more on ixnij

[Michael Flier]

Your reading of Belarusian _ixny_ as the "norm" is striking, inasmuch as
it disagrees with every modern Belarusian dictionary, grammar, and manual
I have consulted, including but not limited to _Tlumachal'ny slownik
belaruskaj movy_ (5 vols. in six books, 1977-84), _Slownik belaruskaj
movy_ (1987), _Belaruska-ruski slownik_ (2 vols., 1988), and _Hramatyka
belaruskaj movy (2 vols., 1962-66). For those that even list _ixny_, it is
specifically labeled _ablasnoe_ 'regional'.

Peter J. Mayo notes in _A Grammar of Byelorussian_ (1976, p. 35):

"In the 3rd person the singular possessive pronouns may be, as in Russian
and Ukrainian, invariable forms: _jaho_ (masc. and neut.), _jaje_ (fem.);
or they may be adjectival forms agreeing in number, gender and case with
the nouns they qualify: _jahony_, _jejny_--although these latter are
somewhat colloquial. In the plural, however, although previously the
situation was the same as in the singular [i.e._ix_ or _ixny_
(colloq.)---MSF], in modern Byelorussian it is the adjectival form _ixni_
(declined like a soft stem adjective) which is normal usage."

These, then, are some of the references to which I referred in my original
note. If you have important evidence that will overturn all of them, I
would be most interested in hearing about it.


Sincerely,

Michael Flier


*******************************************************************************
                                PROF. MICHAEL S. FLIER
                                ======================

Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures  OR   Dept. of Linguistics
Harvard University                              Harvard University
Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street                 305 Boylston Hall
Cambridge, MA 02138                             Cambridge, MA 02138
      - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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On Wed, 21 Apr 1999, Uladzimir Katkouski wrote:

> <bold><color><param>0000,0000,7F00</param>Good.
>
>
> </bold>> While we're at it, let's not forget the other two East Slavic
 languages:
>
> >
>
> >        Belarusian   ix or ixni (nom.sg.masc.), ixnjaja (nom.sg.fem.),
>
> >                         ixnjae (nom.sg.neut.)...ixnija (nom.pl.), etc.
>
>
> </color>Yes. Just small corrections. Masculine is IXNY ("bI"), not IXNI, and
> definetely not IX. Similarly, for plural, IXNYJA.   Also, ICHNY is not
> colloquial, it is used by all people that write and speak
> Taraszkievica (the non-Sovetized version of spelling).
>
>
> <color><param>0000,0000,7F00</param>>
>
> >        Ukrainian    jixnij (nom.sg.masc.), jixnja (nom.sg.fem.),
>
> >                         jixnje (nom.sg.neut.)...jixni (nom.pl.), etc.
>
> >
>
> > For Belarusian, the references are contradictory. Some list both forms as
>
> > standard, others mark _ixni_ as colloquial.
>
> >
>
> > For Ukrainian, _jixnij_ is the standard form.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > **************************************************************************
>
> > *****
>
> >                                 PROF. MICHAEL S. FLIER
>
> >                                 ======================
>
> >
>
> > Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures  OR   Dept. of Linguistics
>
> > Harvard University                              Harvard University
>
> > Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street                 305 Boylston Hall
>
> > Cambridge, MA 02138                             Cambridge, MA 02138
>
> >       - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> > TEL (617) 495-4065 [Slavic],  495-4054 [Linguistics],  495-7833 [HURI]
>
> >                         FAX (617) 864-2167 [home]
>
> > **************************************************************************
>
>
> <nofill>
> **************************************************
> Uladzimir L. Katkouski // Computer Science Student
> American University In Bulgaria (AUBG)
> Volga, Rm.#2223, AUBG, Blagoevgrad, 2700, Bulgaria
> e-mail:  <vlk960 at cj.aubg.bg>, <uladzi at slin.aubg.bg>
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