Journal of Slavic Linguistics

Contents

Articles

Per Durst-Andersen
Russian Case as Mood      177

Tracy Holloway King
Slavic Clitics, Long Head Movement, and Prosodic Inversion     274

Robert Orr
Against the *u°-Stems in Common Slavic     312

Karen E. Robblee
Effects of the Lexicon and Aspect on Nominative/Genitive Case Variation     344

Reviews

Maaike Schoorlemmer
Steven Franks. Parameters of Slavic Morphosyntax     370

Article Abstracts

Per Durst-Andersen

Russian Case as Mood

Abstract: Previous approaches to Russian case may be divided into four groups: 1) the atomistic tradition, which merely lists contextual meanings of the six cases in Russian; 2) the Jakobsonian tradition, which advocates the principle of invariance and operates with binary feature oppositions; 3) the GB tradition, which generally distinguishes two types of case: structural case and inherent case; and 4) the newer cognitivist tradition, which has totally abandoned the feature approach and instead operates with prototypes/core meanings and submeanings. The four theories are briefly examined and tested against various types of parameters and data. It is found that they do not meet realistic requirements for a theory of Russian case and that they are unable to handle the data adequately, instead confusing levels which should be separated and treating contextual meanings as case meanings. Specific requirements for a theory of Russian case are set up and against this background a new theory is constructed which is based on the assumption that an isomorphic relationship exists between the structure of the nominal system and the structure of the verbal system. It is argued that Russian case sensu stricto is the nominal equivalent to mood. The theory includes two different case systems: 1) the propositionally defined system, which involves deep syntax and is universal; here a distinction is made between casus exterior, i.e., cases which function as underlying subjects (nom, acc, and gen) and casus interior, i.e., cases which function as underlying determiners (dat, instr, and loc); and 2) the referentially defined system, which involves surface semantics and mood as well, and is the specific Russian contribution to case semantics. Here a distinction is made between direct cases (nom and acc) and oblique cases (voc, gen, dat, and instr)&emdash;the latter are further divided into outer cases (voc and gen) and inner cases (dat and instr). All previous theories have been concerned far more with the relationship of Russian case to the universal system, i.e., deep case, and far less with the specific Russian system, i.e., surface case. They have dealt with what could be called participant roles as opposed to case roles, and been unable to connect the pure case system and the prepositional system, where the distinction between contact cases (loc and acc) and non-contact cases (gen, dat, and instr) replaces the distinction between direct and oblique cases.

Tracy Holloway King

Slavic Clitics, Long Head Movement, and Prosodic Inversion

Abstract: This article investigates the distribution of clitic clusters in Bulgarian, Czech, Serbian-Croatian, and Slovak. It argues that clitic placement depends on both syntactic and prosodic factors. The syntactic factors include whether the clitic cluster is in I0 (verbal clitics) or C0 (second-position clitics) and whether there is a constituent which is a prosodic word, e.g., a complementizer or a topic, before the cluster. If the cluster is syntactically clause-initial, Prosodic Inversion occurs to provide a host for the clitics, resulting in the clitic cluster appearing after the first prosodic word in the clause. Differences among the languages reflect differences in where the clitic cluster is located syntactically and lexical differences in the clitic inventories and their prosodic properties. This analysis is contrasted with proposals arguing for Long Head Movement of participles to C0, and additional data involving optional participle movement, negation, and li questions are examined.

Robert Orr

Against the *u°-Stems in Common Slavic

Abstract: This paper discusses the composition of the *u°-stem class in Common Slavic. It is shown that if the lists of *u°-stems proposed in various specialist studies are combined with those found in more general works, nearly 150 nouns may be reconstructed as original *u°-stems, with varying degrees of probability. Forms usually neglected in the discourse (e.g., *kru°tu°-) can be shown to be almost certain original *u°-stems. Based mainly on cognates from Lithuanian, a similar number of adjectives may also be reconstructed as *u°-stems, giving a possible total of nearly 300. It is therefore proposed that the *u°-stems in Common Slavic were not a marginal class, but a fairly numerous, productive one, which strengthens the hypothesis of an early *u°-stem influence within the Common Slavic declensional system as a whole.

