Criteria for writing compound nouns (contact-hyphen) in modern Russian orthography

Kaverina Valeriia ORCID: 0000-0003-2788-7804 Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of the Russian Language, Faculty of Philology, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov 117149, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie gory,1 building 51 kaverina1@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Van Imin Postgraduate Student, Department of the Russian Language, Faculty of Philology, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1-51, office 962 klaralera1@yandex.ru

The modern stage of spelling normalization is characterized by the absence of a single generally accepted set of rules. Indeed, the "Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation" have been outdated, but have not yet been canceled. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, M-vom higher. education of the USSR and the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR. Moscow: Uchpedgiz, 1956 (Rules 1956). Published in 2006 under the stamp of the Spelling Commission at the Department of Historical and Philological Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the work "Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation. The Complete Academic Handbook" Edited by V. V. Lopatin. M.: Eksmo, 2006 (PAS 2006) contains updated rules, but does not have the official status of a publication regulating the norms of the state language. In the newest electronic resource of OROSS "Spelling commentary of the Russian dictionary" by E. V. Beshenkova, O. E. Ivanova, E. V. Tenkova on the website at the URL: https://oross.ruslang.ru / (accessed: 10.06.2023) the rules of PAS 2006 have been adjusted, but it also does not have an official status. In addition, D. E. Rosenthal's books continue to be reprinted and enjoy the authority, for example: D. E. Rosenthal Handbook of Spelling and Literary Editing. Edited by I. B. Golub. M.: Iris-press, 2020. This situation of orthological uncertainty further complicates the clarification of an already difficult rule.

Interest in the spelling of compound words arose in the 1930s ^[24], which is explained by the development of the language in Soviet society, in particular the rapid growth of the variety of structural types of compound words that required spelling regulation. So, there are complex nouns denoting units of measurement such as man-day, there is great productivity in complex adjectives such as machine-tractor, Marxist-Leninist, etc. The absence until the mid-1950s of a single set of spelling rules created difficulties for schools, book publishing and all writers in general. Russian Russian Spelling and Punctuation Rules of 1956 became an important result of the spelling movement and discussions of the 1930s and 1950s. It was the first officially approved document in the history of post-reform Russian orthography, which has the status of mandatory for all users of the Russian language, approved by the Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR and the Ministry of Higher Education. However, more than half a century has passed since the mid-1950s, there have been huge language changes that require codification. However, to date, there has not been an officially recognized updated set of modern rules of Russian writing.

The problem of differentiation of merged and hyphenated spellings of complex nouns considered in the article is one of the most relevant in modern orthography. It is touched upon in the works of such researchers and orthologists as E. V. Beshenkova, O. E. Ivanova ^[1-5], Van Imin ^[6], N. A. Eskova ^{[7; 8]}, S. N. Zaitseva ^[9], E. A. Zyuzina ^[10], V. V. Kaverina ^[11], E. M. Melnikova, A. S. Tomina ^[12], I. V. Nechaeva ^[13], N. V. Pertsov ^[14], E. P. Snegova ^[15].

 The orthogram under study still retains extreme inconsistency and disorder, despite constant reference to it over the past century, for example, in the works of B. Z. Bukchina, L. P. Kalakutskaya ^[16], V. F. Ivanova ^[17], S. E. Kryuchkov ^[18], M. V. Panov ^[19], A. A. Reformed ^{[20; 21]}, V. E. Staltman ^[22], A. B. Shapiro ^[23]. In order to identify the causes of this state of affairs, we have systematized the rules of spelling of complex nouns in accordance with the criteria underlying them. The research was carried out using the following methods and techniques: methods of linguistic analysis — morphemic, word-formation, morphological, syntactic, semantic; inductive method of material analysis, method of linguocultural analysis, as well as methods of directed sampling from orthological sources and illustrative material, the method of extralinguistic interpretation of language facts.

Analysis of the Rules of 1956 (Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation: Approved Academy of Sciences of the USSR, M-vom higher. education of the USSR and the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR. Moscow: Uchpedgiz, 1956. pp. 36-40) shows that the spelling of complex nouns in them is based on various criteria:

1. Graphic

1.1. Written with a hyphen ... Complex words, the first element of which is a numeral, if this numeral is written in numbers, for example: 35th anniversary.

1.2. Written with a hyphen… Special terms and names, including abbreviations, which include a separate letter of the alphabet, for example ?-rays (beta-rays), or a numeral written in numbers and standing in second place, for example TU-104.

