Journal of Slavic Linguistics

Contents

Articles

Pavel Braginsky and Susan Rothstein Vendlerian
Classes and the Russian Aspectual System     3

Jovana Dimitrijević-Savić
Convergence and Attrition: Serbian in Contact with English in Australia     57

Steven Franks
Clitic Placement, Prosody, and the Bulgarian Verbal Complex     91

Nikolay Slavkov
Formal Consequences of Dative Clitic Doubling in Bulgarian Ditransitives: An Applicative Analysis     139

Reviews

Jan Fellerer
Ingrid Maier. Verbalrektion in den „Vesti-Kuranty” (1600–1660). Teil 2: Die präpositionale Rektion     167

Charles E. Townsend
František Čermák a kolektiv. Frekvenčni slovnik mluvené češtiny     177

Article Abstracts

Pavel Braginsky and Susan Rothstein

Vendlerian Classes and the Russian Aspectual System

Abstract:This paper considers the relevance of the Vendlerian lexical aspectual classification of verbs in Russian. We focus on the lexical classes of accomplishments and activities and argue that the classification of verbs into activities and accomplishments cuts across the classification into perfective and imperfective verbs. Accomplishments display incremental structure and occur as perfectives and imperfectives. Activities do not display incremental structure and also occur in the perfective and imperfective aspect. The distinction between activities and accomplishments is expressed through their interactions with what we call incremental modifiers: modifiers which are sensitive to the incremental structure of the verb meaning. These modifiers include postepenno ‘gradually’, and ‘X by X’ modifiers such as stranica za stranicej ‘page by page’ and ètaž za ètažom ‘floor by floor’. Imperfective activities do not occur with either postepenno or the ‘X by X’ modifiers, and neither do the verb forms which Padučeva 1996 calls “delimited activities” (delimitative). Accomplishments in both the imperfective and the perfective aspects occur with postepenno and the ‘X by X’ modifiers (although some Russian speakers find some examples of perfective accomplishments with ‘X by X’ modifiers unnatural owing to what we consider to be pragmatic reasons). We show that the behavior of these modifiers generally follows if we assign accomplishments the incremental structure posited in Rothstein 2004 and treat the modifiers as directly modifying the incremental structure.

Jovana Dimitrijević-Savić

Convergence and Attrition: Serbian in Contact with English in Australia

Abstract:The aim of this paper is to examine features resulting from language contact under conditions of language shift in a variety of Serbian spoken in a migrant community in Melbourne, Australia. Three categories of change are proposed: (i) change that makes Serbian more similar to English without simplifying it, exemplified by the resetting of the pro-drop parameter; (ii) change that simplifies the structures of Serbian without making them more similar to English, exemplified by leveling within the verbal inflectional paradigm and dropping of the 3sg auxiliary clitic je; and (iii) change that both simplifies the structures of Serbian and makes them more like English, exemplified by leveling within the nominal inflectional paradigm, use of full pronominal forms following the verb rather than clitic pronominal forms in second position, and placement of verbal auxiliary clitics and the reflexive clitic se.

Steven Franks

Clitic Placement, Prosody, and the Bulgarian Verbal Complex

Abstract:This paper compares competing ways of understanding the fact that clitics but nothing else freely and necessarily intervene between the two verbal heads in Bulgarian compound tenses of the type [participle + (clitics +) auxiliary]. These involve a participle fronted for focus reasons. The problem is then how the clitics get in the middle. I argue that prosodic and morphological approaches are not adequate, nor is any PF-filtering necessitated. Instead, the complex head structure [[participle + clitics] + [auxiliary]] must be created syntactically, with the participle adjoining to the clitics before the resulting complex adjoins to the auxiliary.

