7.578, Disc: Gramatical gender and Ungrammatical sentences

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Fri Apr 19 03:58:31 UTC 1996


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LINGUIST List:  Vol-7-578. Thu Apr 18 1996. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  264
 
Subject: 7.578, Disc: Gramatical gender and Ungrammatical sentences
 
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---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Thu, 18 Apr 1996 10:32:37 +0400
From:  lotofil at tversu.ac.ru ("Jurij R. Lotoshko")
Subject:  RUSSIAN GENDER,   Gramatical  gender  and Ungrammatical
	   sentences
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Thu, 18 Apr 1996 10:32:37 +0400
From:  lotofil at tversu.ac.ru ("Jurij R. Lotoshko")
Subject:  RUSSIAN GENDER,   Gramatical  gender  and Ungrammatical
	   sentences
 
 
     I thank Allan Wechsler and Keith GOERINGER for the fact that they
point on essential errors in my messages:
     1) In messages LList 7-564 and 7-531 instead of Chechen it is
necessary to read Czech language.
     2) The  character  set  "3D"  and other is connected to wrong
code conversion of symbols on accepting computer or  impossibility
it  to  accept Russian (cyrillic) text.  As appear,  your Makintos
cannot "to speak" in Russian.  The computers of firm IBM permit it
to do.
     Therefore I  repeat  that  not   a   fragment   of   a   text
"Availability  or  inavailability pronouns in Russian sentences is
not connected with category of a gender."
 
                      About GRAMMATIC GENDER
 
     1) The  history  are  already  known  vain  endeavours of the
people to dictate to natural language.  Recollect events of French
revolution  (1798-1803).  The  new  names of months had entered by
dicret (the law). What was received from it?
     Such attempts were and in  Russia  in  1917-1930  years.  The
results are marked only in special literature as akkazionalizm.  I
do not speak about creativity of some writers. This special case.
 
     2) At description another's  (foreign)  language  we  try  to
dress it in clothes of the native language,  but we overlook, that
the sizes,  the forms and other are different.  For  this  reason,
when we,  linguists, grou up and well brought up in sphere, spirit
of language and representations about native language,  try to fit
on   and  to  apply  these  norms  to  other  language,  comes  to
misunderstanding   or   crashing   our    representations    about
investigated  language.  In Russian language there is the proverb:
"Don't push with your charter in another abbey".
 
     Therefore the fact,  what is acceptable in  any  measure  for
Romance  languages  is  acceptable  to slavic languages in smaller
measure or don't acceptable at all.
 
     "The putting on" of a Homsky,s and other  American  linguist's
theorys  on  Russian  language  or other slavic language can bring
mess, errors, but not true.
 
     The structure of Russian linguistics  (and  in  number  cases
other  slavic languages) can be presented in kind of the following
scheme:
 
1)  Phonetics and fonology.
2)  Lexicon and lexilogy.
3)  Word-formation.
4)  Morfology (part of speech!!!)
5)  Syntax
 
Compere with scheme in Llis 7-552 Item 1
 
     Just in such sequence Russian language in maximum educational
establishments  (universities  and  institutes)  is studied.  Look
structure of the Russian textbooks for students.
 
     At study of Russian language by the foreigners this principle
of   a   sequence   is   infringed.  For  foreigner  main  is  the
communications,  instead of structure of language. For this reason
the   structure   of   language  is  perceived  as  the  secondary
phenomenon.
 
     3. If we speak about  grammatic  category  of  a  gender,  we
should speak about "morfology" of this phenomenon,  having removed
in party other levels, but remembering about them.
 
     Pay attention to that fact, that the question about grammatic
category of a gender are debating on the pages of a  LINGUIS  LIST
in  two  directions:
  1)  Gramatical  gender  and
  2) Ungrammatical sentences
 
     In both  cases  Russian  language  is  frequently  mentioned,
examples from Russian language are given.  So it very  difficultly
to  explain  (make  clear)  in  English all those discrepancies in
perception by you about Russian as  SYSTEM'S  LANGUAGE  (see  work
Ferdinand de Sousure (? is it right ?).
 
- --------
 
Some remarks
 
Re: 7.552, Disc: Ungrammatical sentences Item 1 (Richard DeArmond)
 
> Second,  we have the problem of gammatical gender which is under
> discussion elsewhere in LList.  There is often a connection with
> meaning  for  human and SOME animate objects,  but in most cases
> grammatical gender has no referential property. It is determined
> by the INHERENT and UNPREDICATABLE class of the noun.
 
     Almost in  any  slavic  language a name the noun without fail
concerns to  one  of  three  gender.  Look  -  A.A.Zaleznjak.  The
grammatic dictionary of Russian language. Moscow. Publishing house
"Russian language". 1977 ".
 
     The gender  of  nouns  is  stipulated   not   INHERENT,   BUT
tradition,  about  that  testify  facts of territorial dialects of
Russian  language  (Examples  look   in   textbooks   on   Russian
dialectology or in dialekts dictionaries).
 