1.3. They are written with a hyphen ... Half- (half) followed by the genitive case of the noun, if the noun begins with a vowel letter or a consonant l, for example: half a turn, half an apple, half a lemon, but: half a meter, half an hour, half a room; combinations of half- followed by a proper name are also written with a hyphen for example: half of Moscow, half of Europe.

2. Morphemic-word-formation

2.1. Written together… All compound words, for example: collective farm, destroyer, trade union.

2.2. Written together… Complex nouns formed with the help of connecting vowels... water supply, farmer, flax harvesting, steam locomotive repair.

3. Morphological

3.1. Written together… Complex nouns, adjectives and adverbs, the first element of which is a numeral written in letters, for example: five-year plan, three-tone.

3.2. Written together… Declinable compound nouns with the verb first part on -and, for example: goritsvet, derzhiderevo, derzhimorda, vertisheyka, vertikhvostka, hoarder, daredevil.

3.3. Written with a hyphen… Combinations of words that have the meaning of nouns, if such combinations include: a) a verb in a personal form, for example: don't-touch-me (plant), love-don't-love (flower); b) a union, for example: ivan-da-mary (plant); c) a preposition, for example: Rostov-on-Don, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Frankfurt-on-Main.

4. Word-formation and morphological

They are written with a hyphen ... Complex nouns that have the meaning of one word and consist of two independently used nouns connected without the help of connecting vowels o and e, for example:

a) firebird, boy-baba, diesel engine, cafe-restaurant, prime minister, major General, Buryat-Mongolia (when declension changes only the second noun);

b) hut-reading room, purchase and sale, good boy, saw-fish, Moscow river (both nouns change with declension).

5. Semantic

5.1. Written with a hyphen… Composite names of political parties and trends, as well as their supporters, for example: social democracy, anarcho-syndicalism, social democrat, anarcho-syndicalist.

5.2. Written with a hyphen ... Complex units of measurement, regardless of whether they are formed with or without connecting vowels, for example: man-day, ton-kilometer, kilowatt-hour. The word workday is written together.

5.3. Written with a hyphen… Names of intermediate countries of the world, Russian and foreign, for example: northeast, etc., Northeast, etc.

6. List

6.1. All formations are written together... with aero-, avia-, auto-, moto-, bicycle-, cinema-, photo-, stereo-, meteorological-, electro-, hydro-, agro-, zoo-, bio-, micro-, macro-, neo-, for example: airport, aviamatka, motor rally, motorcycle racing, velodrome, film director, photo report, stereo tube, weather report, electric motor, hydraulic structures, agricultural machinery, zootechnic, biostation, micro-reduction, macroworld, neo-lamarckism, bicycle racing, aerial photography.

6.2. Names of cities, the second component of which is -city or -city, for example: Leningrad, Kaliningrad, Belgorod, Uzhgorod, Ivangorod.

The analysis of the formulations of the 1956 code shows that the spelling of complex nouns is based on a number of diverse principles that can be divided into formal and semantic. The formal principle takes into account the structure of the word, the presence or absence of a connecting vowel, grammatical categories of words that make up a complex noun. In our code, graphic, morpheme-word-formation and morphological spellings are based on this basis (paragraphs 1-4). Despite the lack of clarity and uniformity of formulations based on these criteria, they seem to us the only acceptable rules for using in the practice of writing without the help of a dictionary.

Graphic rules 1 (35th anniversary) and 2 (?-rays) describing alphanumeric and other mixed ways of transmitting complex words are intuitive and practically do not suggest alternatives. The orthogram regulating the spelling of formations with the initial gender is also logical, although it can be simplified, because after the abolition of the final b by the reform of 1917-1918, the grounds for distinguishing between merged and hyphenated spellings with the initial gender were lost. Conclusions can be drawn about this from the analysis of the pre-reform rule, which is made by Ya. K. Groth: "For the formation of compound utterances, the numerals are also connected with each other, then with nouns or adjectives: one and a half, half a year, half a dozen, fifty, half an hour ... Before nouns beginning with a vowel, you should write half with a dash, for example: half-turnover; in addition: half a sheet" ^[25]. As can be seen, the elimination of the letter b separating a complex word leads to the loss of the basis for the hyphenation of formations with the second part on the vowel and L. However, the rule traditionally remains unchanged.

Morpheme-word–formation rules (collective farm, water supply) can also be easily applied by the writer, since they do not involve a complex analysis of the composition of the word and correspond to the basic patterns of distribution of the border design "contact-hyphen".

