![]() ![]() The date of Byelorussian being considered a language in its own right is more straightforward. Due to various political complications, however, it was not until 1906 that Ukrainian was officially recognized as a separate language (18). Kiparsky states that, although several differing hypotheses exist as to the chronology of these changes, he believes that evidence based on written records points to the emergence of Ukrainian as being sometime after 950 AD (17). Sometime between this separation of the three branches of Slavs and the present day, the Eastern Slavic or Old Russian language divided into three additional major dialect groups, known today as Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Russian. The origin of the terms "Slavic" and "Slavonic" has not been determined (Kiparsky 13). At this time, according to ancient records from various sources, the Eastern tribes of Slavs were known as the Antes people. The date cannot be specified for certain, because, as Kiparsky reminds us, "our first precise historical information concerning the East Slavs dates from the 9 th cent" (13) due to the lack of written records. In approximately 500 AD the Common-Slavonic speaking peoples separated into Western, Eastern, and Southern groups (see Appendix A), with the Eastern Slavs eventually finding their home near the Dnieper River in the area of present-day Ukraine (Sokolsky 19). These tribes settled in the heart of present-day eastern Europe and continued to use mutually intelligible dialectal forms for centuries. the Slavic tribes became separated from the mass of other tribes and developed their own language, which is called Common-Slavonic or Proto-Slavonic" (Sokolsky 19). As the Indo-European tribes moved "to the West and to the East. Sometime around 3500 to 2500 BC the people who spoke the language known as Indo-European began gradually to form dialect communities and separate from each other. Much of what we know about the origins of the Russian language is rooted in the efforts of historians and linguists to delve into the mystery of the past. Although I will be able to give only a concise overview of some of the basic processes of change, I hope that this paper will offer a solid basis on which an interested reader may build in further study of Russian. I will focus on the areas of the writing system, the phonological and phonetic systems, and historical reflexes in the modern lexicon. In this paper I will give a brief overview of the origins of Russian as well as summarize some of the major areas of change in the history of the language. Much that seems confusing, arbitrary, or strange in the modern Russian language becomes clearer as we become familiar with the processes of change throughout the historical development of Russian. I would like to examine the roots of the Russian language in order to gain a better understanding of this beautiful and complex system of communication. Just as many Russians felt that they could not understand me as a person until they knew where I came from, we also cannot fully understand a language until we learn about its history and origin. For most Russians, this was enough: "So you are a Northern European," they would say knowingly, "now we can talk." "Yes," they would say, "but where are your roots?" I would then explain that my ancestors came from various countries of Northern Europe. "I’m from America," I would always answer, but this reply rarely satisfied the innate "Russian curiosity" of the inquirer. "Where do you come from?" was a question I heard often during the nearly two years I spent living in Russia. A History of the Russian Language A Brief History of the Russian Language ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |