za^guc ‘starry’eZg^r ánl ‘landscape’i óa^gh ‘late’ij áa^gbd ‘festival’ or k éj^p_ ‘heart’ (however, it isSURQRXQFHGLQ[ éa^gZ ‘abyss’), e is not SURQRXQFHGLQk óegp_ ‘sun’ (however, it isSURQRXQFHGLQk óeg_qguc ‘solar’) and lLVQRWSURQRXQFHGLQ]j ýklguc ‘sad’ba\ éklguc ‘well- known’e éklguc ‘flattering’f éklguc ‘local’hdj éklghklv ‘vicinity’, q áklguc ‘private’DQGkqZkle§\uc ‘happy’ (however, the first l in ihkle álv ‘to spread’ is pronounced). 14 The pronunciation of double consonants Double consonants are pronounced as two letters across the boundary EHWZHHQSUHIL[DQGVWHPHJhllZs§lv>WW@ ‘to drag away’. When a GRXEOHFRQVRQDQWDSSHDUVZLWKLQDVWHPSUDFWLFHYDULHVFI]jZff álbdZ [m] ‘grammar’ ]j ýiiZ >SS or p] ‘group’. A single consonant is SURQRXQFHGLQILQDOSRVLWLRQ ]jZff>P@ ‘gram’]jbii>j@ ‘influenza’. 14 Introduction 15 15 Stress LQLWLDOV\OODEOH (1) Stress^ in Russiane]h is ‘free’, that is, in some words it falls on the ^hj ]Z DQGLQRWKHUVRQWKHILQDOV\OODEOH ó ‘for a longdZjZg^ time’), in others on a medialr syllable ó ‘road’z á ‘pencil’). The vowel is always stressed. j]Zg (2) A change hj]in stressg may indicate a change in meaning: ó ‘organ DOWHUQDWLYHVWUHVVZLWKRXWDFKDQJHLQPHDQLQJ of the body’ á ‘organ’l\hj (musical instrument). A ] few WKHFRPPRQHU words have jh] ó ó ‘cottage cheese’.IRUP l\ (3) For stress patterns in individual parts of speech see nouns (57, 60, 62, 63 (4)), adjectives (164, 165), verbs (219, 223, 228, 232, 341, 343, 345, 350, 369) and prepositions (405). (4) Secondary stress (a weaker stress marked here with a grave accent >C@ LVIRXQGLQVRPHFRPSRXQGVHJfZr¿ghkljh égb_ ‘engineering’ (in fast speech, however, the word is pronounced with one full stress RQO\ fZrbghkljh égb_ 6HFRQGDU\VWUHVVLVSDUWLFXODUO\FRPPRQLQ words with foreign prefixes (àglbdhffmg§af ‘anti-communism’, d ògljf éju ‘counter-measures’ lj àgkZleZgl§q_kdbc ‘transatlantic’, äevljZdhj óldbc ‘ultra-short’ DOVRLQZRUGVZLWKWKHSUHIL[k\ èjo èjomj óqgu_ ‘overtime’ LQ WHFKQLFDO WHUPV fhj òahmkl ócqb\uc ‘frost-proof’), in compounds wherek\ there is a polysyllabic gap between WKH QDWXUDO VWUHVVHV LQ WKH FRPSRQHQWV \j èfyij_ijh\h`^ égb_ ‘pastime’) and in compounds consisting of a truncated word and a full ZRUG ] òk[x^` él ]hkm^ ájkl\_gguc[x^` él ‘state budget’). The use of secondary stresses is sometimes optional, varying with speaker and speech mode. Generally speaking, the newer a compound word is, WKHPRUHOLNHO\DVHFRQGDU\VWUHVV HJd¿ghkp_g ájbc ‘film script’). Tertiary stresses are found in some compounds: à\lhf òlhde ý[ ‘car and motor-cycle club’. SUHSRVLWLRQV (5) Some\gmlj §primary-stressed\gmlj¿ adverbs take \secondaryae_\ ae_ stress when \hdj used as] f§fhf¿fh ‘inside’dheh ó dhehò ‘near’ i ke_ý ke_ ‘around’ ‘past’,\hdj ä] ó ò ‘close (to)’ ó ò ‘after’. i Note Stresses are marked in a Russian text only: (a) WRUHVROYHDPELJXLW\FIYagZxqlhhg]h\hjbl ‘I know that he is speaking’DQGY