Morphological rules are somewhat less convenient, the application of which requires knowledge of grammar. However, even in comparison with them, semantic and list rules do not stand up to criticism at all, the formulations of which are extremely inconvenient for memorization and use. The semantic criterion, which runs counter to the formal one, is often violated in practice: "Many complex nouns ... in modern usage are written together contrary to the current rules. So, in the NKRYA after 1956, not a single case of hyphenated spelling of the word machine-place was found, the word is written only together: parking place" ^{[6, p. 373]}. By the way, this is the spelling that the Word text editor considers correct. In addition, the semantic principle is subjective. The author of the manual or the writer himself chooses one or another component of the meaning, which forms the basis for explaining the spelling of the word. In our opinion, the formal principle is preferable to the semantic one in most cases. It structures the rule, makes it more compact, easier to understand and, most importantly, does not imply an ambiguous interpretation.

The variety of grounds for distinguishing between merged and semi-merged spellings made the rule difficult to perceive and apply. At the same time, as expected, the same compound word can be regulated by different points of the rule. The variety of spelling motivations of complex nouns is striking. The minimum number of options for explaining the spelling of such words is three (water supply, farmer, gram atom), the maximum is ten (airport, cosmonaut, press attache) ^{[11, p. 286]}.

  Let's illustrate this situation by the example of the word press attache, who in various reference and educational publications revealed 10 variants of explaining the hyphenated spelling.

  1. The first part of the word block-, press-, ex-, vice-, staff-, chief-, non-commissioned officer-, life- (Ivanova E. V., Ivanov A. N. Russian without a tutor: Spelling. Punctuation. Exercises. Dictation. Answers. M.: Higher School, 2002). This explanation is based on the list criteria for the presence of a certain element in the composition of the word. With this explanation, the word press attache is included in the same group with the words block system, press center, non-commissioned officer, ex-president, deputy prime minister. Obviously, the words of this group do not have a common meaning.

  2. The presence of elements of the block, press (Rosenthal D. E. Handbook of spelling and literary editing. Edited by I. B. Golub. M.: Iris-press, 2020; Gromov S. A. Russian language. Practical literacy course for high school students and applicants. Moscow: Moscow Lyceum, 2022). In this case, the list criterion is used again, but the word press attache, unlike the previous wording, is combined only with the words block system, press center.

  3. Designation of a complex unit of measurement, political party or direction, position, title, intermediate country of the world, special concepts (Selezneva L. B. Spelling and punctuation of the Russian language. Three ways to write without errors. Textbook. Moscow: Flint, 2023). This explanation is based on a semantic feature, but the word press attache here is surrounded by a very heterogeneous number of entities in semantic terms: man-day, social Democrat, corresponding member, lieutenant general, southwest, diesel engine.

  4. Names of mechanisms, words of terminological nature (Gestereva E. V., Sterina E. I. Russian: textbook. M.: University textbook, 2011). Here the press attache turns out to be together with the words stopcock, raincoat tent, prime Minister, press conference, social Democrat, which, although grouped on a semantic basis, are too heterogeneous, besides the terminological nature of some of them is questionable.

  5. Names of parties, political movements, their supporters, positions, titles (Balykhina T. M., Maerova K. V., Shaklein V. M. Workshop on modern Russian orthography. Moscow: Publishing House of RUDN, 1999). This explanation is based on a semantic feature, and the lexeme of the press attache is included in the same group with the words rear admiral, vice champion, social Democrat.

  6. Formation without a connecting vowel of two independently used nouns (Panov M. V., Kuzmina S. M., Bulatova L. N., etc. Russian language. 6th grade: studies. for general education. institutions/ edited by Dr. Phil. sciences, prof. M. V. Panov. M.: Russian Word, 2013). This explanation is based on the feature of word formation without a connecting vowel and the morphological characteristics of parts of a complex noun. With this explanation, the word press attache appears together with the formations firebird, diesel engine, prime minister, Marxism-Leninism, raincoat-tent.

  7. Education with zero interference (Shevchenko L. A., Pipchenko N. M. Russian. For schoolchildren and applicants. Minsk: Higher School, 2008). Complex nouns of this group: firebird, cafe-restaurant, Marxism-Leninism, prime minister - are combined with the word press attache by morpheme-word—formation criterion.

  8. The first part of the form can be identified with the truncated basis of a self-used noun or adjective (Selezneva L. B. Russian spelling and punctuation. Intensive algorithmized course: A manual for university applicants. Moscow: Higher School, 2003). The criterion applied here, with some assumption, can be defined as morphemic-word-formation in combination with morphological. In this case, the press attache is in a row with the words audience hall, ordinary doctor, CD, commercial college, conference hall, press attache, private associate professor, justice college.

