Russian in the 1740s - Paperback

by Thomas Rosén (Author)

During the 1740s, literate Russians mostly kept to traditional forms of written language. Although the linguistic reforms undertaken by Peter the Great earlier in the century affected printed secular texts and the imperial administration, these reforms were less radical than often assumed. This study draws conclusions based on an analysis that differs from earlier ones. First of all, the study examines the Russian language during a comparatively little-known decade of the eighteenth century. In doing so, it takes into account not only strictly linguistic data, but also developments in Russian society. Second, the investigation analyzes sources that are seldom valued for their linguistic content, thus offering a broader perspective on the Russian language of the period.

Author Biography

Thomas Rosén holds a PhD in Slavic linguistics from Uppsala University, Sweden. Most of his work has been in medieval and early modern historical linguistics. He is currently teaching Russian and Ukrainian at the University of Gothenburg. His pedagogical experience also includes Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Albanian, and Slavic historical linguistics.