Article

Name: Adverbs in -o with the semantics of “secrecy of action” in the Russian language history

Authors: Evgeny Yu. Sharikhin

St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract:

The paper examines the history of adverbs of manner in -o conveying the semantics of secrecy and confidentiality of action. These adverbs have Russian and borrowed roots denoting a room or space in a house or public place: zakulisno (behind the scenes), kabinetno (in the office), keleyno (secretly), komnatno (roomly), kuluarno (behind the scenes), podpol’no (underground) and others. The process of formation of the vocabulary concerned is considered, with a focus on its word formation and semantic features (extension of the semantics from direct to figurative meaning). The analysis of the adverbs has revealed them to have been derived from both qualitative and relative adjectives. Meanwhile, one meaning acquired over time is invariably a qualitative or qualitative-relative meaning. The semantics of adverbs derived from relative adjectives tend to align with the qualitative meaning of the adjective. In some rare cases, however, they may develop a new qualitative meaning that is not explicitly listed in dictionaries. The meaning of adverbial vocabulary is chiefly influenced by the meaning of the motivating words, resulting in the derived words having more abstract semantics than the base words. In addition, attention is given to the current state of the adverbs under study. The paper shows the preservation of synonymic relations between some adverbs in the modern Russian language and their widespread use in certain genres. However, some are extremely rare in the language. The usages are revealed in fiction and memoirs, suggesting the writers’ greater freedom to integrate their authors’ vocabulary in their works.

Keywords: Russian language, historical lexicology and word formation, semantics, adverb

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