  9. The first part is the complete basis of an independently used noun that has a non-zero ending in it (Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation. A complete academic reference. Edited by V. V. Lopatin. M.: Eksmo, 2006). This formulation is based on morphemic-word-formation and morphological principles. At the same time, the press attache is surrounded by the words admiralty board, cabin company, manufactory board, post director, press attache, yacht club.

  10. Combinations with a prepositive appendix and an incoherent main word (Beshenkova E. V., Ivanova O. E. Rules of Russian spelling with comments. Study guide. Tambov: TOGOAU DPO "Institute of Advanced Training of Education workers", 2012). In this case, our word turns out to be together with a mezzo-soprano, a bard cafe, a rock cafe, a design bureau, a fire show (and other words with the second part -a show), a ballet revue. Here 3 criteria interact at once: morphemic-word-formation, morphological and syntactic.

  As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the options for explaining the spelling of the word press attache are based not only on the grounds listed in the 1956 Rules, but also on some others. It follows from this that the authors of reference books and manuals are not satisfied with these rules, therefore, the criteria proposed in the official code are supplemented by the syntactic principle. It should be noted that in the 1956 Rules regarding formations of the press attache type, it is said very simply: "The spelling of composite and hyphenated complex foreign words is set in dictionary order" (Rules 1956, p. 35). However, nearby we find several points where extremely unsuccessful formulations of the spelling rules for such words are given on the basis of semantic and list criteria. Here is just one of them: "Words, the first component of which are the foreign-language elements of the chief, non-commissioned officer, life, staff, vice, ex-, for example: chief master, non-commissioned officer, life medic, headquarters, vice president, ex-champion ... they are written with a hyphen" (Rules 1956, p. 40). Obviously, the official set of rules of 1956 contains a contradiction, which gives rise to further attempts to justify the spelling of dictionary words.

The complete academic handbook "Rules of Russian spelling and punctuation" 2006 (PAS 2006). reflects the norms fixed in the Rules of 1956, while supplementing and clarifying the rules taking into account modern writing practice. However, this publication has not received official recognition as a normative set of rules. In addition, it does not solve the problem of creating publicly available basic spelling rules for complex nouns. The first thing that attracts attention is the scope of the rule. In the 1956 code, the general provisions and specific norms of the combined and hyphenated spelling of nouns occupy only 6 pages. Meanwhile, in PAS 2006, 5 pages contain only general rules for the design of "contact–hyphen–space" for all parts of speech. And another 13 pages are devoted to codifying the spelling of complex nouns, including common names, proper names and geographical names.

Unfortunately, the updated PAS 2006 is not devoid of contradictions of its original source — the 1956 Rules. Different criteria for the combined and semi-combined design of complex words are still used, only the formulations have become even more cumbersome and difficult to understand. Thus, the list principle of codification of the merged design of words with initial foreign-language elements is preserved, while their list is significantly expanded:

— auto-, agro-, astro-, audi-, aero, baro-, benzo-, bio-, velo-, vibro, video, hecto-, helio-, geo-, hetero-, hydro-, homo-, dendro-, zoo-, iso- ("equal, permanent"), kilo-, cinema-, cosmo-, macro-, meteo-, micro-, mono-, moto-, neuro-, neuro-, neo-, ortho-, paleo-, pyro-, pneumo-, porn-, psycho-, radio-, retro-, seismic-, socio-, spectro-, stereo-, thermo-, turbo-, phyto-, phono-, photo-, evaco-, exo-, eco-, electro-, endo-, energy- (with final o);

  — avia-, deca-, mega-, media-, tetra-; tele-; deci-, milli-, poly-, santi- (with finite a, e, and).

In addition, PAS 2006 regulates the hyphenated spelling of "words with the first parts of disco, maxi, midi, mini: disco club, disco music, maxi fashion, midi skirt, mini dress, mini tractor, mini football, mini computer" (PAS 2006, p. 124). The inconsistency of the rules of this code is evidenced, along with the hyphenated design of minicomputers codified on p. 124, by the recommendation on p. 118 of PAS 2006 to write the formation of microcomputers together, contrary to the general prohibition on the use of capital letters in the middle of fused words.

  PAS 2006 pays special attention to borrowed words, the spelling of which is established in the dictionary order. The more strange is the desire of the authors of the handbook to formulate the rules of their combined and semi-combined design. So, on pp. 126-127 here "groups of nouns of similar structure are given, written both hyphenated and together":

  «1. Compound nouns, the first part of which in form can be identified a) with the full basis of an independently used noun having a singular ending in the nominative case (non-zero); b) with a truncated basis of an independently used noun or adjective. Examples of hyphenated spellings: a) admiralty board, cabin company, manufactory board, post director, press attache, yacht club; b) audience hall, ordinary doctor, CD, commercial board, conference room, hi-docent, justice board. Examples of merged spellings: a) vakhtparad, sextaccord, septaccord; b) dance hall, bulwark.

