Sut’

The article analyzes the transformation of the word sut’ from a verb to a noun. The prerequisites for such change existed in the early proto-Indo-European language, in which the 3rd person plural form of the verb acquired a different phonetic appearance due to the change *es → *s. Later the present tense forms of the verb byti gradually disappeared from the old Russian language. The verb jest’ became the universal form, which can syntactically express the present tense opposed to other tenses (U nego byla sobaka ‘he had a dog’ – U nego jest’ sobaka ‘he has a dog’ – U nego budet sobaka ‘he will have a dog’), as well as all three grammatical persons (U men’a jest’ sobaka ‘I have a dog’ – U teb’a jest’ sobaka ‘you have a dog’ – U nego jest’ sobaka ‘he has a dog’) and two grammatical numbers (U men’a jest’ sobaka ‘I have a dog’ – U nas jest’ sobaka ‘we have a dog’). The opposition of the forms jest’ and sut’, where jest’ represents a singular form and sut’ the plural one, remained the longest. It is still fixed in some modern grammars, such as “Russian grammar”, 1980, but it is not supported by any examples of modern usage. There were several indications that the word sut’ was used as a noun in the first half of the 18th century. However, they are not supported by convincing examples. Indisputable examples of using sut’ as a noun only appeared in the middle of the 19th century. In 1858 the word was fixed in the dictionary as a noun. In modern Russian language there is a noun sut’, while such verb doesn’t exist anymore. The way the verb sut’ has transformed into a noun proves how long and unpredictable the history of words in a language can be.

Keywords

sut’, noun, linguistic change, vocabulary retention

Received

29.06.2020

Publication date

29.06.2020

Number of characters

23007

Cite

GOST	Sokolyansky A. Sut’ // Russkaya Rech’ – 2020. – Issue 2 C. 92-104 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/rusrech/s013161170009275-1-1-en (circulation date: 20.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013161170009275-1
MLA	Sokolyansky, Alexander "Sut’." Russkaya Rech’ 2 (2020):92-104. DOI: 10.31857/S013161170009275-1
APA	Sokolyansky A. (2020). Sut’. Russkaya Rech’ (2), pp.92-104 DOI: 10.31857/S013161170009275-1

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 1, views: 745

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Vejsman Eh. Nemetsko-latinskij i russkij leksikon… SPb.: Izd-vo Imp. AN, 1731. 788 s.

2. Dal' V. I. Tolkovyj slovar' zhivogo velikorusskogo yazyka. V 4 t. T. 4. SPb.–M.: Tip. Vol'fa, 1882. 683 s.

3. Ludol'f G. Russkaya grammatika. M.: Tip. «Komintern», 1937. 165 s.

4. Opyt… – Opyt oblastnogo velikorusskogo slovarya i Dopolnenie k Opytu oblastnogo velikorusskogo slovarya. (Reprint. izd. Opyt oblastnago velikorusskago slovarya, izdannyj Vtorym otdeleniem Imperatorskoj Akademii nauk Sanktpeterburg: Tip. Imp. Akad. nauk, 1852; Dopolnenie k Opytu oblastnago velikorusskago slovarya. Sanktpeterburg: Vtoroe otd-nie Imp. Akad. nauk, 1858). SPb.: Izd-vo S. Peterburgskogo universiteta, 2008. 637 s.

5. Borkovskij V. I. (red.). Istoricheskaya grammatika russkogo yazyka. Sintaksis. Prostoe predlozhenie. M.: Nauka, 1978. 447 s.

6. Vinogradov V. V. Istoriya slov. M.: Tolk, 1994. 1138 s.

7. Vinogradov V. V., Istrina E. S., Barkhudarov S. G. (red.). Grammatika russkogo yazyka. V 2 t. T. I. Fonetika i morfologiya. M.: AN SSSR, 1960a. 719 s.

8. Vinogradov V. V., Istrina E. S., Barkhudarov S. G. (red.). Grammatika russkogo yazyka. V 2 t. T. II. Sintaksis. Ch. I. M.: AN SSSR, 1960b. 702 s.

9. Vinogradov V. V. (red.). Sovremennyj russkij yazyk. Morfologiya. M.: Izd-vo MGU, 1952. 520 s.

10. Kuz'minova E. A. (sost.). Grammatika Lavrentiya Zizaniya i Meletiya Smotritskogo. M.: Izd-vo MGU, 2000. 528 s.

11. Pinker S. Yazyk kak instinkt. M.: Knizhnyj dom «LIBROKOM», 2009. 456 s.

12. Filin F. P. (gl. red.). Slovar' sovremennogo russkogo literaturnogo yazyka. V 17 t. T. 14. M.–L.: AN SSSR, 1963. 1390 stb.

13. Shvedova N. Yu. (gl. red.). Russkaya grammatika. V 2 t. T. I. Fonetika. Fonologiya. Udarenie. Intonatsiya. Slovoobrazovanie. Morfologiya. M.: Nauka, 1980. 783 s.