Three dimensions of proximity and distance in the Old Russian birchbark letters

Abstract

This contribution revolves around the concepts of ‘immediacy’ and ‘distance’ in the Old Russian birchbark letters. Over the centuries, oral habits of formulation have given way to a more literate mode of communication. A crucial stage of this development can be traced in the Middle Ages, in the oldest sources written in an East Slavic vernacular. In these birchbark letters, several linguistic parameters have been identified in which this transition can be traced. In the same vein, we can distinguish two more dimensions, viz. 1) the use of local dialect morphology vs. a supra-regional variety and 2) the use of two different spelling systems. These are assessed in terms of the more general tendency in the birchbark corpus which shows a development away from orality and towards a more fixed form of literacy.