Nikolay Slavkov

Formal Consequences of Dative Clitic Doubling in Bulgarian Ditransitives: An Applicative Analysis

Abstract:This paper demonstrates that the Double Object Construction exists in Bulgarian, a fact that has so far escaped notice due to the disguise in which the construction appears. Bulgarian is a language that allows an indirect object to be optionally doubled by a dative clitic. I claim, however, that this optionality has formal consequences: ditransitives with dative clitic doubling are equivalent to Double Object Constructions (DOC), where the DP Goal is projected higher than the DP Theme. Variants without dative clitic doubling, on the other hand, are Prepositional Ditransitive Constructions (PDC), where the DP Theme is projected higher than the PP Goal. Although not evident from the surface word order and morphology in Bulgarian, the availability of these two distinct structures is confirmed through classic diagnostics such as binding, weak crossover, and scope. After attesting the DOC in Bulgarian, I offer an analysis in which the dative clitic is the morphological realization of an applicative head. I also draw parallels with Romance, suggesting that UG may be implicated in this type of doubling.

Contents

Special Issue on Phonology

Articles

Christina Y. Bethin
Word Prosody in the Vladimir-Volga Basin Dialects of Russian     177

Małgorzata E. Ćavar
[ATR] in Polish     207

Anna Łubowicz
Paradigmatic Contrast in Polish     229

Beata Łukaszewicz and Monika Opalińska
How Abstract are Children’s Representations? Evidence from Polish     263

Jaye Padgett and Marzena Żygis
The Evolution of Sibilants in Polish and Russian     291

Jerzy Rubach
A Conspiracy of Gliding Processes in Polish     325

Article Abstracts

Christina Y. Bethin

Word Prosody in the Vladimir-Volga Basin Dialects of Russian

Abstract:In the archaic dialects of the Vladimir-Volga Basin dialect group, the immediately pretonic vowel constitutes a strong position that is equal or superior to that comprising the stressed syllable. These dialects have increased vowel duration in the tonic and immediately pretonic syllables and a fixed rising-falling pitch contour over the two. Because these dialects generally have vowel reduction elsewhere, the special properties of the pretonic syllable are particularly intriguing. Recent research on vowel reduction/neutralization in Russian (Crosswhite 1999/2001, Barnes 2002, 2006, Padgett and Tabain 2005, Padgett 2004) does not systematically deal with this type of word prosody. The Vladimir-Volga Basin dialects form part of the Central Russian dialect group where the immediately pretonic position in general has special status. I argue that the peculiar prosody of the archaic Vladimir-Volga Basin dialects is due to the presence of both stress and tone in their phonology. Pretonic duration is a consequence of mapping a high tone (H) and a pitch rise to the pitch peak in that syllable. There is some evidence to suggest that this type of word prosody is older than the stress prosody of Contemporary Standard Russian (CSR), and it may represent a stage in the transformation of the Common Slavic (CS) pitch accent system to an East Slavic (ES) stress-based one.

Małgorzata E. Ćavar

[ATR] in Polish

Abstract:The feature [ATR] is usually used exclusively for the description of vowels. In this article, it is argued that phonotactic constraints in Polish indicate that [ATR] may be a useful dimension in the description of consonants. Under this assumption we are able to offer a straightforward and phonetically motivated account of the discussed phonotactic constraints and relate them to palatalization processes in Polish. The consequence of the assumption that [ATR] is a consonantal dimension is a reanalysis of some palatalization processes in terms of [ATR] and the identification of the need for a new typology of palatalization processes.

Anna Łubowicz

Paradigmatic Contrast in Polish

Abstract:This paper examines allomorph distribution in the locative of masculine and neuter nouns in Polish. Locative allomorph distribution is opaque and is accounted for in terms of preserving contrast. The key idea is that the different allomorphs of the locative suffix keep apart forms that the regular phonology would otherwise neutralize. This contributes to the body of work on morphological opacity and the role for paradigmatic contrast.

Beata Łukaszewicz and Monika Opalińska

How Abstract are Children’s Representations? Evidence from Polish

Abstract:This paper investigates the issue of the abstractness of children’s underlying representations, focusing on the acquisition of a complex morphophonological system. The data from three Polish-speaking children exhibit regular alternations which are caused both by adult-based processes already acquired, as well as child-specific processes triggered or blocked in the variable phonetic environment of derivational and inflectional morphemes. The interplay between child-specific and adult-based processes within an individual system, opacity effects, and, generally, phonological behavior of segments reveal adult-like distinctions and point to abstract adult-like representations based on morphophonological alternations rather than directly on adult surface forms.

Jaye Padgett and Marzena Żygis

The Evolution of Sibilants in Polish and Russian

Abstract:This paper provides an explanation for a sound change affecting Polish by which palatalized palatoalveolars became retroflexes. An extension of the account to a similar (but probably independent) Russian sound change is also considered. We argue that the sound change was motivated by the needs of perceptual distinctiveness within a rich sibilant inventory and provide an analysis within the framework of Dispersion Theory. This analysis is further supported by a typological survey and by phonetic data. This case study supports the view that “unconditioned” sound changes, and allophonic rules resulting from them, can be motivated by contrast, and further shows that the notion of dispersion in phonology can be usefully applied to consonants.

Jerzy Rubach

A Conspiracy of Gliding Processes in Polish

Abstract:One of the significant consequences of the autosegmental theory of representations is a different way of drawing the distinction between glides and vowels. The distinction is made in terms of syllable structure rather than in terms of the feature [±syllabic], as was the case in SPE phonology. This article pursues the problem of the glide-vowel distinction for Polish and shows that with few exceptions this distinction is derivable from distributional generalizations. The generalizations are first stated in terms of rules and then reanalyzed in terms of OT constraints. It is argued that the OT-based analysis is superior to the rule-based analysis.

Contents

Articles

Caroline Féry, Alla Paslawska, and Gisbert Fanselow
Nominal Split Constructions in Ukrainian     3

Lydia Grebenyova
Sluicing in Slavic     49

Arthur Stepanov
On the Absence of Long-Distance A-Movement in Russian     81

Ivelina K. Tchizmarova
Bulgarian Verbs of Change of Location     109

Reviews

Michael K. Launer
Marjorie J. McShane. A Theory of Ellipsis     149

Ian Press
A.M. Mordovan, S.S. Skorvid, A.A. Kibrik, N.V. Rogova, E.I. Jakuškina, A.F. Žuravlev, and S.M. Tolstaja, eds. Jazyki mira: Slavjanskie jazyki     163

Milorad Radovanović
Nedžad Leko, ed. Lingvistički vidici     167

Charles Townsend
Iván Igartua Origen y evolución de la flexión nominal eslava     171

Article Abstracts

Caroline Féry, Alla Paslawska, and Gisbert Fanselow

Nominal Split Constructions in Ukrainian

Abstract:Discontinuous (or split) nominal and prepositional constructions are extremely productive in Ukrainian. In split constructions, the head and the noun dependents are separated by lexical material which does not belong to the nominal or prepositional phrase. Ukrainian, like other Slavic languages, has free word order, a flexible intonation, and no obligatory articles—three properties that are decisive for the emergence of split constructions. The paper focuses on the role played by information-structure and intonation. A distinction is made between cohesive intonation, in which both parts of the split construction are uttered in a single intonation phrase, and non-cohesive intonation, in which the two parts of the splits are in separate intonation phrases. A cohesive intonation favors so-called simple splits in which the order of the constituents is respected, whereas a non-cohesive intonation typically (but not necessarily) correlates with inverted splits, where the order of the constituents differs from the canonical one. Both types of splits are triggered by an asymmetric information-structure: the two parts of the discontinuous phrase are separated from each other because they bear different information-structural features, like topic, focus, and givenness.

Lydia Grebenyova

Sluicing in Slavic

Abstract:The goal of this paper is to explore the properties of sluicing (i.e., clausal ellipsis) in Slavic languages. In turn, we will see how the Slavic data shed light on the nature of general processes underlying sluicing. First, I determine what positions wh-remnants occupy in sluicing constructions in Slavic, given the properties of wh--movement in each language. Contrary to the standard analyses, where an interrogative +wh- complementizer licenses TP-ellipsis, I argue that it is actually the +focus feature that is responsible for licensing sluicing in Slavic. The proposal is further extended to languages other than Slavic. I also demonstrate how the interpretation of multiple interrogatives in a given language affects the availability of multiple sluicing (i.e., sluicing with multiple wh--remnants) in that language. Finally, I explore a surprising manifestation of Superiority effects in sluicing structures in languages that do not exhibit Superiority effects in non-elliptical structures. I derive those Superiority effects from an independent property of ellipsis, namely, scope parallelism.

Arthur Stepanov

On the Absence of Long-Distance A-Movement in Russian

Abstract:Lasnik (1998) observes that Russian lacks long-distance subject-to-object and subject-to-subject raising, where “long-distance” is understood in the sense of crossing the boundary of a clausal domain defined in terms of an independent Infl (Tense/Agreement) system. In Lasnik’s terms, this state of affairs arises because Russian infinitival clauses are necessarily Tensed, whereas English infinitivals (which do allow long-distance raising) may appear “tenseless.” In this article I discuss examples of raising with aspectual and modal predicates in Russian, whose grammaticality appears to call into question the validity of Lasnik’s claim and show that raising in these contexts is in fact limited to a single TP domain. Realizing the monoclausal character of raising removes the apparent challenge to Lasnik’s generalization and reaffirms the radically “local” behavior of Russian in the domain of A-movement.

Ivelina K. Tchizmarova

Bulgarian Verbs of Change of Location

Abstract: Bulgarian verbs that denote change of location divide the space of linear motion in specific ways. Otivam ‘go’, a source-and-path oriented verb (Fillmore 1983), entails movement away from a starting point along a path. Associated adverbs and PPs express its goal or purpose. Idvam (perfective dojda ) ‘come’, a path-and-goal oriented verb, entails movement along a path towards a goal at the speaker’s or listener’s location (deictic center). Zaminavam and trâgvam , both glossed as ‘leave’, are source-oriented verbs, which have movement away from starting point/source at departure time, t1, coded in their meaning. With zaminavam , t1 is extended to include preparation prior to departure, while with trâgvam it is not. Xodja and vârvja , roughly ‘walk’, are path-oriented verbs denoting the homogenous activity of traversing a path. Both can refer to movement on foot, but normally only vârvja can refer to movement of vehicles. Pristigam ‘arrive’ is a goal-oriented verb which entails arrival at the goal, often at specific arrival time, t2. Elements of motion not coded in verbal meanings, e.g., the source of idvam , may be specified by PPs or AdvPs.

Contents

Special Issue on Slavic Languages in Émigré Contexts

From the Guest Editors     161

Olga Kagan
Introduction: The Language Norm and Language Attrition from a Pedagogical Perspective     163

Articles

David R. Andrews
The Role of Émigré Russian in Redefining the “Standard”     169

Maria Polinsky
Incomplete Acquisition: American Russian     191

Elena Schmitt
The “Bare Bones” of Language Attrition     263

Larisa Leisiö
Genitive Subjects and Objects in the Speech of Finland Russians     289

Article Abstracts

David R. Andrews

The Role of Émigré Russian in Redefining the “Standard”

Abstract: Despite minor disagreements over a very few specific features and recognized differences between the formal and colloquial registers, “correct” or “proper” Russian was a fixed concept during the Soviet era. It was “russkij literaturnyj jazyk” (the Russian literary language) or, in the terminology of American Slavists, “Contemporary Standard Russian” (CSR). Here I argue that the post-Soviet Russian of educated speakers is evolving into a “negative dialect,” a term coined by Millward (1988) to describe General American. A negative dialect is characterized not so much by the specific features that it has but by the identifiably regional or nonnormative ones that it lacks. However, because it permits a greater degree of internal variation than strict prescriptivist models, it often stigmatizes major norm violations even more than a traditional standard language. I call this emerging dialect “Educated Mainstream Russian” and make my case for it by comparing and contrasting developments in émigré-Russian versus mainstream-Russian lexicon, semantics, phonology, prosody, morphology and syntax.

Maria Polinsky

Incomplete Acquisition: American Russian

Abstract: This paper has two main goals: (i) to provide a description of the language of incomplete learners of Russian living in the U.S. and (ii) to identify across-the-board differences between a full language and an incompletely learned language. Most data used here come from American Russian, a reduced and reanalyzed version of Russian spoken in the U.S. by those speakers who became English-dominant in childhood. Incomplete acquirers of Russian demonstrate significant intra-group variation, which corresponds to similar variation found among incomplete learners of other languages. However, there are a number of structural properties that are shared by American Russian speakers regardless of their proficiency level and that distinguish their language from the baseline variety of Russian. American Russian therefore cannot be defined solely on geographical grounds; it differs significantly from varieties of Russian spoken by subjects who maintain language competence appropriate to uninterrupted acquisition. The paper also demonstrates a correlation between vocabulary deficiency and gaps in the grammar of American Russian. Such a correlation suggests a compact method of estimating incomplete acquirers’ proficiency based on a concise lexical test.

Elena Schmitt

The “Bare Bones” of Language Attrition

Abstract: This study focuses on the analysis of bare forms that are discussed in terms of composite code-switching, i.e., code-switching that involves convergence at one or more levels of abstract lexical structure. The analysis of the young immigrants’ free production indicates that Russian is the Matrix Language that sets the grammatical frame, whereas English is responsible for supplying some of the content and early system morphemes. The study shows that all major speech categories that participate in code-switching may be used as bare forms. The mechanism that underlies the formation of bare forms is hypothesized to be the same for nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Larisa Leisiö

Genitive Subjects and Objects in the Speech of Finland Russians

Abstract: The paper considers genitive marking in subjects and objects in Finland Russian. Finnish interference in the speech of Finland Russians is shown to favor patterns common to Finland Russian and Standard Russian and to promote the retention and quantitative extension of marked shared patterns in the subordinate language. Interference affecting qualitative change in subordinate-language patterns is also discussed.

Contents

Articles

David Hart Cognitive
Events in the Development of the Russian Suppletive Pair god – let ‘year’     3

Vsevolod Kapatsinski
Sex Associations of Russian Generics     17

Nerea Madariaga
Why Russian Semi-Predicative Items Always Agree     45

Reviews

Ronelle Alexander
Robert Greenberg. Language and Identity in the Balkans: Serbo-Croatian and its Disintegration     79

Alina Israeli
Alan Timberlake. A Reference Grammar of Russian     91

Franc Marušič and Rok Žaucer
Janez Orešnik and Donald D. Reindl, eds. Slovenian from a typological perspective (Sprachtypologie und Universalien¬ forschung (Language typology and universals))     123

Article Abstracts

David Hart

Cognitive Events in the Development of the Russian Suppletive Pair god – let ‘year’

Abstract: The semantic development of the suppletive pair god – let ‘year’ was due to a specific communicative deficiency that arose among speakers of Old Russian as a result of the adoption of Christianity in Rus’ and to metonymical devices that were triggered in answer to the perceived expressive want. These devices were authorized by a general constraint of compatibility on the shift of meaning from source to target. Suppletion developed as a result of the incompatibility of some aspects of the newly polysemous godъ and numerical quantification.

Vsevolod Kapatsinski

Sex Associations of Russian Generics

Abstract: This article explores whether Russian generic nouns and pronouns have sex associations, what factors influence the formation of sex associations, and whether ways for changing sexist language developed by American feminists are viable for Russian, as well as whether such change is currently likely. Social implications of the data are also explored.

Nerea Madariaga

Why Russian Semi-Predicative Items Always Agree

Abstract: In this paper an explanation is provided for the fact that the Russian semi-predicative items odin ‘one, alone’ and sam ‘-self, same’ must obligatorily undergo Case Agreement (i.e., they must show up in the same case as the argument they refer to) and that unlike regular predicatives they cannot check instrumental case. It is argued that this fact is due to the quantificational nature of these items. My analysis is based on a “predicational” analysis of the semi-predicatives odin and sam as the head of a QP inserted in an apposition adjoined to V' or Pred'. Semi-predicatives cannot be assigned inherent instrumental case there because Pred0 [+inst] can only select an AP or NP (but not a QP or DP). In particular, it is argued that the quantificational nature of these items relates them not only to predicatives but also to some adverbs and to regular quantifiers.