Karen E. Robblee

Effects of the Lexicon and Aspect on Nominative/Genitive Case Variation

Abstract: This paper examines case marking in Russian negative intransitive constructions, focusing on the lexicon and aspect. It treats two lexical hierarchies that together form a cline expressing the relative frequency of genitive case marking with different combinations of nouns and verbs. It thus demonstrates the extent to which case marking is predictable from the lexical content of sentences. The paper considers the effects of aspectual form and function, showing that submeanings of different morphological forms pattern together. This finding supports Timberlake's (1982) claim that morphological aspect has a limited role in the grammar of case, and that a grammatical description needs to include mapping rules from individual aspectual functions to morphological case.

Contents

Articles

Alina Israeli
Discourse Analysis of Russian Aspect: Accent on Creativity     8

James S. Levine and Charles Jones
Agent, Purpose, and Russian Middles     50

Rosemary Kuhn Plapp
Russian /i/ and /y/ as Underlying Segments     76

Tom Priestly
On the Etymology of the Ethnic Slur Tschusch      109

Michael Yadroff
Modern Russian Vocatives: A Case of Subtractive Morphology     133

Remarks

Vladimir Orel
Slavic *mo,do 'Testicle'     154

Oscar E. Swan
An Exercise in Ghost Forms: The Declension of OCS vepr' ~ vepr^' 'Boar'     159

Review

Martina Lindseth
Uwe Junghanns. Syntaktische und semantische Eigenschaften russischer finaler Infinitiveinbettungen      167

Miscellaneous

JSL Abbreviations      172

Article Abstracts

Alina Israeli

Discourse Analysis of Russian Aspect: Accent on Creativity

Abstract: Obshchefakticheskoe znachenie 'general factual meaning' (OF) has traditionally referred to imperfective usage that constitutes a simple reference to an action in the past. But over time many different variants have been included under this rubric, making the traditional definition inadequate. While the current working definition is a negative one (not process or repetition), the article attempts to give a new positive definition based on the discourse relationship of the speakers, namely a pragmatic contract. At the same time, the article demonstrates that in verbs denoting creative acts, a completely different set of parameters guides the usage of perfective vs. imperfective OF: mastermind/implementor, individual/joint project, [+/-authority].

James S. Levine and Charles Jones

Agent, Purpose, and Russian Middles

Abstract: Given a current theoretical analysis of passive and middle constructions in Russian (e.g., Babby 1993, within the Government and Binding syntactic theory), the question of what conditions affect the distribution of agent-oriented adverbs and clauses arises in an interesting way. In this paper we argue against the notion that lexical assignment of some kind of Agent thematic role to subject position is relevant to the distribution of these adjuncts. Instead, we offer an account of their distribution in terms of a more formal property of the argument structure of certain verbs; namely, the absence of lexically determined thematic content for the verb's characteristic external argument.

Rosemary Kuhn Plapp

Russian /i/ and /y/ as Underlying Segments

Abstract: The present paper provides evidence that /i/ and /y/ must be distinct underlying segments within a derivational analysis of modern Russian. In general /i/ occurs after palatalized [-back] consonants in Russian and /y/ appears after non-palatalized [+back] consonants. Superficially, postulating an allophonic alternation in high unrounded vowels seems appropriate. However, careful analysis of details of Russian phonology shows that this is not warranted. Evidence from velar and surface palatalization indicates that both /i/ and /y/ exist underlyingly in modern Russian. In fact, ordering paradoxes occur if one attempts to derive all high unrounded vowels from /i/. This analysis raises issues pertinent to Underspecification theory and Lexical Phonology.

Tom Priestly

On the Etymology of the Ethnic Slur Tschusch

Abstract: Several origins have been suggested for the German ethnic slur Tschusch, used (primarily in the meaning 'Slav') in present-day Austria since at least 1919, and formerly used in German-speaking parts of Moravia and Bohemia. Using evidence from a variety of sources, it is concluded that there are two quite separate origins: the two became confused in southern provinces of Austria, but probably only one is the source for the usages in Vienna and elsewhere. There remain gaps in the history of this/these word(s); in particular, the various reports of forms with postvocalic /zh/ remain unexplained.

Michael Yadroff

Modern Russian Vocatives: A Case of Subtractive Morphology

Abstract: This paper shows that Russian vocative formation poses problems for any templatic approach to truncation. Possible base forms for derivation of the vocatives are discussed and several arguments showing that it is a Nominative form and not a bare stem are presented. Vocative truncation is treated as a prosodic circumscription, i.e., deletion not of segments but of a prosodic unit (deprosodization); the output forms of vocatives are the result of subsequent resyllabification (reassociation of stranded onset consonants to the adjacent coda). In a sense, vocative formation is a mirror-image of Compensatory Lengthening: vocative formation reflects deletion of a prosodic unit with subsequent reassociation of segments, while Compensatory Lengthening reflects deletion of a segment with subsequent reassociation of a prosodic unit (mora).

Vladimir Orel

Slavic *mo,do 'Testicle'

Abstract: Various etymological interpretations of Slav *mo,do are analyzed and their formal and semantic inadequacy is demonstrated. A new etymology of *mo,do is tentatively suggested, linking this term to the Indo-European word for 'man' *manu- or *monu-. The suffix *-d- of *mo,do is studied in comparison with other Slavic derivatives in *-do, -d" from IE *dhe:- < *dheH-.

Oscar E. Swan

An Exercise in Ghost Forms: The Declension of OCS vepr' ~ vepr^' 'Boar'

Abstract: Two prominent dictionaries of Old Church Slavic assign the word vepr' 'boar' to the jo-stem declension, citing the gen sg ghost form veprja. There is as much reason to think that this word, cited only once in OCS, belonged to the i-stems.

Contents

From the Editor     219

Charles E. Gribble
Reflections: Scholarly Publishers in Slavic Linguistics, or Why I Would Rather See than Be One     221

Articles

Sue Brown and Steven Franks
Asymmetries in the Scope of Russian Negation     239

Stephen M. Dickey
A Comparative Analysis of the Slavic Imperfective General-Factual     288

Gilbert Rappaport
Wh-Movement-in-Comp in Slavic Syntax and in Logical Form     308

Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby
The Effect of Discourse Functions on the Voice of Bidiathesis -sja Verbs     357

Reply

Zheng-Min Dong On Phonologically Null Prepositions: A Reply to Fowler and Yadroff     378

Review

David Hart
Tore Nesset. Russian Stress: Stress as an Inflectional Formative in Russian Noun Paradigms and Bybee's Cognitive Morphology     387

Bibliography

Loren Billings and Joan Maling.
Accusative-Assigning Participial -no/-to Constructions in Ukrainian, Polish, and Neighboring Languages: An Annotated Bibliography.

Article Abstracts

Sue Brown and Steven Franks

Asymmetries in the Scope of Russian Negation

Abstract: Russian ni-phrase Negative Polarity Items and the Genitive of Negation are not coextensive: the former must be in the scope of negation while the latter is restricted to direct objects, but does not show the scope requirement. These distributional asymmetries can be understood in terms of a functional category NegP analysis of sentential negation, where the negation operator resides in [Spec, NegP] and ne is its head. Several phenomena, including Negative Polarity Items, Relativized Minimality, and partitive genitives, are sensitive to the operator. Genitive of Negation, on the other hand, only requires there to be a NegP and for this reason can even occur in pleonastic contexts. Pleonastic negation, which we analyze as NegP with no negation operator, is canonically selected by certain verbs and adverbials, but is also syntactically forced in Yes/No questions with V-to-C raising.

Stephen M. Dickey

A Comparative Analysis of the Slavic Imperfective General-Factual

Abstract: This paper examines data from the Slavic languages concerning the general-factual use of the imperfective aspect. It is shown that the general-factual does not pattern identically in the individual Slavic languages, and that the difference can be concisely formulated in terms of Vendler's lexico-semantic predicate types: in the westernmost languages (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, and Serbo-Croatian), achievements do not occur in the general-factual--the perfective aspect is required. In the eastern lang uages (Russian, Ukrainian, and Bulgarian) achievements are much more acceptable in the general-factual. On the basis of this distinction suggestions are made for definitions of aspectual semantics in the two halves of Slavic, utilizing the concepts of totality and temporal definiteness for the perfective, and temporal indefiniteness for the imperfective.

Gilbert Rappaport

Wh-Movement-in-Comp in Slavic Syntax and in Logical Form

Abstract: This paper supports the application of Wh-Movement-in-Comp in Logical Form to "undo" Pied Piping. More precisely, the general convention "Move Alpha" can apply on a recursive basis not only to a moved category as a whole (creating familiar cyclic chains), but within a moved category as well. First a case for Wh-Movement-in-Comp in Logical Form is sketched in terms of the Principles-and-Parameters theory of generative grammar. Then an empirical argument is developed, relying on an important h ypothesis of the theory: overt syntactic movement in a given language is a marked reflection of an isomorphic movement on a universal basis in Logical Form. Evidence is presented for Wh-Movement-in-Comp in Polish syntax, which entails the correspon ding mechanism in Logical Form. A brief survey of the relevant Slavic languages shows that some join Polish in exhibiting Wh-Movement-in-Comp, while others do not. The distinction can be traced to a difference in morphosyntactic typology involving the expression of the Specifier of NP.

Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby

The Effect of Discourse Functions on the Voice of Bidiathesis -sja Verbs

Abstract: This article reexamines the claim that verbs suffixed in -sja in Contemporary Standard Russian are distinguished by voice, i.e., imperfectives in -sja may be read as passives, while perfectives in -sja may not. Previous analyses have concluded that the perfective in -sja has an inchoative reading, i.e., is non-active, but non-passive, while the imperfective in -sja is the imperfective member of a passive aspect pair. The perfective member of the pair is a participial construction, composed of 'be' and a past passive participle of a perfective verb. The data in this paper show that passive readings of imperfective -sja are much more restricted than has been suggested previously. These limitations on the passive readings of both perfective and imperfective -sja predicates are examined in light of the Transitivity Hierarchy. The paper concludes that discourse functions, namely Transitivity Ranking and concomitant patient foregrounding, play a significant role in the likelihood that a predicate will be read as a passive in Russian. Discourse analysis offers an explanation for the limitations on the passive reading of -sja predicates, and supports the claim that these verbs are not distinguished by voice, as has often been suggested.

Zheng-Min Dong

On Phonologically Null Prepositions: A Reply to Fowler and Yadroff

Abstract: Fowler and Yadroff (1993) propose to explain the Russian use of the accusative case in duration phrases, as in vsju nedelju 'for a whole week', suggesting two separate accounts of such case assignment. This article presents arguments against their first hypothesis, that the accusative case is assigned by a null preposition, and provides additional evidence in support of the second approach, that the accusative case is intrinsic, or semantically independent.

Contents

Articles

John F. Bailyn
Underlying Phrase Structure and "ShortÓ Verb Movement in Russian     13

Robert Beard
The Gender-Animacy Hypothesis     59

Frank Y. Gladney
The Accent of Russian Verbforms     97

Kyril T. Holden and Monika A. Lozinska
The Function of Simplex and Derived Imperfectives in Russian: An Experimental Study     139

Remark

Vladimir Orel
Slavic *ryba ÔfishÕ     164

Reviews

Charles E. Townsend, Bernard Comrie and Greville G. Corbett
The Slavonic languages     170

Bibliography

Loren Billings and Joan Maling
Accusative-Assigning Participial -no/-to Constructions in Ukrainian, Polish, and Neighboring Languages: An Annotated Bibliography. Part 1: AøM     177

Contents

Articles

Zbigniew Golab
Slavic chelovek" 'homo' against the Background of Proto-Slavic Social Terminology (201

Tore Nesset
A Feature-Based Approach to Russian Noun Inflection (214

Karen Robblee
Russian Word Order and the Lexicon     238

Remarks and Replies

David J. Birnbaum Why Isn't Dybo's Law Iterative?     268

Robert Greenberg Southwest Balkan Linguistic Contacts: Evidence from Appellative Language     273

Laura Janda and Victor A. Friedman
About the ja- in Makedonskiot Jazik: The Fate of Initial *e^- and *e,- in Macedonian     282

Tracy Holloway
King The Structure of Russian Clausal Negation     287

Jens Norgard-Sorensen
Reply to Dahl     298

Alexis Manaster-Ramer
A Remark on Initial Nasal Vowels in Polish     301

Review Article

Frank Y. Gladney
Jan Tokarski Redivivus     304

Reviews

Stuart Davis
Jerzy Rubach. The lexical phonology of Slovak     318

Stephen M. Dickey
Per Durst-Andersen. Mental grammar: Russian aspect and related issues     326

