Formal substantivization in Russian

Abstract

Despite the fact that, the study of parts of speech in the Russian language has been conducted for more than two and a half centuries, attention to this topic has not weakened. Interest in the present stage of the development of linguistics is caused by the so-called transient phenomena in the sphere of parts of speech, i.e. transition of a word from one part of speech to another. Questions arise not only about the semantics, word-formation and general categories of similar words, but also about their particular grammatical features, the loss or acquisition of certain grammatical features. The relevance of the topic is due to the unresolved problem of interpreting the transition of words from different parts of speech to nouns, the need to refine the existing terminological synonymy in the grammar. The problem of the investigation consists in revealing the essence of formal substantiation, its difference from the actual substantivization (conversion), the relationship with the phenomenon of semantic word-formation. The aim of the research is to delineate the concepts of a noun, substantivization, formal substantivization, quasi-substantivization, conversion, the transition of words from one part of speech to another, grammatical homonymy, to show the relationship between grammar and word formation, the influence of semantic word formation on grammatical phenomena. The novelty of the study consists in the correction and refinement of a number of theoretical propositions related to the teaching of parts of speech in the Russian language, transitional phenomena in the sphere of nominal parts of speech, the study of the interrelation and interaction of word-formative and grammatical factors in language and speech.
The theoretical basis for the study was the work on grammar and word formation of M. V. Lomonosov, V. Vinogradov, V. A. Beloshapkov, E. A. Zemskaya, D. V. Sichinava, V. Markov, G. A. Nikolaev. The main significant results of the study include the following. It is noted that cases of formal substantiation include examples of the functioning of morphemes, words of different parts of speech, word combinations, and sentences in the position of the subject, object or an action. The role of the context in determining the semantics peculiarity and the grammatical status of such constructions is shown. The leading role of semantic word-formation in the phenomena of formal substantivization and proper substantivization was noted. Attention is drawn to the semantic and grammatical syncretism of elements of formal substantivization.