agZxql ó hg]h\hjbl ‘I know what he is saying’[hevr áyqZklv ‘a large part’[ óevrZyqZklv ‘a larger part’; 15–16 Orthography 15 (b) to denote arcKDLF SURQXQFLDWLRQV HJ[b[eb ól_dZ IRU FRQWHP édZ ‘library’); (c) in rendering certain professionalSRUDU\[b[ebhl words, non-Russian words, dialect and slang words; (d) in verse, where normal stress is sometimes distorted in the interests of rhythm. Orthography 16 Spelling rules Spelling rule 1 u is replaced by b , y by Z and x by m after ` , q , r , s and ] , d , o : gh] á, ‘leg’, gen. sing. gh]b" álv , ‘to be silent’, first-person sing. fheq ý, third-person pl. fheq ál fheq ([FHSWLRQVDUHIRXQGLQVRPHQRQ5XVVLDQZRUGVDQGQDPHV Note [jhrµjZ ‘brochure’Duaued ýf ‘Kyzylkum Desert’D·olZ ‘Kyakhta’. Spelling rule 2 h is replaced by _ in unstressed position after ` , q , r , s , p : g éf_p ‘German’, instr. sing. g éfp_f , gen. pl. g éfp_\ Spelling rule 3 Initial b is replaced by u following a prefix ending in a consonant: impf. b]j álv /pf. ku]j ált ‘to play’ bgl_j ékguc ‘interesting’, g_[_augl_j ékguc ‘not uninteresting’ (for exceptions see 28(3)(c)) Spelling rule 4 The prefixes [_a -/[_k -; \a -, \ha -/\k -, \hk -; ba -/bk -; jZa -/jZk - are spelt with a before voiced consonants, voiced sonants or vowels and with k before unvoiced consonants: [_aa ý[uc ‘toothless’ but [_kdhg éqguc ‘infinite’; \ae_l álv ‘to take off’ but \koh^§lv ‘to rise’; ba[§lv ‘to beat up’ but bki§lv ‘to sup’; jZah[j álv ‘to dismantle’ but jZkp_i§lv ‘to uncouple’. 16 Introduction 16–17 Spelling rule 5 Prefixes ending in a consonant (e.g. ih^ -, hl -, jZa , k -) are spelt ih^h -, hlh -, jZah -, kh -: (i) In compounds of -clb (ih^hcl§ ‘to approach’, ih^hrze ‘I approached’ etc.) (see 333 (2)). (ii) Before consonant + v (khrvµ ‘I shall sew’) (see 234 (5)). (iii) Before certain consonant clusters (jZah]g álv ‘to disperse’) (see 234 (1–4)). Note For spelling rules relating to prepositions see 404. 17 Use of capital and small letters in titles and names (1) In the names or titles of most posts, institutions, organizations, books, newspapers and journals, wars, festivals etc., only the first word LV VSHOW ZLWK D FDSLWDO OHWWHU LZcf±j ‘the Taimyr Peninsula’, ´`guc i óexk ‘the South Pole’, L\_jkd áy ýebpZ ‘Tverskaya Street’ A§fgbc ^\hj ép ‘the Winter Palace’BkZ ádb_\kdbckh[ ój ‘St Isaac’s Cathedral’Dj ákgZyie ósZ^v ‘Red Square’F§gkdbcZ\lhfh[§evgucaZ\ ó^ ‘Minsk Car Factory’. Note Generic terms are spelt with a capital letter, however, if used in a non- OLWHUDOVHQVH Ahehl ócJh] ‘the Golden Horn’ (a bay), Ó]g_ggZyA_fe· ‘Tierra del Fuego’ (an archipelago). (3) Some titles consist of words, all of which have capital letters. These include the names of exalted governmental institutions and organizations, as well as a number of international bodies (and certain JHRJUDSKLFDO QDPHV HJ ; éeuc Gbe ‘the White Nile’ > áevgbc ód ‘the Far East’G ó\ZyA_fe· ‘Novaya Zemlya’ =_g_j áevgZy éy H ÓG ‘the General WKH FRUUHVSRQGLQJ DGMHFWLYHV Zg]e§ckdbc ‘English’ fhkd ó\kdbc ‘Moscow’ H[FHSWZKHUHWKH\IRUPSDUWRIDWLWOH :g]e§ckdbc[Zgd ‘the Bank of England’ Fhkd ó\kdbc pbjd ‘Moscow Circus’). This SULQFLSOHLVDOVRDSSOLHGWRWKHQDPHVRIPRQWKVWKXVfZjl ‘March’, hdl·[jv ‘October’ hdl·[jvkdbc ‘October’ DGM EXWF ájlZ ‘8 March’ (International Women’V 'D\ Hdl·[jvHdl·[jvkdZy j_\h ‘the October Revolution’ DQGWRGD\VRIWKHZHHNWKXVi·lgbpZ ‘Friday’EXWKljZklg eµpby áyI·lgbpZ ‘Good Friday’. 7KHZRUGVa_fe· ‘land’emg á ‘moon’k óegp_ ‘sun’ are spelt with FDSLWDOVZKHQWKH\GHQRWHKHDYHQO\ERGLHV A_fe· ‘the Earth’Emg á ‘the Moon’K óegp_ ‘the Sun’. L 1DPHVRIGHLWLHVDUHVSHOWZLWKFDSLWDOOHWWHUV :ee áo ‘Allah’;h] ‘God’;j áofZ ‘Brahma’R§\Z ‘Shiva’. 2IKHDWKHQJRGVRQHRIDQXPEHURIJRGVRUILJXUDWLYHO\Note [h]LVVSHOW with a smallOHWWHU [h]:ihee óg ‘the god Apollo’[ ó`_fhc ‘my God!’ In certain contexts, however, a capital is possible: ³DZd ohjhr ó – kdZa áeZ `_g á, f é^e_ggh gZl·]b\Zy gZ k_[· á\Z ; ó]mke á\Z ; ó]m . . .” (Nabokov) ‘That is good’, saidrzedh\h_ his wife,h^_·eh± slowlyKe drawing a silken blanket about her. ‘Thank God, thank God . . .’ LL &DSLWDOV DUH DOVR XVHG IRU UHOLJLRXV IHVWLYDOV I ákoZ ‘Easter’, Jh`^_kl\ ó ‘Christmas’, holders of exalted ecclesiastical offices: K\yl écrbcIZljb ájoFhkd ó\kdbcb \k_· Jmk§ ‘His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia’I áiZJ§fkdbc ‘The Pope’, and VDFUHGWH[WV ;§[eby ‘the Bible’Dhj ág ‘the Koran’L ójZ ‘the Torah’, LZef ý^ ‘the Talmud’< é^u ‘the Vedas’. Division of Words 18 Division into syllables FRQVRQDQWVSHULSKHUDOWRLWHJ(1) Each syllablei in a Russian word kihjlcontains a vowel and, in most cases, V\OODEOHVZKLFKHQGLQDYRZHO á- ]heh (2) Russian distinguishesV\OODEOHVZKLFKHQGLQDFRQVRQDQW ‘open’ ghk á) from ‘closed’\ 18–19 Orthography 19 (3) The principles of syllabic division are different in English and 5XVVLDQFI(GRFWRU5^ ó-dlhj(KHUR5]_j óc5XVVLDQQRQLQLWLDO syllables are formed on the basis of an ascending level of ‘sonority’, vowels being the most sonorous letters, the voiced sonants ( jefg ) the next most sonorous and noise-consonants (the other sixteen consonants) the least sonorous. (4) In practice, this means that the syllable boundarykhe occursfZkl_ either:ig c (i) kdZbetweendhklµfklZ e_a\ vowel and aj kljZfollowingg hconsonant:l[j kblv\jZ`^ ó- ó á- á d á, ó- á etc.; or: VRQDQW (ii) betweenk fdZ adhg sonant\ andjl[hev ar followingcd consonantjlZ\heg (includingqzjgucdZj another g ý é ó á á, á f Note Non-initial syllables cannot begin with the sequence sonant + noise- consonant (this sequence is possible, however, in an initial syllable, e.g. fr§kluc 1RWH KRZHYHU WKH VHTXHQFHV VRQDQW VRQDQW \ ó- evguc FRQVRQDQWFRQVRQDQW f é-klh DQGQRLVHFRQVRQDQWVRQDQW á). The syllabic boundary may occur before or between two VRQDQWV dZjf ágRUdZ f_jfle ág\heg á or \heg á). YSyllabic\klZebgZ^ divisione iZevin la text @_g j_r§eZqlhyihrzeaZkb]Zj lZfbb\_e éeZg_kml ó. eblvkyáijb oh^v[ Hg kdZa eZqlh é- yoh` é- lhguj·x\gbaý-]heh\ cdZdé.ijb kly`g á á- ye rZ^v?száh g ý, kdZa eZqlhy\kzdh\j]^ ófykfhljµ\gba[ á- ^lhó- gZcl§gZZkn á evá-l_fhg ldm 7RNDUHYD é- ý- ý á é-ohq 19 Splitting a word at the end of a line (1) Two basic criteria are observed in splitting a word at the end of a line: (i) Syllabic division: ]heh\ á or ]heh\ á. (ii) Word structure: it is desirable, for example, not to disrupt monosyllabic prefixes etc. (ih^[_` álvkh]e ák_g ) (cf. i_j_\ ó^ and note that the rule does not apply when a prefix is no longer perceived as such: j á-amfjZahjy"lv ). 20 Introduction 19–21 (2) A word is normally split after a vowel: ] ó-jh^] ó-eh^_gRU] óeh sequence: qbl á-_l_ ^_gj_[·lZRUj_[·lZ6RPHWLPHVWKLVLQYROYHVVSOLWWLQJDWZRYRZHO PD\DOVREHVSOLW f ^ (3) A sequence^kl\_ggbdb ofijh[ twoe or morefZ § consonantsklbggucHWF é ó é e_gghj (4) Other conventions include the following: (i) A hard or soft sign must not be separated from the preceding consonant (ih^t éa^[hevr óc ) and c must not be separated from the preceding vowel (\hcg á). (ii) A single vowel should not appear at the end of a line or be carried over onto the next: Z]bl ápby (not Z]bl ápbyRU Z]bl ápby (iii) Two identical consonants appearing between vowels should be split: `m`` álvf ákkZd ógguc . (iv) A monosyllabic component of a stump compound should not be split (ki èph^ é`^Z ); nor should abbreviations (H ÓGbl^ ). (5) Some words can be split in different ways, e.g. k_klj á, k_klj á or k_klj á. Punctuation 20 Introductory comments Rules of punctuation are, in general, more rigorously applied in Russian than in English. Differences of usage between the two languages relate in particular to the comma (especially in separating principal from subordinate clauses), the dash and the punctuation of direct speech. 21 The full stop, exclamation mark and question mark Usage of the full stop, exclamation mark and question mark is comparable in the two languages: Eµ^b§smlkq áklvy\ex[\§ . People seek happiness in love. DZd áyij_dj ákgZyih] ó^Z What magnificent weather! Dm^ á \ub^zl_" Where are you going? 21–23 Punctuation 21 Note (a) There is a tendency to use exclamation marks more frequently in Russian than in English. (b) An exclamDWLRQPDUNPD\DSSHDULQWKHPLGGOHRIDVHQWHQFH LZd óoh lZd ] ójvdh b ihklu"eh²o ý`_ \k·dhc éagbfg_ 5DVSXWLQ [±eh ie ‘I felt so bad, so bitter and wretched! — it was worse than any illness’. [he (c) Exclamation marks are also used in commands expressed other than by a grammatical imperative: Fheq álv ‘Shut up!’, AZ ‘Follow me!’, 22 The comma: introductory comments The comma is more frequently used in Russian than in English. In extreme examples a series of commas in a Russian sentence may have no English equivalents at all: FZd áj_gdhi§r_lqlh^ élbdhl óju_mf éxlljm^§lvkym\Z` áxl