Russian dialects
Russian dialects are spoken variants of the Russian language.
Russian dialects and territorial varieties are divided in two conceptual chronological and geographic categories:[1]
- The dialects of the territory of the primary formation, which consist of "Old" Russia of the 16th century (before the Eastern conquests by Ivan the Terrible) and roughly correlate with the modern Central and Northwestern Federal districts. These "historical dialects" are claimed as ethnically Russian (Russkii).
- The dialects of the territory of the second formation, where Russians settled after the 16th century. These new territorial varieties were produced by the Russian and Soviet expansions during the last centuries and are mainly spoken by non-Slavic, non-Slavophone, and non-Orthodox populations in post-Soviet states.
Standard Russian, based on the Moscow dialect, is now used throughout Russia. However, traditional dialects may still be heard among rural population, in particular of older generations. Some people speak language varieties intermediate between standard Russian and traditional dialects; such varieties are called prostorechiye (Russian: prostorechie). Prostorechiye is characterized by usage of certain phonetic, grammatical, and lexical features which are considered nonstandard in speech which would otherwise be standard Russian. The use of prostorechiye is highly stigmatized as a sign of uneducatedness. Even within standard Russian, certain regional variants may be distinguished; see differences between speech of Moscow and St. Petersburg residents in the Russian Wikipedia.
In Russia
[edit]Depending on the presence or the absence of vowel reduction (akanye and/or ikanye) and the pronunciation of Proto-Slavic *g, Russian is divided into two main dialectical divisions and the intermediate one:
- Northern, in the northern and north-eastern parts of European Russia, from Veliky Novgorod to the Perm and northern Ural regions; this has no or little vowel reduction in unstressed positions and stop /g/.
- Southern, in the western and southern parts of European Russia; this has various types of vowel reduction and fricative /g/; this group makes up a dialect continuum with Belarusian, although it differs significantly from the Ukrainian dialects to the further south, sharing only a few isoglosses (namely the fricative pronunciation of Proto-Slavic *g). This is due to the fact that the Russian-Ukrainian linguistic boundary has only existed since the expansion of both of these languages into the steppes, at which time they were already markedly different.[2]
- Central or Middle is in an intermediate position between the above two, stretching from Pskov to Tver, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, and down to the Lower Volga region; this group is very heterogeneous and consists of dialects both with and without vowel reduction and either /g/ or /g/. The Muscovite dialect forms the basis of Standard Russian: being originally a northern dialect, with /g/ and no reduction, it later came under the southern influence and has adopted vowel reduction, but retained /g/.
The dialects of the southern Ural, Siberia and the Far East may be of all three groups, depending on where the settlers from European Russia came from. The dialects of the Lower Don and the Northern Caucasus are of the Southern Russian origin.
Dialects within Russia
[edit]
- Western
- Eastern
- Groups with okanye (Tver, Klin, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov, Yaroslavl Oblast , Ivanovo, Murom, Nizhny Novgorod)
- Groups with akanye (Moscow, Kasimov, Temnikov)
- Chukhloma enclave (with akanye)
Bashkort Russian
[edit]Bashkort Russian is characterised by the adoption of native Bashkir and Tatar words such as aida replacing davai to mean "let's go".[3] It is primarily spoken in the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is an autonomous region of Russia.
Lake Peipus
[edit]Lake Peipus dialect (Russian: Prichudskii govor) is a Russian language variety spoken on both sides of Lake Peipus in Pskov Oblast, Russia and some counties of Estonia where Russian is a frequently-spoken or dominant language. It originated as a mix of Pskov and Gdov dialects of the Central Russian cluster. As many other dialects from this area, it is often considered to be transitional between Russian and Belarusian. Lake Peipus dialects also include some loanwords from the Estonian language.
The dialect has been studied and described by Olga Rovnova of the University of Tartu who has conducted fieldwork in Russian Old Believers' communities in Estonia.
Astrakhani Russian
[edit]Astrakhani Russian is a collection of varieties of Russian spoken in Astrakhan Oblast, predominantly by the ethnically mixed population--ethnic Russians (61%), Kazakhs (17%), Tatars (7%) among the main speakers, and include many other groups such as Azeris, "Dagestani" (by self-identification according to the 2010 census), Nogay, and Ukrainians.
Like Dagestani Russian, Astrakhan Russian refers to many different dialects varying depending on a speaker's native language, ethnicity, age, occupation, and other social factors. Even in the metropolitan area of Astrakhan where a person of a minority background is likely to grow up speaking only Russian, traces of their heritage language are still present.