- -----------
Richard DeArmond
 
> I would define a morpheme as a phonetic string that has a  gram-
> matical  function.  This  definition  is no doubt controversial.
> This definitial excludes suprasegmentals.  Whatever we call sup-
> rasegmentals, they must denote at least one grammatical feature.
> I would define a morpheme as a phonetic string that has a  gram-
> matical  function.  This  definition  is no doubt controversial.
> This definitial excludes suprasegmentals.  Whatever we call sup-
> rasegmentals, they must denote at least one grammatical feature.
 
&
 
Robert Beard LList 7-567
 
> First,  he  claims  that grammatical morphemes are often fraught
> with semantic content. I have argued vigorously that this is not
> the  case;  that the difference between semantic and grammatical
> categories is sharp and clear and, if we define the terms we use
> in discussing morphological (functional) categories,  we may ti-
> dily define how one is mapped onto the other.  Consider  Shaumy-
> an's interpretation of this example: First, he claims that gram-
> matical morphemes are often fraught with semantic content. I ha-
> ve argued vigorously that this is not the case;  that the diffe-
> rence between semantic and grammatical categories is  sharp  and
> clear and, if we define the terms we use in discussing morpholo-
> gical (functional) categories,  we may tidily define how one  is
> mapped  onto  the  other.  Consider Shaumyan's interpretation of
> this example.....
 
     Morphemes by its essense are different,  but all of them have
any significance. Including by significance of a grammatic Gender.
 
For example:
 
                         Russian language
     Suffix (morpheme)  -ec  and  zero  inflexional   ending   are
connected  as  rule  with  category  of a mas.  Gender -- zelenec,
samec, slepec an so on.
     If sombody want,  to the end of May my students of the second
year will finish course work about formal parameters of  a  Gender
of  nouns and we shall publish these data for you.  The purpose of
course work - creation of the computer programs,  which on  formal
attributes  (final  morphems  or  "finalii")  words  defined their
correlation with that or other Gender.
 
                          Czech language
Jel-i jsme do Prahy.  'They (man) have gone to Prague.'
Jel-y jsme do Prahy.  'They (woman) have gone to Prague.'
 
In Russian that translated as in English  'Oni pojehali v Pragu'.
 
     PAY ATTENTION:  In  Czech  language  pronouns  are   absence.
Distinctions  in statements are containig in different inflexional
ending of a verb form i/y/.  In writing form we can see,  that  in
first  case action make men,  and in the second the acting persons
are  the  woman.  At  pronunciation   (in   oral   speech)   these
distinctions are lost, as both letters transfer same sound [i].
     Which significance  in  that  examples  is transferred by the
letters i/y?
 
- ---------
> What is the meaning of the morphemes -at and -al in  terms  like
> _dram-at-ic-al_?
 
     Are you  sure,  that  thereis  morpheme -at-?  Are you mean a
syllable? A syllable and morpheme are different concepts.
 
- ----------
 
Re: Comment of Mr. Or Mrs. Waruno Mahdi (7-564):
 
>> The gender  of a noun in Russian is REVEALED by the gender form
>> of the adjective and some verb forms it governs.
 
     That is for first-form boy or girl.
 
     For Russion linguist:
     The gender of a noun  in  Russian  REVEAL  or  DETERMINE  the
gender form of the adjective and some verb forms.
 
- -------
 
All sentence was:
>>> There are very few Russian neuter nouns denoting persons,  and
>>> I'm  not sure whether the corresponding personal pronoun to be
>>> used is _ono_.
>> This assertion deserves the Nobel premium. Please, publish
>> these words. It is news for me.
>
> Aw shucks, how about _'bydlo_ and _ham'lo_ (where _'_ stands be
> fore the stressed syllable), being pejorative references to peop
> le regarded by the speaker as "lowly, slovenly, low-brow" and on
> ly fit for rough labour (the former)..................
 
     In Russian language there is the proverb 'S kem povedes^sja -
togo i naber'os^sja' ---> "You became such a thing,  as that whith
whom you contact".
 
     So, madam  or  sir  Waruno,  these words concern to language,
which has arisen on territory Rusiian empire in middle or  end  of
the 19 century in environment of small-sized hucksters.  It secret
international artificial language,  which named "ofeni".  The late
this language was borrowed by thiefes,  robbers,  gangsters and it
has become 'blatnaja muzyka' --> "robbers music".
     'Po feni botajes^?' --> "Do you speak feni?"
 
     The lexicon  of the these language is described in dictionary
I.Dal' under edition Boduen de  Kurtene.  These  dictionary  don't
republished.  In  soviet  years  if  you  wanted  to look in these
dictionary you need take the sanction from milicija (police). From
these   language   some   words   was  included  into  explanatory
dictionaries of Russian  language,  but  they  are  not  words  of
Russian  language.  For  example,  word  "bydlo"  come from Polish
language.  Only these word has come in  dictionaries  of  literary
language.
     I don't want o aggravate  the  attitudes  (relation)  between
Polish  and  Ukraine,  as  just  therefrom  it  has  come  in that
significance,  which is  fixed  in  dictionaries  (Read  N.V.Gogol
'Taras Bulba').
     If to speak about grammatic category of Gender  these  words,
they all are words of an Neut. Gender. On level of speech (syntax)
they can corresponds with any pronouns.
     So, you alread may recieve the place on Kolyma or in  Russian
police.
 
L.J.R.
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