Graphophonetic Analysis of Consonants Based on Russian-Kalmyk Dictionary by Anonymous Author of 18th Century

Abstract

The article deals with analysis of graphophonetic peculiarities of consonants on the basis of Russian-Kalmyk Dictionary by anonymous author of 18th century. The dictionary, built in 18th century, consists of 2,988 entries, arranged in alphabetical order. A dictionary entry is comprised of three elements: an entry word in Russian, its equivalent in Kalmyk in Russian notation with elements of 18th century orthography, and the Kalmyk word written in old Kalmyk notation. Nominal and auxiliary parts of speech are given in their initial forms. Verbs of both languages are arranged according to their 1st person singular form, even if the verb is not used in that form. Of special interest are both Kalmyk words in Zaya Pandita’s script, and Kalmyk words in Russian transcription. The system of notation, reflecting the sounds of the Kalmyk language, has a series of peculiar features: 1) the transcription utilizes accent marks - acute accent (´) and grave accent (`), 2) the quantity of a vowel is sometimes presented through gemination, 3) the author uses special graphic characters for rendering the graphemes of the old written Kalmyk language by means of Russian alphabet to denote the sounds that are not common for the Russian language. Thе dictionary is of special value as it illustrates both the orthography and the orthoepy of the Kalmyk language within the indicated period. The dictionary presents the colloquial Kalmyk speech of the 18th century, while the transliteration and occasionally even the transcription of certain headwords are of great interest for studying phonetic changes in the Kalmyk language.