Transcript Introduction to Russian phonology and word structure

Introduction to Russian
phonology and word structure
Ch 10: Foreign words and the
standard language
Q&A
• 1. What are the phonetic adjustments that
foreign words often fail to make in
Russian?
Q&A
• 1. What are the phonetic adjustments that
foreign words often fail to make in
Russian?
– Vowel reduction
– Softening of consonants before front vowels
– Restriction of certain co-occurences, such as
soft velar + back vowel or hard consonant + e
Q&A
• 2. What are some phonetic adjustments
that foreign words DO make?
Q&A
• 2. What are some phonetic adjustments
that foreign words DO make?
– Voicing assimilation
– Substitution of native sounds for foreign ones
(e.g., true dentals for alveolars, etc.)
Discussion
• Let’s talk about the subsystem of Russian
phonology that foreign words pass
through…
Q&A
• 4. What foreign sounds have had an effect
on the Russian sound system?
Q&A
• 4. What foreign sounds have had an effect
on the Russian sound system?
– A good example is [f]. For example, in older
Russian, ‘Joseph’ was borrowed as Осип,
where the fricative [f] was changed to a stop
[p] in order to adjust it to the system (where [v]
was not yet as much of an obstruent and
didn’t devoice); later borrowings of the same
name came out as Иосиф; much later
borrowings such as арфа helped to establish
[f] in other positions as well…