1. polceny and 2. approximative inversion

[Michael Yadroff]

Dear SEELANGers,

I appreciate your comments both posted on a list and received privately,
especially by Ralph Cleminson, Ahti Nikunlassi, Michael Betsch, Irena
Ustinova, and Loren Billings. I'm really sorry that my question gave rise
to lecturing by Jurij Lotoshko.
I'm afraid nothing can be done about it :)

Meanwhile I've got several invaluable inputs about approximative inversion
in Russian (posted on the list January 5).

Igor' Boguslavsky wrote:

>Ja tem vremenem poluchil (cherez tretjix lic) kratkij otvet na tvoj
>proshlyj vopros: >konstrukcija tipa _knig pjat'_ so znacheniem
>priblizitel'nosti zasvidetel'stvovana v istorii russkogo jazyka ochen'
>davno. Ona po-vidimomu imeetsja dazhe v staroslavjanskix perevodax s
>grecheskogo.

I asked him for examples and references but didn't get it yet. If it's
true, it's too bad for an observational generalization that the
approximative inversion construction emerged at the same time as numerals
in East Slavic ( I mean numerals as a separate word class).

However, I've received two very interesting examples witnessing to the
opposite:

1. ("Ralph Cleminson" <Cleminso at CEU.HU> )

>However, one example for you, from Stefanit" i Ikhnilat":
>
>zatvoren" byst' v temnici dnij sedm'
>(BUT do sedm' dnij in two late (17th-c.) Russian MSS)

2. (Lotoshko's dissertation, I'm thankful to him for sending it to me.
Unfortunately, all the citations from Old Russian documents in his diss.
are given in the Modern Russian orthography)

>Toj zhe oseni znamenie byst' na nebesi, sentjabrja 17, krug nad gradom nad
>Tver'ju, >malo ne stupil'sja, na polnoshchi, imushch' luchi 3, dva na
>vostok, a 3-j na zapad.

So, the question is still open and I'd be immeasurably happy if you can
provide me with any clue, any source for information, or any examples.

Best,
Michael


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Michael Yadroff
Linguistics Department  and     Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Memorial Hall 322               Ballantine Hall 502
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
myadroff at indiana.edu
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