Formation of Russian grammar terminology: predlozhnyi padezh ‘prepositional case’

Abstract

Taking the term predlozhnyi padezh ‘prepositional case’ as an example, the paper shows the ways new terms for Russian grammar descriptions were coined in the 18th century. Pre-Lomonosov, 18th century grammars of Russian (by H. W. Ludolf, V. Adodurof, etc.) used Latin terms for the prepositional case: casus ablativus, casus narrativus, or casus objectivus. As of the mid-17th century, Polish grammars introduced the term casus localis (M. Gutthäter-Dobracki), while Russian grammars also continued to use skazatel’nyi ‘narrative case’, proposed earlier by M. Smotritsky (1619, Moscow edition 1648). Introduction of the modern predlozhnyi padezh used to be ascribed to M. Lomonosov’s Rossijskaja Grammatika [Russian Grammar] (1757). His earlier preliminary works, Materialy k rossijskoj grammatike [Materials for a Russian grammar] (1744–1757), however, mention a Latin term, casus praepositionis, probably traceable back to Minerva, sive de causis Latinae linguae (1587) by F. Sanchez (Spain) or to writings by Port-Royal grammarians. Thus the Russian predlozhnyi padezh may have emerged as a calque of this term to be perpetuated in grammatical descriptions in the wake of Lomonosov’s Grammar.The paper also considers another plausible though unprovable version, whereby Lomonosov may have formed the adjective predlozhnyi by suffi xation from predlog ‘preposition’ following the case-name formation pattern applied by Ju. Križanić, a Croatian Catholic missionary in Russia, in his treatise Gramatichno izkazaniye ob ruskom yeziku [A grammatical sketch of the Russian Language] (1666). Yet another possible source of the term was indicated by Prof. H. Keipert who believes Lomonosov could borrow it from I. Boediker’s Grundsätze der teutschen Sprache.