Cossack Russian
[edit]Balachka
[edit]Balachka is spoken in the Kuban region of Russia, by the Kuban Cossacks. The Kuban Cossacks being descendants of the Zaporozhian Cossacks are beginning to consider themselves as a separate ethnic identity. Their dialect is based on Middle Dnieprian with the Ukrainian grammar. It includes dialectical words of central Ukrainian with frequent inclusion of Russian vocabulary, in particular for modern concepts and items. It varies somewhat from one area to another.[citation needed]
Isoglosses
[edit]| Isogloss | Northern Russian |
Standard Russian |
Southern Russian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unstressed /o/ | [o] | [a~@] | [a~a~@~i] |
| Unstressed /e/, /a/, /o/ after palatalized consonants |
[I], [e] | [I] | [ae] (pre-stressed), [I] |
| /g/ | [g] | [g] | [g] |
| /v/ | [v] | [v] | [w~u] |
| /f/ | [f] | [f] | [x~xv~xw] |
| Present 3 p. sg. & pl. final | /t/ | /t/ | /tj/ |
| Final /l/ | /l/ | /l/ | /w~u/ |
| Past sg. masc. final | /v/[n 1] | /l/ | /l/ |
| Prothetic /v~w/ | no | no[n 2] | yes |
| Hardening of final soft labials | no | no | yes |
- Notes
- ^ In the dialect of Vologda
- ^ Except for vosem' ('eight') and some other words
Eastern Europe
[edit]Moldovan Russian
[edit]Moldovan Russian is characterised by differences in orthography, with the use of Moldova (Moldova) instead of Moldaviia (Moldavia) or Kishineu (Chisinau) instead of Kishiniov in government and media of Moldova. It is also characterized by Romanian loanwords.[4] This change is also widely accepted by Russian-language media inside of Russia, as well. Russian is more often used as a second language and as the language of interethnic communication than as a first language in the country,[5] which contributes to influence from the state language, Romanian.
Ukrainian Russian
[edit]The Russian language in Ukraine has influence from the Ukrainian language in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. When Ukrainians speak Russian, the Russian letter G (G) is mostly pronounced as /h/, like in Ukrainian, instead of /g/. There are also clear differences in the intonation. Additionally, a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian (the so called surzhyk), is also spoken by many Ukrainians.
Belarusian Russian
[edit]Caucasus
[edit]Abkhaz Russian
[edit]Abkhaz Russian is characterised by the use of Abkhaz terms, orthographical differences, and patterns of speech that diverge from that of Standard Russian.
Chechen Russian
[edit]Notable variety features include use of /u/ in place of /v/
Dagestani Russian
[edit]Dagestani Russian (Russian: Dagestanskii russkii) is a regional variety of the Russian language spoken in Dagestan, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation, and some of the neighboring regions including Astrakhan Oblast and Kalmykia. It is characterized by heavy influence from vernacular languages, mostly those belonging to the Northeast Caucasian and Turkic language families. It is considered a low prestige language and mostly used in informal domains. By some measures, it is considered an ethnolect.
Armenian Russian
[edit]Armenian Russian is the regional variety of Russian spoken in Armenia[6][1] and the partially-recognised Republic of Artsakh (as Artsakhi (Armenian) Russian), where parliament voted to establish Russian an official language in March 2021.[7]
There are some vocabulary differences to the variety of Russian as spoken in Armenia/Artsakh, such as:
| English | Artsakhi Russian |
Standard Russian |
|---|---|---|
| clothespin | shpil'ka | prishchepka |
| water fountain | pulpulak | pit'evoi fontan |
| sweatpants | finki | treniki, trenirovochnye shtany |
Central Asia
[edit]Kazakhstani Russian
[edit]Most key word differences come in the form of toponyms of renamed cities after the 1991 independence of Kazakhstan. Not all renamings are manifested in the Russian language, such as with the city of Almaty, still known by its former name of Alma-Ata in Russian, because they sound similar. Other differences include names for authorities such as mazhilis, mazhilismen which substitute the Russian word deputat. Akimat is a localised Russian construction of the borrowed word Akim, meaning "mayor", and given the traditional -at suffix in standard Russian that is used for words such as sekretariat and rektorat. Kazakhstani Russian is often classified as being influenced strongly by Kazakh and the use of Kazakh words.[8]
Kyrgyzstani Russian
[edit]Kyrgyzstani Russian is characterised by phonetic differences as well as the use of some words from the Kyrgyz language. There are also some other differences in vocabulary, such as sotka (sotka) replacing the standard mobil'nik (mobil'nik) meaning "mobile phone".[9]
Tajikistani Russian
[edit]The varieties of Russian spoken in Tajikistan are collectively referred to as "Tajikistani Russian" or "Tajik Russian". Both Russian and Tajik are recognised as official languages according to the Constitution of Tajikistan, and their usages often influence each other.