  2. Compound nouns, the first part of which occurs only as part of compound words.

  Examples of hyphenated spelling: art salon, beat group, berg college, braid pennant, web page, grand hotel, Dalai Lama, dance hall, kruis bearing, lawn tennis, music hall, pop music, subaltern officer, top model, tryn-grass.

  Examples of merged spellings: arcsinus, rear stage, mezzanine, bildapparat, bundeskanzler, watermachine, uniform, marshal, quintessence, cold cream, kunstkamera, leitmotif, landlord, Reich chancellor, field marshal, schmutztitul.

  3. Nouns consisting of two or more elements, which are not used separately in the Russian language (as independent or repetitive parts of compound words).

  Examples of hyphenated spellings: alma mater, bef-breze, boogie-woogie, jiu-jitsu, Coca-Cola, lend-lease, kebab, know-how, papier-mache, ping-pong, Turkish delight, tete-a-tete, weekend, fife-o-clock, fata morgana, happy ending, cha-cha-cha.

  Examples of merged spellings: underground (and underground), rearguard, bel Canto, beef Stroganoff, Bibabo, Blancmange, Beau Monde, Bonmo, Bundestag, verliebre, prodigy, judo, dixieland, ginseng, quiproquo, kickapoo, crossword, Landwehr, meistersinger, maitre d', notabene, sedan chair, price list, tom-tom, theremin, backgammon, orange blossom, hula hoop, chainword, sharivari" (PAS 2006, pp. 126-127).

The above fragment vividly illustrates the idea that this work is not suitable for the role of a mandatory spelling minimum available to anyone writing in Russian.

The latest electronic resource OROSS is also distinguished by excessive detail and variety of criteria (Beshenkova E. V., Ivanova O. E., Tenkova E. V. Spelling commentary of the Russian dictionary. URL: https://oross.ruslang.ru / (accessed: 10.06.2023). Here is a list of rules for the fused and semi-fused design of complex nouns from this resource:

Rule 1. The first part is foreign, ends in a vowel and is not used independently (avia, santi, tele)

Rule 2. The first part ends in a consonant and is not used independently (backing vocals, backslash)

Rule 3. Both parts are used independently, the second part is inclined (sofa bed, agent-bank)

Rule 4. Both parts are used independently, the second part is the definition, does not incline (coffee glace, x value)

Rule 5. Both parts are used independently: the second part is definable, does not incline (ballet revue, reality show)

Rule 6. The first part is used independently, the second part is not used independently (bodybuilding, tatumaker)

Rule 7. The first part is the proper name (Ivan Tsarevich, Moscow River)

Rule 8. The second part is the proper name (Tsarevich Ivan, the Moscow River)

Rule 9. Derivatives of nouns written with a hyphen (non-commissioned officer, hard rock band)

Rule 10. Complex nouns that have the form of a phrase with a service word (Ivan-da-marya)

Rule 11. Compound substantive adjectives (prisoner of war)

Rule 12. The first part coincides with the form of the imperative mood of the verb (kosiseno).

This list demonstrates almost a greater variety of spelling criteria for complex nouns than the Rules of 1956. The syntactic principle has been added to the 6 positions present there, discussed in detail above.

Russian Russian spelling rules, starting from the Rules of 1956 that have not been canceled up to now and up to the newest electronic resource "Spelling Commentary of the Russian Dictionary", do not meet the main requirement for a publicly available basic set of rules — the requirement of brevity, clarity and ease of application. Having systematized the modern rules of spelling complex nouns in accordance with the criteria underlying them, we found an extreme inconsistency in the codification of these norms, originating in the Rules of 1956 and, unfortunately, receiving further development in modern reference and educational literature. The updated wording only gets more complicated. Russian Russian spelling rules should include a section regulating merged, separate and hyphenated spellings, however, the set of basic rules should set out only those norms that reflect the basic laws of Russian spelling and will help everyone to master literate writing. These rules will form the basis of the school curriculum, their possession is subject to control at the completion of various stages of training, as well as when entering the civil service. Therefore, it is not necessary to try to formulate spelling rules for vocabulary words, especially rare ones that are not included in the active vocabulary of an ordinary native speaker. This complicates the understanding of the system of norms necessary to comprehend the harmony and beauty of our language and its worthy attire — Russian spelling.