Do you agree?

[Mark Yoffe]

I am not sure, Jules, that I understand your question correctly, but
it seems to me that that the passport just states this: that the town
where he was enlisted was called Meshchanskoe. And this indeed is a
place name in Nominative case, a totally possible name.  As you point
out there are towns, and more often villages (selo) with neuter
ending, like Otradnoe, Privol'noe etc.
Mark

On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 3:16 PM, Jules Levin <ameliede at earthlink.net> wrote:
> On another list I belong to, dealing with genealogy, someone sent in the
> following question:
>
>        My grandmother's 1912 passport shows that her father enlisted in the
> army
>        (Polish or Russian) in the town of Meshanskoye.
>
> One of the best researchers, and doubtless a native speaker of Polish and/or
> Russian, responding:
>
>        There appear to be a bit of a confusion.
>        Meshchanskoye identifies the social status of a "town dweller"in the
> Russian
>        Empire, not a town name.  Word has originated from Polish
> "mieszczanin"
>
> Aside from the etymology, what would have been the line on a passport that
> would get the adjective with a neuter ending?
> My impression is that such questions would be answered by a noun--e.g.,
> "meshchanin", etc., or if not, why not the masculine
> adjective (or fem. for a woman)?
> This is also intriguing because the neuter ending IS found with town names.
>
> Comments?  Thoughts?
>
> Jules Levin
> Los Angeles
>
>
>
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