Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

гор я´чий), богaт e´йший, широч a´йший. Slavonicisms tend to have a more bookish flavour than related Russian forms of East Slav origin

and tend to occur in more elevated varieties of language.

soft sign(мя´гкий знaк): the letter ь, the function of which is to indicate that the preceding consonant is soft. The soft sign is

normally transliterated by the symbol or by an apostrophe.

stress(удaрe´ниe): in all Russian words of more than one syllable, as in such English words, one syllable is pronounced with more force

than the other(s). This stress is marked in this book, as in most

textbooks, by an acute accent, but it is not normally indicated in

Russian publications. Russian stress patterns (Chapter 12) are numerous and complex.

stump-compound(aббрeвиaту´рa): word compounded of segments

of other words, e.g. тeрa´кт(тeррористи´чeский aкт, terrorist act ).

subject(подлeжa´щee): the agent performing the action expressed by the verb in an active sentence, or the person on whom or the thing

on which the action of a passive sentence is performed, e.g. The

priestdelivered a sermon; Wesaw the queen; The manwas struck by lightning .

subjunctive mood(сослaгa´тeльноe нaклонe´ниe): the verbal mood which indicates that the action or state denoted by the verb in

question is regarded as hypothetical or subject to another action or state, e.g. I wish he wereright; I demand that it bedone (11.10).

subordinate clause(придa´точноe прeдложe´ниe): clause which

cannot function as a sentence in its own right but is dependent on

another clause which can, e.g. I think [main clause] that she is nice

[subordinate clause]; I like the house [main clause] which you have

bought [subordinate clause]; I went to bed [main clause] because it

was late [subordinate clause].

subordinating conjunction(подчини´тeльный сою´з): conjunction introducing a subordinate clause, e.g. although, after, because

(11.12.2–11.12.3).

xxxi

Glossary of linguistic terms

substantivised adjective(субстaнтиви´ровaнноe прилaгa´тeльноe): word which has adjectival form but is used as a noun, e.g.

моро´жeноe, ice-cream ; столо´вaя, dining-room .

suffix(су´ффикс): element added to the end of a root or stem to modify its use or meaning, e.g. writ er, happi ness (8.7–8.11).

syntax(си´нтaксис): grammatical structure in a sentence, or study of that structure.

tense(врe´мя): verbal form indicating whether the action or state denoted by the verb is viewed as past, present or future.

transitive verb(пeрeхо´дный глaго´л): verb that requires a direct object, e.g. I boughta car (4.4, 11.8).

tsokan e(цо´кaньe): loss of distinction between the affricates (q.v.) c and č . In hard(твёрдоe) цо´кaньe the standard soft hushing affricate č is replaced by a hard hissing affricate c , e.g. cúdo ( чу´до). In soft(мя´гкоe) цо´кaньe č is replaced by a soft hissing c , e.g. cúdo .

velar(зaднeнёбный): consonant sound produced by raising the back of the top of the tongue against the soft palate (нёбо); in Russian

the sounds g, k, x .

vocative case(звa´тeльный пaдe´ж): case used in direct personal address; now defunct in Russian, except in relics such as Бо´жeand го´сподиand in certain colloquial forms in the spoken language (see

7.3.1). (The vocative survives in other Slavonic languages, e.g.

Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croat.)

voiced consonant(зво´нкий соглa´сный): consonant produced with the vocal cords vibrating, e.g. Russian b, v, g, d, ž, z ; see also voiceless consonant.

voiceless consonant(глухо´й соглa´сный): consonant produced

without vibration of the vocal cords, e.g. Russian p, f, k, t, š, s, x,

c, č , šš .

vowel(глa´сный): sound produced by passage of air through mouth without obstruction of the airstream, e.g. a, e, i, o, u .

word-formation(словообрaзовa´ниe): formation of new words by combining roots and affixes or by other means; also the study of the structure of words and the laws of their formation in a language

(Chapter 8).

zero ending(нулeвоé окончa´ниe): ending of a Russian noun in an oblique case in which no inflection is present e.g. солдa´т, soldier (which is genitive plural as well as nominative singular); жён (gen pl; nom sg жeнa´, wife ); мeст (gen pl; nom sg мe´сто, place ).

xxxii

List of abbreviations

acc

accusative

math

mathematical

act

active

med

medical

adj

adjective

mil

military

adv

adverb

mus

musical

agric

agricultural

N

North

biol

biological

n

neuter

C

Central

NE

North-East

col

column

nom

nominative

collect

collective

non-refl

non-reflexive

conj

conjunction

NW

North-West

D

demotic

obs

obsolete

dat

dative

OCS

Old Church

Slavonic

dimin

diminutive

offic

official

E

East

part

participle

econ

economic

pass

passive

Eng

English

pej

pejorative

esp

especially

pers

person

f

feminine

pf

perfective

fig

figurative

phil

philosophical

fin

financial

pl

plural

Fr

French

poet

poetic

fut

future

pol

political

gen

genitive

prep

prepositional

geog

geographical

pres

present

geol

geological

R

register

Ger

German

refl

reflexive

gram

grammatical

rhet

rhetorical

imp

imperative

Russ

Russian

impers

impersonal

sb

somebody

impf

imperfective

SE

South-East

incl

including

sg

singular

indecl

indeclinable

Sp

Spanish

infin

infinitive

sth

something

instr

instrumental