Glosses in Russian Manuscripts

Glosses in Russian Manuscripts from the 11th to 18th Centuries by N.Zh. Shaimerdenova

The Aitmatov Academy translation of Prof. N. Zh. Shaimerdenova’s “Glossy kak fenomen teksta”. The work charts the appearance and evolution of glosses in Russian manuscripts from the beginning of Russian literacy in the eleventh century until the appearance of modern Russian in the early eighteenth. It not only systematizes glosses by origin, type and function, it demonstrates how they may be used both for the study of the history of the Russian language and how they open a window into the mind and outlook of former times. It charts the impact of linguistic influence from both the West and East on Russian and their impact on important issues such as synonym. Based on archival research, the work contains a wealth of information that will be of interest to Slavic linguists and historians and anyone interested in the fascinating evolution of the Russian language.