Lexicon
[edit]Tajik words and expressions are often found in the colloquial speech of Tajikistani Russian speakers, especially in Dushanbe, although qualitatively, Russian borrowings into Tajik exceed the reverse. The varieties are greatly affected by Russian-speaking families, intermarriages between different nationalities, Russian-language classrooms, and location.[10]
Tajik lexical units have entered the Tajikistani Russian dialect. For example, the words dushman 'mujahid, enemy' and dukhan 'tavern, shop' entered Russian through Tajik during the Soviet-Afghan War.[10]
The colloquial lexicon also includes words such as: alcha (alcha), dastarkhan (dastarkhan), dzhigit (dzhigit), kazan (kazan), kaif (kayf), karbos (karbos), kishmish (kishmish), gashish (gashish), topchan (topchan), chinara (chinara).[10]
There are also words used in science, literature and academia, such as beit (beyt), dastan (dastan), and izafet (izafet).[10]
Exoticisms include mantu (mantu), kurpacha (kurpacha), plov (plov), tanur (tanur), khouz (khouz), div (div), dutor (dutor), nai (nay, sambusa (sambusa), chapan (chapan), and ezory (ezory).[10]
Both Russian and Tajik speakers are served by the following words to address unfamiliar people and acquaintances.
| Tajikistani Russian | Standard Russian | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| apa | starshaia sestra | 'older sister' |
| aka | starshii brat | 'older brother' |
| khola | tiotia | 'aunt' |
| ianga | zhena brata, nevestka | 'daughter-in-law; sister-in-law' |
Calques are not very numerous and are often used with a humorous undertone. For example, khunukovato (from Tajik khunuk meaning 'cold') in place of standard Russian kholodnovato.[10]
There are also words used by Tajiki Russian speakers that have long had their own standard Russian equivalents:
| Tajikistani Russian | Standard Russian | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| zira | tmin | 'carum' |
| ispand | ruta | 'ruta' |
| kaimak | smetana | 'smetana' |
| khaltak | meshochek, kiset | 'sack' |
| chakka | kisloe moloko | 'fermented milk' |
Tajik expressions are often used: khairiiat in lieu of k schast'iu for 'fortunately', nakonets-to (dosl. dobro) for 'finally', and tavba in place of dosl. raskaianie for 'remorse'.[10]
In youth jargon, Russian affixes and endings are attached to Tajik stems, or a Tajik noun is paired with a Russian verb in a phrase. For example: gapy brosat' instead of razgovarivat' for 'to converse' (from Tajik gap 'speech, conversation').[10]
After the end of the Soviet period, many Russian words were given Tajik equivalents. For example, <
Mixed speech also includes common Russian substitutions and additions either alongside or in place of other Tajik words such as obychnyi or prostoi instead of odati; morozheni instead of iakhmos; tualet instead of mabraz; and ser'ioznyi instead of dzhiddi.
Grammar
[edit]A very noticeable feature of Tajikistani Russian is the usage of Tajik auxiliary verbs kardan ('to do') and doshtan ('to have, to possess') in mixed speech. For example: zhdat' doshtan; uspet' kardan instead of rasida tavonistan; dogovorit'sia kardan instead of muvofikat khosil kardan; zavtrakat' kardan instead of nonishta kardan. Additionally, utiug kardan ('to iron') (Standard Russian]l: gladit'); telefon kardan ('to call (someone)') (Standard Russian: zvonit'); uborka kardan ('to clean') (Standard Russian: ubirat').
Calques are also a very frequent domain in the usage of Tajik(istani) Russian:
- The suffix -chi which creates nouns denoting the doers of an action, a name of a profession, or a person by their characteristics. For example: kolkhozchi to mean kolkhoznik ('collective farmer') in Standard Russian; traktorchi instead of traktorist to mean 'tractor driver'. Others include: taksichi/taksistchi instead of taksist; and avtomobilchi instead of avtomobilist.
