On History of Certain Indeclinable Nouns of Foreign Origin

Albina Shisholina,S Cindori,N.L Shamne,E.Yu Malushko,L.N Rebrina,O Larouk

doi:10.1051/shsconf/20185001166

Albina Shisholina, S Cindori + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20185001166

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Abstract

It is well known that borrowing is one of the most important universal sources of vocabulary replenishment of any language. The present work is a study of the indeclinable nouns, a special group of borrowings that to some extent contribute to the change of the grammatical structure of the Russian language in general, and the declension system in particular. The article describes the history of the emergence and reception in the system of the Russian language of certain indeclinable nouns of foreign origin. We studied the ways of the language units recorded in the lexicographic sources of the XVIII century. The reception of the prototypes of the studied units is reviewed in terms of the phonetic and graphic formalization of the word, the acquisition of its morphological characteristics, and the formation of its semantic structure. Due to the strong foreign language influence and multiple language contacts, the Russian language of the XVIII century is characterized by a high variability of the foreign language nouns, including the indeclinable nouns, often with the declinable doublets. The language can fix a declinable, as well as an indeclinable form.

Highlights

According to the Russian grammar, the indeclinable nouns are divided into nine groups according to the lexical and grammatical features, but the way of linguistic borrowing remains one of the reasons for the high increase in the number of the indeclinable words in the Russian language
We studied the ways of the language units recorded in the lexicographic sources of the XVIII century
In the translation of Montesquieu's Persian Letters, "The women here enjoy great liberty: they are allowed to look at men through a species of a window called jalousie" [3]. There is no such gallicism in the dictionaries of the XVIII century

Summary

Introduction

According to the Russian grammar, the indeclinable nouns are divided into nine groups according to the lexical and grammatical features, but the way of linguistic borrowing remains one of the reasons for the high increase in the number of the indeclinable words in the Russian language. The main source of replenishment of this group of words in the Russian language in the XVIII century was the borrowings from the French language.

Results

Conclusion