L503
Russian Word Formation
Fall, 1996
Instructor: George Fowler
Office: Ballantine 514
Hours: MW 10:00-11:30 am [tentative], or by appointment
Phone: office: BH 514
Email: gfowler@indiana.edu
PREREQUISITE
One previous course in the structure of Russian (either R403 or L501) and
graduate status in Slavic linguistics, or consent of instructor.
COURSE FORMAT
Seminar-style. Active participation and lively debate are required.
COURSE GOALS
1. Investigate the details of a linguistic description of Russian
derivational morphology, with particular emphasis on morphophonemics.
2. Consider the semantic potential of various word formation
processes.
3. Examine the ramifications of Russian word formation for general
linguistic (generative) approaches to derivational morphology.
4. Gain an idea of the potential and limitations of computers for
linguistic research in areas related to derivational morphology.
5. Although it is not an explicit goal for this course, it is a hoped-for
fringe benefit that increased sensitivity to word-formation processes
might enhance your passive Russian vocabulary.
REQUIREMENTS
1. One brief paper based on data collected through computer searches
of Zaliznjak (other sources by prior arrangement), 5 pages maximum, worth
33% of course grade.
2. Two brief papers, 5 pages maximum, one on form and one on content,
each worth 33% of course grade.
3. Attendance, participation, and involvement, nominally valued at 0% but
could affect borderline cases.
Several general lines of exploration suitable for papers are outlined below, and we will talk about this more in
class. All students are encouraged to talk with me while casting about
for something to write about.
COURSE MATERIALS
Various articles and book/dissertation excerpts, to be distributed as a
packet. Students will pay for these at the rate of $0.05/page (except for
papers by the instructor, which will be provided free of charge).
Students are expected already to own a copy of Charles Townsend's Russian
Word Formation; if not, it is available in the IU Bookstore as a textbook
for L501 and L403. Students will also receive about 100 pages of the
instructor's handouts. Students will use the computerized version of A.
A. Zaliznjak's Grammaticheskij
slovar' russkogo jazyka (CZ); there are copies on the computers
in BH 507, and anyone may make a copy for use during the course on his/her
own computer. Reference to the printed volume may be important for the
computer project; several copies are available from the instructor, in the
Armstrong Library, and in the IU Library.
We will have one hands-on demonstration session with the CZ materials, to
be scheduled shortly.
TOPICAL SYLLABUS
A. Introduction. (6 classes, 9/2-4; 9/9-11; 9/16-18)
Derivation vs. inflection. Morphology vs. other modules of grammar.
Practical survey of word-formation problems in Russian. Productivity.
Alternative approaches to derivational morphology. Computer applications
in the analysis of derivational morphology.
Readings (read assigned papers in this order, and front-load your reading
as far as possible): Charles Townsend, Russian Word Formation, 1-80;
N. A. Lykova, "O granicax mezhdu slovoizmeneniem, formoobrazovaniem i
slovoobrazovaniem v russkom jazyke"; Dean Worth, "Morfonologija
slavjanskogo slovoobrazovanija",
Stephen Anderson, "Where's Morphology?"
B. Formal Aspects of Russian Word Formation (16 classes)
1. The status of jers. Nature of the cycle and principles of Lexical
Phonology. (4 classes: 9/23-25; 9/30-10/2)
Readings: David Pesetsky, "Russian Morphology and Lexical Theory"
[extended excerpt]; "Morphology and Logical Form" [brief excerpt]; Paul
Kiparsky, "Lexical Morphology and Phonology"; Dean S. Worth, "Vowel- Zero
Alternations in Russian Derivation"; "On Cyclical Rules in
Derivational Morphophonemics"
2. Stress. Computer work with Zaliznjak on stress. (3 classes: 10/7-9;
10/14)
Reading: Janis Melvold, Structure and Stress in the Phonology of
Russian [Extended excerpt]
Assignment 1: Paper based on computer project due Monday 10/14.
3. Truncation. (1 class: 10/16)
Reading: Bill J. Darden, "Truncation and/or Transderivational Constraints
in Russian Word Formation"
4. Derived imperfectives. (1 class: 10/21)
Reading: Michael Flier, "The Glide Shift in Russian"
5. The status of morphological units (one suffix or two?; prefix vs.
combining form; superimposition; use of zero in analysis). (4 classes:
10/23; 10/28-30; 11/4)
Readings: E. I. Litnevskaja, "Aggljutinacija i fuzija na morfemnom shve v
sovremennom russkom jazyke"; E. A. Grigorjan, "Principy klassifikacii
suffiksoidov (na materiale slozhnyx sushchestvitel'nyx s kornjami glagolov
dvizhenija v opornom komponente)"; Dean S. Worth, "O roli abstraktnyx
edinic v russkoj morfonologii"; N. A. Janko-Trinickaja, "Mezhduslovnoe
nalozhenie"; Dean S. Worth, "The Notion of 'Stem' in Russian Flexion and
Derivation"; Edward Stankiewicz, "The Interdependence of Paradigmatic and
Derivational Patterns"
6. Word-internal syntax. (3 classes: 11/6; 11/11-13)
Readings: George Fowler, "Word-Internal Case Assignment in Russian";
"Phrasal Input to Derivational Morphology in Slavic"; "A Syntactic Account
of Derivational -sja in Russian"; "An Articulated Theory of Aspect and
Prefixation in Russian"
Assignment 2: Paper on formal word formation due Monday 11/11.
