S. I. Ozhegov: “I’m Writing to You on a Typewriter...” (Linguistic Sketches of 1950—1960s)

Abstract

The article presents unknown evidence of epistolary communication of S. I. Ozhegov and his “correspondents” — Professor A. M. Egolin, Prince P. Obolenskiy, Mr Nedzvetskiy. The linguistic informativeness of the letters is noted. The value of the presented materials for the study of lexicology, stylistics, author’s punctuation and speech culture is indicated. Attention is drawn to the range of problems discussed in the letters, including the selection and interpretation of definitions in dictionaries (pilyonyi sakhar ‘sawn sugar’, plavlenyi syr ‘processed cheese’, gromootvod ‘lightning rod’), haplology, the formation of appellatives from the names of writers (nekrasovoved or nekrasoved), social and phonetic adaptation of foreign language vocabulary (t’emp — temp), etc. The facts given in the correspondence are commented on from the standpoint of the history of philological science, the necessary references are given, possible comparisons are made with the events and persons mentioned in the epistolary. The texts are evaluated as a fragment of a special linguistic picture of the world, in which the main place is occupied by the linguistic personality of S. I. Ozhegov, who attracted scientists of different schools and generations. The conclusion is made about the relevance of the publication of archival sources that reveal interesting circumstances of the scientific life of philologists, exposing their searches and discoveries. These materials supplement the available information about the linguistic discussions of the 1950s and 1960s, represent living portraits of scientists.