Implied but not stated: Condensation in colloquial Russian
by Mark T. Hooker
Category: Foreign Language Study

The approach used in this course is predicated on the perception that non-native students normally begin their studies of the language with Codified Standard Russian (CSR) [i.e. the way that Russians write, not the way they talk]. Therefore, Colloquial Russian (CR) is presented as a modification of CSR with which the student is already familiar. The course shows how CSR constructions are changed into colloquial constructions by the "omission" of elements from the CSR constructions. To a native speaker the omitted elements are implied by the remaining portion of the construction, but to a non-native student of the language these "missing" elements are a great source of confusion. The course presents a series of models to help the non-native student "reconstruct" more familiar CSR constructions from condensed colloquial variants. The models rely on the concept of syntactic zero (0). It is used in the models just like zero is used in mathematics, as a place holder. It marks the place of the omitted part of a large linguistic unit that has been condensed. The use of syntactic zero (0) is most easily demonstrated in a term, a large linguistic unit that conforms to the model [modifier + noun]. In CSR both elements of the model are necessary to carry the meaning of the term, but in CR it is possible to reduce one of the elements to 0, leaving the other to carry the full meaning of the term. In CR the modifier [(modifier > 0) + noun] or the noun [modifier + (noun > 0)] can be reduced to syntactic zero to form a condensed term. For example: the CSR complex term ñàõàðíûé ïåñîê--granulated sugar--can be reduced to the CR condensed term 0 ïåñîê, or the CSR complex term ñáîðíàß êîìàíäà--all-star team--can be reduced to the CR condensed term êîìàíäà 0, or the CSR complex term èòåðàòóðíàß ãàçåòà--Literary Gazette--can be reduced to the CR condensed term èòåðàòóðêà 0, or the CSR complex term íî÷íàß ëàìïî÷êà--night light--can be reduced to the CR condensed term íî÷íèê 0. (Please set your browser to Apple Standard Cyrillic to read the Russian text above.) The course begins with a study of the terms from which one or more elements have been "omitted" and progresses to the omission of elements from verb frames and fixed expressions, concluding with a survey of asyndetic constructions and contractions. The extensive index to condensates (pp. 259-275) makes the book useful as a reference work. The keys to the exercises (pp. 223-258) make it possible to use the book for self-study.