short form Russian adjectives

[John Dunn]

I can see the logic of 'solncu merknushchu', though not its appeal, unless, that is, you like your Russian to be like Latin.  Some 18th-century writers presumably did, but I can't see it catching on again (unless Demetrius Anatolii filius Ursus decrees differently).  Participles are altogether strange: Lomonosov thought they belonged to high poetry, but found them too useful to be able to follow his own precept, and it is presumably this usefulness, which owes something, but not everything, to Latin, French and German models, that allowed them to come through the language-mincer of the 18th century rather more intact than one might have expected (or our students might have wished).

John Dunn.    

-----Original Message-----
From: Olga Meerson <meersono at GEORGETOWN.EDU>
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 10:05:30 -0500
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] short form Russian adjectives

Their use in dative absolute makes perfect sense to me: they are adverbial there, rather than predicative. For predicates, it defeats the purpose to use them--a real verb does as well (actually much better). But solncu merknushchu (var. of pomerkshu) is logical, no? It is even shorter than 'kogda solnce merknet'? Of course, active perfectives are both more understandable and more useful, but even present imperfectives could be justified. But all that belongs to the stylization of a situation when short form adjectives, to begin with, may function non-predicatively.
o.m.


----- Original Message -----
From: John Dunn <J.Dunn at SLAVONIC.ARTS.GLA.AC.UK>
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2008 8:35 am
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] short form Russian adjectives

> A.A. Zaliznjak's Grammaticheskij slovar' russkogo jazyka gives 
> useful information about which adjectives do or do not have short 
> forms, though the careful terminology used in the explicatory part 
> of the dictionary (p. 69) illustrates to perfection the difficulty 
> in making categorical statements about what does or does not exist 
> in Russian.  I agree with Frank Y. Gladney about the short forms of 
> active participles (it is one of the potential differences between 
> participles and our old friends quasi-participial adjectives), but 
> they did exist for certain 18th-century writers, who would use 
> them, for example, in latinate pseudo-dative-absolute 
> constructions.  It is amazing what one can do with a bit of 
> determination and a classical education.
> 
> John Dunn.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gladney at UIUC.EDU
> To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
> Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:09:13 -0600
> Subject: [SEELANGS] short form Russian adjectives
> 
> Frans Suasso cites E.Tauscher and E.G. Kirschbaum, Grammatik der 
> russischen Sprache, where they state, "Keine Kurzformen haben 
> haufig von Verben abgeleitete Adjective auf -lyj, z.B  ustarelyj 
> 'veraltet, unmodern', umelyj 'eschickt, gewandt', ostalyj 
> 'rückständig'. osirotelyj 'verwaist'." 
> 
> This is generally true of active participles in Russian.  There are 
> no short forms corresponding to _ustareiushchii_ or _ustarevshii_ 
> either.
> Frank Y. Gladney
> 
> 
> John Dunn
> Honorary Research Fellow, SMLC (Slavonic Studies)
> University of Glasgow, Scotland
> 
> Address:
> Via Carolina Coronedi Berti 6
> 40137 Bologna
> Italy
> Tel.: +39 051/1889 8661
> e-mail: J.Dunn at slavonic.arts.gla.ac.uk
> johnanthony.dunn at fastwebnet.it
> 
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John Dunn
Honorary Research Fellow, SMLC (Slavonic Studies)
University of Glasgow, Scotland

Address:
Via Carolina Coronedi Berti 6
40137 Bologna
Italy
Tel.: +39 051/1889 8661
e-mail: J.Dunn at slavonic.arts.gla.ac.uk
johnanthony.dunn at fastwebnet.it

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