écklj_f·lkyijbcl§gZi ófhsvl_fdlh \ ófhsbgm`^ á_lky %HO\DNRYD ljm^^jm]§o ex^ Makarenko writes that childrenwlhci who know how to work respect the labour of other people and strive to come to the assistance of those who need it 23 Uses of the comma Correspondence with English usage Commas are used, in Russian and English, to perform the following functions: (1) To separate (i) two or more adjectives which define one noun: Hgrzeihlzfghc]jy"aghcr ýfghc ýebp_ He was walking down the dark, dirty, noisy street (ii) two or more adverbs qualifying one verb: 22 Introduction 23 F é^e_gghfmqb"l_evghhg\klZekihkl éeb Slowly, painfully he rose from the bed (2) To separate items in a list: Ie álZ aZd\Zjlb"jmwe_dljb"q_kl\h]ZakhklZ\e·_l òdheh éc %HO\DNRYD The rent, electricity and gas billsjm[e amount to about 20 roubles (3) To mark off words and phrases which stand in apposition: (10) To mark off gerundial phrases: Yfheq áeg_ag áyqlh^ éeZlv 5DVSXWLQ I was silent, not knowing what to do Note In English, ‘and’ is often used as an alternative to a comma before the final element in enumerations and when two or more adjectives qualify a single noun or two adverbs a single verb (cf. (1) and (2) above). Differences in usage between Russian and English Russian requires the use of a comma in the following contexts, where usage in English is optional or inconsistent: (1) Between clauses linked by co-ordinating conjunctions (see 454 (2) (i) and 455–457): Óeyag á_l[ ýd\ughyihd á ihfh] áx_cqbl álv %HO\DNRYD Olya knows the letters, but for the time being I help her to read Note (a) While a comma always appears before gh (except when it is the first word in a sentence), the insertion of a comma before English ‘but’ depends largely on the length of the pause required by the context, cf. ‘He is young but experienced’ and ‘He is young, but everyone trusts him’. (b) A comma is used between clauses linked by b if the clauses have GLIIHUHQWVXEMHFWV Gh\hed[uefzjl\b_] ó k_cq ákgbdl ó g_ ‘But the wolf[h ·waseky $EUDPRY dead, and no one was afraid ofJZah`]e him§dhklzj anybk\Zj §eb more’),]jb[g but not if theyckmi %HO\DNRYD have the same subject ó b ‘They lit UHSODFHGE\DFRPPD a fire and >\Z made^gyhg g_ mushroomibeg__e g_ibe soup’).bg_ In such contexts may be _e $EUDPRY ‘For two days he did not drink or eat’. (2) Between clauses linked by the conjunctions b . . .b ‘both . . . and’, gb . . .gb ‘neither . . . nor’, byeb . . .byeb ‘either . . . or’, lh . . .lh ‘now . . . now’: GZ\ éq_j_\uklmi áebbf áevqbdbb^ é\hqdb Both boys and girls performed at the party G_eva· gbkihd ócghihqbl álvgbkhkj_^hl óqblvky %HO\DNRYD You can neither do a little quiet reading, nor concentrate Wlhbyebkh[ ádZbyeb\hed That is either a dog or a wolf 24 Introduction 23 Hg á lhkf_zlkylhie áq_l Now she laughs, now she weeps (3) Between a principal and a subordinate clause (see 458–467): Yag áxqlhdhg ép[ ý^_lg_kd ójh I know the end is still some way off Fug_hl^Z\ áeb^_l éc\·kebohly"lZd áy\haf ó`ghklv[ue á (Belyakova) We didn’t put the children into a day-nursery, even though we had the opportunity to do so >_g§k klZe k g_l_ji égb_f `^Zlv e élZ ql ò[u ih éoZlv k á[mrdhcdQzjghfmf ójx Denis waited impatiently for the[ summer, in order to go with his grandmother to the Black Sea HgjZ[ ólZe[u ékeb[ufh] He would work if he could Hg á mo ó^blihlhf ý qlhhg á hi áa^u\Z_l She is leaving because she is late Note ihlhf qlhLQFuih[_^§f The appearanceqlhfukbevg of a comma_WKURZV between WKHHOHPHQW RI FDXVH LQWRý VKDUSHU and ý, éihlhf UHDVRQ 7KLVHIIHFWFDQEHLQWHQVLILHGE\GLVWDQFLQJrelief: ‘We shall win becauseihlhf we are stronger’ (i.e. and for no otherqlh Ihlhf fuih[_^§fqlhfukbevg _ RUE\WKHDGGLWLRQRIebrv ý from ( evdh ý é ihlhf ó or other intensifyingl words before ý. (4) To separate main from relative clauses (see 123): Yihk_s áe] ójh^\dhl ójhf ]^_ ijh\ze^ élkl\h I was visiting the town in which (where) I had spent my childhood Note English distinguishes relative clauses (which are marked off by commas) — ‘Cats (i.e. all cats), who have excellent night vision, are nocturnal predators’ — from adjective clauses (which are not marked off by commas): ‘Cats (i.e. only those cats) who have no tails are called Manx cats’. In Russian, however, both types of clause are marked off with commas. (5) \hToi markj\uo \hoff\lhj ±parentheticaloLQWKHILUVWSODFHLQWKHVHFRQGSODFH words: éklbf gZijbf j ^hiý let us assume é for example 23–24 Punctuation 25 d á`_lky it seems ih` áemcklZ please dhg éqgh of course ihf ó_fm in my opinion dkh`Ze égbx unfortunately kd á`_f let us say f è`^mij óqbf incidentally kh^g óc^jm] óc on the one, the f ó`_l[ulv perhaps klhjhg± other hand gZ\ éjgh_ probably Hg^he`g ó [ulvmrze He must have left GZfdhg éqghm^ ó[g__qlh^ élbkb^·ll§oh %HO\DNRYD Of course, it’s more convenient for us if the children are sitting quietly G_kihjvih` áemcklZkhfghcyag áx 5DVSXWLQ Please don’t argue with me, I know best HgkdZa áeqlhdkh`Ze égbxgZfijb^zlkyb^l§[_ag_] ó He said that unfortunately we would have to go without him (6) In comparisons: Hge áablih^_j é\vyfdZdh[_avy"gZ He scrambles about in the trees like a monkey Dl ó-lhgZmq§ek\h_] ó fZeur á ie á\Zlvj ágvr_q_flhlklZe Someone taught his babyoh^ §tolv %HO\DNRYD swim before he could walk HgkiZe[_kijh[ ý^gufkghf[ ý^lh_] ó gbql ó g_lj_\ ó`beh He was sound asleep, as though without a care in the world 24 The colon. The semicolon. The dash The colon. The colon is used to perform the following functions: (1) To introduce a list, in which case the colon is usually preceded by a generic term: Fh·k_fv·khklh§lbaq_lujzoq_eh\ éd fhcfm` (2) To introduce a statement which elaborates on, supplements or indicates the cause of the statement which precedes the colon: Blmlboh`b^ áeZg ó\Zy[_^ á: hl épijhi áe (Abramov) And now