- The suffix -dor, which creates a noun denoting an object possessing something or some quality. For example: kamerador meaning 'possessing a camera' in reference to a mobile telephone. In other varieties of Russian such as Kyrgyz Russian, the word sotka is used for a mobile phone whereas mobil'nik and mobil'nyi telefon are used more in Russia proper.
Phonology
[edit]Colloquial speech has retained almost all Russian borrowed elements (with the exception of words of purely Soviet semantics). Most borrowings, especially colloquial ones, change their phonetics and acquire a sound that is more suitable for the Tajik ear.
In most cases, this means, first of all,
A change of stress:
- kartoshka;
- maika
- leto
Loss of the soft sign ('):
- aprel;
- kontrol
- sel (tsel')
Change of the sound "ts" to the sound "s":
- sirk (tsirk)
- konsert (kontsert)
- sel (tsel')
Frequent replacement of the sound "A" with the sound "O":
- moshin (mashina)
The reduction of sound "Y" for the sound "I":
- vibor (vybor)
- vibit' (vybit')
- viezd (vyezd)
- pil (pyl')
Disappearance of the ending to zero:
- gazet (gazeta)
- zibr (zebra)
- konfet (konfeta)
- knig (kniga)
- slov (slovo)
Nevertheless, a number of words remain unchanged: mart, gazeta.[10]
Uzbekistani Russian
[edit]There are words commonly used in Uzbekistani Russian not frequently used in that of Russia: viloiat, lagan, khurdzhuk, khokim, iuzboshi, atola, kazy, dimliama.[11]
Various mixed phrases include: men khoroshiiman, devushkakhon, Ivan-aka, zakiaz-samsa.[11]
Other
[edit]Alaskan
[edit]Kodiak Russian and Ninilchik Russian, together known as Alaskan Russian, are two isolated dialects of Russian spoken in Alaska.
Canadian
[edit]Israeli
[edit]The Russian language in Israel, spoken by Russian repatriates, differs from the Russian language in Russia. Differences range from individual words (such as <
Vocabulary
[edit]Russian dialects usually preserve many archaic words and forms which dropped out of use or were replaced with Church Slavonic counterparts. In North Russian there are about 200 words of Uralic origin.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- Sussex, Roland; Cubberley, Paul (2006). "Dialects of Russian". The Slavic languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 521-526. ISBN 978-0-521-22315-7.
- ^ a b c Kamusella, Tomasz. (2018). Russian: A Monocentric or Pluricentric Language?. Colloquia Humanistica. 2018. 153-196. 10.11649/ch.2018.010.
- ^ Kuraszkiewicz, Wladyslaw (1963). Zarys dialektologii wschodnioslowianskiej z wyborem tekstow gwarowych (in Polish). Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. pp. 79-86.
- ^ Wiktionary: aida
- ^ Mlechko, Tatiana. "My khotim, chtoby tsentrostremitel'nye sily v razvitii russkogo iazyka byli sil'nee, chem tsentrobezhnye" (Interview). Interviewed by Boris Serov. Russkii mir.
- ^ "Recensamint 2004". Statistica MD. Statistics Office of Moldova. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Russkii iazyk v Respublike Armeniia: obshchestvennye funktsii, 2006, p. 21
- ^ "Russian Language To Get Official Status In Nagorno-Karabakh". Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ Zhuravleva, E. A. "Russkii iazyk v Kazakhstane: status, sfery ispol'zovaniia i osobennosti leksicheskoi sistemy". Ukrainskaia assotsiatsiia prepodavatelei russkogo iazyka i literatury. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ Slovar' "Iazyki russkikh gorodov". ABBYY Lingvo. ABBYY. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rakhim-zade, Karina. "Vzaimoproniknovenie russkogo i tadzhikskogo iazykov v razgovornoi rechi naseleniia Dushanbe". Studentlib.com. GOSUDARSTVENNYI INSTITUT RUSSKOGO IaZYKA imeni A.S.PUShKINA. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Druzhba uzbekskogo i russkogo iazykov: vzaimnye zaimstvovaniia". PrimaVista.ru. PrimaVista. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Gudbai, Foshkin!, Mikhail Nosonovskii, 12 avgusta 2017
- ^ Ovchinnikova, Irina & Yelenevskaya, Maria. (2015). The Transformation in Language and Culture of Russian-Speaking Israelis Reflected in the Free Association Sets, Read online