C. Content: Semantics and Function
1. Verb Formation: Prefixation and invariant semantics. (3 classes:
11/18-20; 11/25)
Readings: Michael Flier, "Remarks on Russian Verbal Prefixation";
"Syntagmatic Constraints on the Russian Prefix pere-"; "The Scope of
Prefixal Delimitation in Russian"; Laura Janda "The Meanings of Russian
Verbal Prefixes: Semantics and Grammar"
2. Noun Formation: Diminutive suffixation and discursive semantics. (3
classes: 12/2-4; 12/9)
Readings: Anna Wierzbicka, Semantics, Culture, and Cognition:
Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations.
[Extended excerpts: 47-59, 66-75, 188-91, 166-74, ch. 7 (225-307), ch. 12
(395-441)]
D. Conclusion: Other directions in the linguistic study of Russian word
formation. (1 class: 12/11)
Assignment 3: Paper on semantics of word formation due Thursday 12/19.
POSSIBLE TOPICS/AREAS FOR PAPERS
Bear in mind that these are limited, 5-page papers. Of course, some
topics can be handled in more or less detail, from this kind of brief
paper up to a whole book. Nonetheless, you will be better served if you
make sure you pick a very finite topic. There are many, many
possibilities; this survey might help you get your mind in gear at the
very beginning. I will insist that you come talk with me before settling
on a topic for each paper. There might be ways to relate all three papers
if you are heavily interested in one particular word formation phenomenon;
this would need to be discussed in detail.
.
What is a computer good for? It can find all examples of something
specific, but it cannot contribute intellectually the resolution of any
problem. The key to finding a computer topic is to identify a question
whose resolution would be aided by identifying all examples of some finite
phenomenon (a particular type of stress, sequence of sounds, etc.). Let
me give you a couple of examples. 1) Suppose you notice that many nouns
in -nik also correspond to adjectives in -nyj (e.g., rasputnik 'libertine'
~ rasputnyj 'debauched, dissolute'); moreover, alongside -nik you find
personal nouns in -ik (frontovik 'soldier at the front', starik 'old man',
etc.), as well as nouns in -shchik and -chik. The question is, could you
segment -nik into -n(yj) + -ik? You could use the computer to find and
compare all the relevant examples. You then have to analyze them to see
what, if anything, you can determine from the data.
2) The nominal suffix -ota occurs in words with three distinct types of
stress: stress on the root (pAxota 'plowing'; this stress is unusual),
stress on the first syllable of the suffix (dremOta 'drowsiness'), and
stress on the desinence (teplotA 'warmth'); the last two are both quite
common (there are even a couple of minimal pairs). You could identify all
examples of each stress type, along with related words, and attempt to
figure out what, if any, morphological characteristics of the "motivating"
words or roots might be correlated with the stress distinction.
.
A number of topics should suggest themselves from our readings in this
course, as well as in-class discussions. Stress is always a major topic;
you could look for unusual stress patterns in word formation and attempt
to explain them. You could look for undiscussed examples which either
obey or violate Pesetsky's level-ordering generalizations or his analysis
of jers. You could argue a position on the issue of homophony in word
formation; for example, the suffix -ka derives diminutives (tetka), more
or less unmarked female equivalents to masculine nouns (studentka), and
deverbal process/result nouns (proverka). One suffix, two, or three? You
could investigate this on the formal level, attempting to find a
principled basis for resolving that issue (similarities or differences in
the formal properties of words formed with this or other suffixes). You
could look at hardening in verbal suffixation (zabrosit' -> zabrosat'),
and classify the types of verbs in which it can/must occur, looking always
for pertinent generalizations. You could compare parallel processes in
Russian and another Slavic language, relating the differences to other
distinctions in the respective grammatical structures.
SEMANTIC/CONTENT MORPHOLOGY
.
You could attempt to extend Flier's or Janda's semantic methodology to
some other verbal prefix(es) (this is not as easy as it might sound); or
you could contrast it with another type of approach to the same prefixes.
You could extend Wierzbicka's methodology to some completely different
kind of phenomenon, beyond the limited realm discussed in the excerpts
from her book. (In this case, you should look at some of her other work
on semantics apart from word formation.) You could examine the semantics
of relational vs. qualitative adjectives, and attempt to explain
borderline cases. You could pick one suffix and examine its semantic
range, with a view toward deciding if there is a semantic invariant or
not.
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