V Sibiri and V Krimu

[Martin Votruba]

> regional "na Donu", "na Urale"

These can be explained by the origin of the headwords in the meaning
of "river" and "mountains": if the headword has that origin, the
preposition is _na_; if it doesn't, the preposition is _v_.

When a derived place-name is used, the preposition becomes _v_, e.g.
_v_ Povolzje (not _na_), although it has been derived from the name
of a river; also _v_ Donbasse, etc.

The same applies when a specific word for "region" is used: the
preposition is _v_: _v_ Moskovskoj oblasti (not _na_), "v uralskoj
oblasti," should anyone choose to say that, etc.

We'd have to find a sufficient number of a variety of place-names
used with _na_ to be able to say that Russian distinguishes between
_na_ = "region" and _v_ = "country."


A historical perspective suggests, too, that _na_ is limited,
regional, or has become obsolete; that modern, productive Russian
usage is _v_ for any country/region:
     While it is _na_ Ukraine, _na_ Rusi, it is _v_ nezavisimoj
Ukraine, _v_ sovetskoj Ukraine, _v_ Zakarpatskoj Ukraine (but na
pravobereznoj Ukraine); _v_ Podkarpatskoj Rusi, _v_ Kijevskoj Rusi
(but na svjatoj Rusi).

That is to say, _v_ occurs even with Ukraine and Rus' as headwords in
contemporary Russian.

The Polish (and older West Slavic) use of _na Wegrzech_ usefully
quoted by Joe Phillips can be rendered with _v_ in Russian, too.  It
stems from the plurals of ethnic names, originally "on the
Hungarians' [lands]".  In Russian, a historical trade route went _iz
varjag v greki_ (not _na greki_).


There is no overriding pattern in the use of prepositions in
contemporary Russian that would separate countries as political
entities from regions.
     The most we can say is that _v_ does not occur with countries
(except na Kube, na Madagaskare, but here the meaning of "island"
kicks in, although it doesn't with some other country-islands,
probably due to the suffix: v Islandii, v Novoj Zelandii), and that
_na_ hardly ever occurs without additional motivation (like "compass
point," "peninsula," "river," "mountain range," -scina, etc.) with
regions.

All of that adds support to John Dunn's suggestion that _na Ukraine_
may be a Polish, or more generally West Slavic/western-regional
feature, which was picked up in Russian with the place-name
_Ukraina_.  Which, in turn, might support the etymology explaining it
not from the Russian "u + kraja," but from the local Ukrainian
[wkraina] "[this] land, country."


Martin

votruba "at" pitt "edu

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