Reviewed by Peter Freeouf, Chiang Mai University
This detailed, densely packed reference grammar of contemporary standard Russian is appropriate for advanced students as well as for general readers and linguists looking for information about how Russian morphology and syntax are actually used. Numerous realistic example sentences that reflect contemporary life are provided to illustrate grammatical and syntactic points.
The introduction (xi–xii) is followed by a section on how to use the book (xiii–xiv) and a glossary of grammatical terms (xv–xx), which will be useful for those not familiar with basic linguistic terminology.
The grammar is divided into two parts: ‘Structures’ and ‘Functions.’ ‘Part A: Structures’ (3–255) has eleven chapters that cover the sounds and the writing system, word classes, inflectional morphology, and syntax. The spelling system and pronunciation as well as issues such as the standard transliteration used by the Library of Congress are presented in detail in Ch. 1, ‘Sounds and spelling’. Ch. 2, ‘Nouns’, discusses gender and provides reference lists and paradigm charts. Ch. 3 deals with nominal ‘Case’. Verb conjugations are the subject of Ch. 4, ‘Verbs’, and the topic of verb aspect is treated in detail in Ch. 5, ‘Aspects of the verb’. The following three chapters examine ‘Adjectives’ (Ch. 6), ‘Pronouns’ (Ch. 7), and ‘Numerals and other quantity words’ (Ch. 8). Ch. 9, ‘Uninflected parts of speech’, includes adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and sentence particles. ‘Word formation’ (Ch. 10) discusses the formation of nouns and adjectives as well as the usage and semantics of verb prefixes. The final chapter of the first part of the book, Ch. 11, examines agreement in the noun phrase as well as subject-verb agreement.
‘Part B: Functions’ (257–459) contains twelve chapters that deal with communicative functions and various syntactic topics of language usage. Ch. 12, ‘Establishing identity’, discusses the complex matter of Russian names, especially patronymics and surnames; ways of discussing a person’s age; asking and giving directions; postal addresses; official registration; nationality; occupation; and marital status. Ch. 13, ‘Establishing contact’, is on greetings, leave-taking, introductions, letter-writing, and talking on the telephone. The next two chapters, Chs. 14 and 15, cover expressions of ‘Being, becoming and possession’ and ‘Negation’. Ch. 16 provides a useful summary of the linguistic expression of attitude and opinion. Ch. 17 examines interrogative sentences of various types. Ch. 18 focuses on ‘Obligation, instructions, requests, advice and permission’. Ch. 19, ‘Using numbers; talking about times, dates and quantities’, is the functional counterpart to Ch. 8, ‘Numerals and other quantity words’. Ch. 20, ‘Focus and emphasis’, discusses word order, the use of active and passive verbs, and definiteness and indefiniteness. Ch. 21, ‘Establishing contexts and connections’, deals with expressing time and place at the phrase and clause level, conditions and concessions, and other adverbial clauses. Ch. 22 is on verbs of motion, a difficult and complex area of Russian grammar for English speakers. The final chapter, ‘Communication strategies’, deals with formal and informal language usage and discourse expressions. The book concludes with an index that lists topics in English (461–67) and a smaller number in Russian (467–69).
The division into structures and functions is an innovative approach that represents modern developments in second-language textbooks, hence the doubly appropriate use of the word modern in the title. This is a comprehensive reference grammar, which goes beyond traditional presentations of the complex morphology and syntax of Russian. It is excellent in every respect, up-to-date, and packed full of information in a very clear and reader-friendly format.