Den' moego rozhdenia

[Vadim Besprozvanny]

Hi John!

You question is not that simple. Sure, the most common way for using this
construction is 1)"moi den' rozhdenia" but whether it is a literary norm
may be a subject for reasonable doubts. As I was always taught, the "normal
norm" (no discussions on this word:)) is 2)"den' moego rozhdenia". However
I would not rely on my own experience only. If you will check both phrases
on Google Books or any other similar online source, in 2) you will see
literary sources ranging from the 19th century Russian classics to
Chukovskii, Rybakov, V, Nekrasov, A. Arbuzov, etc.; the 1) is represented
by Dontsova, Dashkova, Tokareva, and other popular "pulp fiction" writers,
modern translations and russian language textbooks (not without some
exceptions on both sides). Let's call it a matter of choice: "no strings
attached just freedom."      

Hope you're doing fine. Drop me a line on my email.

Poka,

Vadim

On Wed, 6 Oct 2010 17:48:10 -0700, John Hope <hadjiabrek at YAHOO.COM> wrote:
> SEELANGTSY!
> 
> I appeal to your collective wisdom with a grammar question.  Today a
young
> native speaker newly arrived from Moscow used the phrase день
> рождения было (den' rozhdeniia bylo).  She spelled the phrase
> день рождения correctly on the board, keeping the genitive,
but
> used the neuter verb form.  When I suggested that this was grammatically
> incorrect, she told me that nobody now would say "den' rozhdeniia byl" or
> "moi den' rozhdeniia".
> 
> I'd just chalk this up to "kids today," but when I asked an older native
> speaker, this one a Ph.D.-holding professional teacher of Russian, I was
> told that, when using the possessive pronoun, моё день
> рожденье (moe den' rozhden'e) is preferable, i.e. using the
neuter
> form and the uninflected rozhden'e (precisely that, not рождение
/
> rozhdenie).  I confess, I am unable to understand how such a construction
> is possible grammatically.  I agree that it is widely encountered (as a
> Google search demonstrates), but correct?  
> 
> Another, older native speaker and professional linguist told me he'd
never
> heard моё день рожденье before, and said that it
> звучит дико.  I'm inclined to agree, but not being a native
> speaker myself I hesitate.  Is anyone able to explain to me by what
> grammatical understanding the uninflected form and neuter modifier may be
> considered correct?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> John P. Hope
> Colgate University
> 
> 
>       
> 
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