Victor A. Friedman
Grace E. Fielder. The semantics and pragmatics of verbal categories in Bulgarian     333

Herbert Galton
Anna Stunova. A contrastive study of Russian and Czech aspect: Invariance vs. discourse     341

Ingrid Maier
Laura A. Janda. A geography of case semantics: The Czech dative and the Russian instrumental     344

Petr Sgall
Eva Eckert, ed. Varieties of Czech: Studies in Czech sociolinguistics     353

Miscellaneous

JSL Style Sheet     359

Errata     367

Article Abstracts

Zbigniew Golab

Slavic chelovek" 'homo' against the Background of Proto-Slavic Social Terminology

Abstract: This article reviews the published literature on the etymology of Slavic *chelovek" 'homo' and proposes that this Slavic word should be derived from Indo-European *kuelo-uoik'o-s, cf. Greek peri-oikos. Support for this proposal can be found in the etymology of the components of the compound, the structural pattern of its composition, and its relationship to the subsystem of other Slavic social terms.

Tore Nesset

A Feature-Based Approach to Russian Noun Inflection

Abstract: The present paper examines the traditional approaches to Russian noun inflection where two, three, or four declension classes are assumed. Two descriptive problems are considered: gender predictability and neutralization of the oppositions between declension classes. It is demonstrated that none of the traditional approaches offer fully satisfactory accounts for both problems, and a new approach involving the use of two features is therefore proposed.

Karen Robblee

Russian Word Order and the Lexicon

Abstract: This paper investigates the interaction of lexicosemantics with Russian word order, reporting a significant divergence in the word order patterns of sentences with different types of predicates. Predicates fall on a lexical hierarchy of individuation that correlates with their tendency to occur with the verb preceding the subject in the sentence, i.e., with word-order configurations CVS, VCS, VSC, and VS. Those of low lexical individuation occur with VS-inversion more frequently than those of high lexical individuation. VS-inversion has one primary (existential) function, and two secondary (episode-marking and specificational) functions. The primary function is a deindividuating function, subject to minimal restrictions. The secondary functions, in contrast, are limited by predicate type and location in the narrative. Individuation features relating to secondary function, predicate type, and section of narrative covary.

David J. Birnbaum

Why Isn't Dybo's Law Iterative?

Abstract: Dybo's Law, the advance of ictus from syllables of a certain type in Common Slavic, is not iterative. This non-iterative property is a natural consequence of an autosegmental analysis of Dybo's Law (as in Halle and Kiparsky 1981), but not of the traditional, non-autosegmental description (as in Garde 1976).

Robert Greenberg

Southwest Balkan Linguistic Contacts: Evidence from Appellative Language

Abstract: This study discusses several of the traditional and non-traditional "Balkan" isoglosses as manifested in a Southwest Balkan Sprachbund consisting of Western Macedonian, Albanian, Romance, and Zeta-Lovcen Montenegrin dialects. Some of the most convincing evidence pointing to such a linguistic continuum is found in the appellative forms, i.e., imperatives, vocatives, and emphatic/exhorative particles. This evidence suggests that further research could lead to a redefinition of "Balkanness" with regard to the South Slavic dialects.

Laura Janda and Victor A. Friedman

About the ja- in Makedonskiot Jazik: The Fate of Initial *e^- and *e,- in Macedonian

Abstract: The change of initial *e^- to ja- has been overlooked in historical phonologies of Macedonian, yet is well attested. The present analysis provides a route for initial *e,- which changed to e^- to develop further to ja-, avoiding the phonologically implausible nasal merger and positing no additional sound changes without independent motivation.

Tracy Holloway King

The Structure of Russian Clausal Negation

Abstract: The present article argues that the Russian negative marker ne does not head it own functional projection in the structure of a clause. Instead, it is argued that ne forms a unit with the tensed verb in its clause. As a result, negation has scope over the tensed verb in I^0 and the material in VP, but not over other finite elements. Arguments in support of this position are based upon facts of the scope of negation and the genitive of negation.

Jens Norgard-Sorensen

Reply to Dahl

Abstract not available

Alexis Manaster-Ramer

A Remark on Initial Nasal Vowels in Polish

Abstract: Gussmann (1993) claims that nasal vowels are absolutely impossible word-initially in Polish. In response, I discuss various counterexamples, involving both attested forms and unattested but possible ones.