Stress question

[Jim Rader]

As I recall--the details may be in Unbegaun's book on Russian
surnames, which I don't have at hand--a core of Russian names ending
in -skij/-skoj belonged to appanage princes, with the -skij element
being attached to a place name associated with the appanage.  The
example that comes most readily to mind is <Vjazemskij>, with the
stress on the first syllable, from <Vyaz'ma>.  Hence the aristocratic
associations of certain names ending in this suffix.  Of course,
<Tolstoj> is most likely just an accentual variant of <tolstyj> and
has nothing to do with appanage princes.

Re the name <Bobrinskoj>--I remember hearing--from Bill Darden I
think--that the Univ. of Chicago Slavist and South Asian scholar
George Bobrinskoy actually stressed his name on the first syllable.
The spelling with <-oy> is etymologically accurate, if non-standard.
I note that Morton Benson's _Dictionary of Russian Personal Names_
stresses <Bobrinskij> on the first syllable.

Jim Rader

> This is really another phenomenon. I remember Russians
> laughing when I told them of a textbook by BobrynskOI.
> They said "Surely you mean BobrYnskii?" I said "No,
> Count BobrynskOI, he's an emigre".
> The conclusion I drew was that the aristocracy preferred
> the end-stress to make their names sound more "special".
> Cf. tolstyi versus the surname Tolstoi.
> Andrew Jameson
> Chair, Russian Committee, ALL
> Languages and Professional Development
> 1 Brook Street, Lancaster LA1 1SL UK
> Tel: 01524 32371  (+44 1524 32371)
>
> ----------
> From: Jack Haney <haneyjav at U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
> Subject: Re: Stress question
> Date: 15 February 2000 18:16
>
> Of course, languages changes, but L. N. Tolstoi insisted on the the
> surname SerpukhovskOi in Anna Karenina. JV Haney
>
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