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…