a new misfortune awaited them: father had disappeared < gZ ýd_ \k_]^ á ^he`g á [ulv l óqghklv d á`^hfm gZ ýqghfm éjfbgm^he`g ó khhl\ élkl\h\Zlvh^g ó ihgy"lb_ (Vvedenskaya) There should always be accuracyl in science: a single concept should correspond to each scientific term ®ljhfykhklj áohfkfhlj éegZk_[·\a éjdZeh ghk\kimoih^ é\uf]e áahfkbgy"d (Rasputin) In the morning I gazede at myself in the mirror in horror: my nose had swollen up, there was a bruise under my left eye (3) To introduce direct speech, thought or other communication: <dbghn§evf_©>h`X\zf^hQhg_^ éevgXdZªih^j óklhdi§r_l áklv_²w"lhdh]^ á l_[y"ihgbf áxlª (Kovaleva) In the film We’ll survive till© KqMonday a teenager writes, ‘Happiness is when people understand you!’ (4) To introduce a quotation: I ófgbl_\©?\] égXXHg é]Xg_ »: Ijb\±qdZk\±r_gZf^Zg á: AZf égZkq áklbxhg á Do you remember, in Evgenii Onegin: Habit is granted us from on high: It is a substitute for happiness The semicolon The semicolon is used to separate extensive clauses which are not linked by conjunctions, especially if each clause is itself broken up by commas: <E_gbg]j á^_\k_ohl·lihkfhlj élvgZe_]_g^ ájgmx©:\j ójmª álv\i ýrdbgkdbof_kl áo\fgh]hq§ke_gguo^\hjp áo \ ófblvkykf_kl ih[u\ áfb]^_`bebmq§eky<B égbg \G á[_j_`guoQ_eg áoijhMev·gh\kd_éoZlvihagZdihh]j ófghfmfheh^ ófm ójh^mihkfhlj élvEDZf ÁA 9YHGHQVND\D In Leningrad everyone wants to] see the legendary ‘Aurora’, visit places associated with Pushkin, the numerous palaces; in Ulyanovsk to get to know the places where V. I. Lenin lived and worked; and in 24 Punctuation 27 Naberezhnye Chelny to drive through the enormous new town, see the Kamaz truck factory Note ,Q E_gbg]j á^ ‘Leningrad’ UHYHUWHG WR KZgdlI_l_j[ ýj] ‘St Petersburg’DQGMev·gh\kd ‘Ulyanovsk’WRKbf[§jkd ‘Simbirsk’. The dash The dash is extremely widespread in Russian. It not only has a number of specific uses of its own but in some contexts substitutes for other punctuation marks, in particular the comma, the colon and parentheses. (1) Specific uses of the dash. (i) It separates subject noun from predicate noun, replacing the verb ‘to be’: Fhchl ép²ij_ih^Z\ ál_ev\ ýaZZf áfZ²\jZq %HO\DNRYD My father is a college lecturer, and my mother is a doctor K áfh_ ]em[ ódh_ óa_jh f§jZ²wlh ij_kgh\ ó^guc djZk á\_p áe 9YHGHQVND\D The deepest lake in the world ;Zcd is the beautiful fresh-water Lake Baikal Note (a) The subject may sometimes be an infinitive: K áfh_ly`zeh_ijbijhs ágbb²g_h]ey"^u\Zlvky (Ogonek) The hardest thing on parting is not to look back (b) The dash is not normally used to replace the verb ‘to be’ when the VXEMHFWLVDSURQRXQ Hg\h^he áa ‘He is a diver’. (ii) In elliptical statements it replaces a word, usually a verb, which is ‘understood’: Klm^ égl kfhlj ée gZ ijhn ékkhjZ ijhn ékkhj²gZ klm^ églZ (Shukshin) The student was looking at the professor, and the professor (was looking) at the student (2) The dash is also used as a substitute for: (i) The comma (when, for example, introducing an unexpected turn of events or sharp contrast): 28 Introduction 24–25 Hg á k^ éeZeZ_szihi±ldmihkZ^§lvf_g·aZklhe²gZij ákgh ákgh (Rasputin) She made another attempt to seat meghgZij at the table, but in vain Note WKHGenerally FRPPD IRU H[DPSOH speaking, LQ H[SUHVVLQJ the DSSRVLWLRQ dashKh indicatesfghc [ue a more pronounced pause than óevkl\b_ fhz ]jma§gkdbc qZc²fhz _^§gkl\_ggh_óevkl\b_ m^h\ ‘I had with me some Georgian tea, my only pleasure’. _^§gkl\_ggh_m^h\ (ii) The colon: (a) in introducing an enumeration, following a generic term: Bgh]^ á dem[ijb]eZr á_l]hkl éc²mqzguoi_^Z] ó]h\\jZq éc (Belyakova) Sometimes the club invites guests — scientists, teachers and doctors (b) in elucidating a statement: MKhdhe ó\uo_szg_ki áeb²\ba[ é fb] áeh]hgzd The Sokolovs were still up — a light was flickering in the hut (cf. _szg_ki áeb \ba[ é fb] áeh]hgzd (iii) Parentheses: GZl_jjbl ójbbJhkk§ckdhcN_^_j ápbb²g_aZ[u\ ácl_hlhf á aZgbf á_lh^g ý k_^vf ýxqZklv\k_ck ýrbA_feb" ! — l±kyqbj_dbj_q ýr_d qlhhg On the territory of the Russian Federation (do not forget that it occupies one-seventh of the Earth’s surface!) there are thousands of rivers and streams 25 The punctuation of direct speech (1) If the introductory verb precedes the direct speech, the verb is followed by a colon, and the direct speech either (i) appears on a new line, preceded by a dash: Yijhf·febe á\^Z (Rasputin) ²‘ItIj is true’, I mumbled (ii) or runs on after the colon and is enclosed in guillemets (« »): 25–26 Punctuation 29 KZfoha·bgj áaZ^\Zdjbq áekdjuevp á: ©WcdlhlZf"ª The master himself shouted a couple of times from the porch, ‘Hey, who’s there?’ (2) If, however, the verb follows the direct speech, the latter is flanked by dashes: — Mkg ýe²mke ý`eb\hhl\ élbeZK§fZ 5DVSXWLQ ‘He’s fallen asleep’, answered Sima obligingly (3) A conversation may be rendered as follows: ²B k_] ó^gy m` é kk ójbebkv" ² kij árb\ZeZ bo khlj ý^gbpZ á]kZ éqgh a ²Dhg ó k_] ó^gy" ²GmbaaZq_] ó? . . . Ym` é aZ[±eZ %HO\DNRYD ‘And have ² youBaaZq_] quarrelled today too?’, asked the registry office official. ‘Of course!’ ‘And what have you been quarrelling about today?’ ‘What have we been quarrelling about today? . . . I forget . . .’ Note (a) A full stop, comma, semicolon or dash follow inverted commas. (b) Quotes within quotes may be distinguished as follows: ©Dj éck_j³:\j ójZ´klh·egZ·dhj_ª ‘The cruiser “Aurora” lay at anchor’. (c) In cursive script, inverted commas are rendered as follows: «IjX\ él !» ‘Greetings!’ 26 Suspension points (fgh]hl óqb_ ) Suspension points (. . .) indicate one of the following. (1) Hesitation: ²Ijh§]ju\Z_rvgZ\ éjgh_" (Rasputin) ‘I suppose you²G_l lose?’\u\ub"]ju\Zx ‘No, I – I win’ (2) An unfinished statement: AgZlv[ugZfq_fwlh\kzd ógqblky 5DVSXWLQ Had we but known how it would all end . . .