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PUNCTUATION MARKS IN THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AND THEIR MEANING
Toychieva N.S.,
Tkebuchava I.G.
Associate Professors of the Sh. Rashidov Samara State University,
Philological Faculty, Inter-Faculty Department of the Russian Language:
Abstract:
Punctuation is very important in linguistics for correct and clear reading and
understanding of the text. They reveal the meaning of sentences, determine the connections
between words and phrases, provide the correct structure of the text and ultimately help the
reader or listener to clearly convey the idea. The article contains information about some
punctuation marks used in the Russian language, their history and use.
Keywords:
Punctuation, period (.), comma (,), question marks (?), exclamation marks (!),
quotation marks («»), colon (:), dash –, brackets (()).
ЗНАКИ ПРЕПИНАНИЯ В РУССКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ И ИХ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ
Доценты СамГУ им.Ш.Рашидова,
Филологического факультета меж факультетской кафедры русского языка:
Тойчиева Н.С., Ткебучава И.Г.
Аннотация:
Пунктуация очень важна в лингвистике для правильного и ясного чтения и
понимания текста. Они раскрывают смысл предложений, определяют связи между
словами и фразами, обеспечивают правильную структуру текста и в конечном итоге
помогают читателю или слушателю четко донести мысль. В статье содержится
информация о некоторых знаках препинания, действующих в русском языке, их истории и
использовании.
Ключевые слова:
Пунктуация, точка (.), запятая (,), вопросительные знаки (?),
восклицательные знаки (!), кавычки («»), двоеточие (:), тире́ -, скобки (()).
Punctuation marks in Russian, that is, punctuation marks, are very important for clear and fluent
reading of the text. Punctuation marks make it easier to structure sentences, express thoughts and
emotions. Below are some examples.
A period (.) — this punctuation mark indicates the end of a sentence. The first punctuation marks
can be found in the Ostromir Gospel. The prototype of the period was the sign of the cross (stop
sign), with which the scribe designated the place where he stopped before leaving for a prayer
service or a meal (the sign could well fall in the middle of a word). Subsequently, the sign was
shortened to a dotted cross, and then to a period. [Yu.N.Karaulov. Russian language.
Encyclopedia. — M.: Drofa, 1997.] It is used in final sentences that fully express thoughts. For
example:
He is a good writer.
A comma (,) is a punctuation mark in Russian and other languages, [Lebedev A. A.. Guide. §
105. The Tragedy of the Comma. Artemy Lebedev Studio (June 14, 2004).] This punctuation
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mark divides a sentence into parts, is used as a stopping point in a sentence, but does not
complete it completely. In numerical notation, depending on the standard adopted in a particular
language, a comma separates the whole and fractional parts or places with three digits between
them. In particular, in the Russian language it is customary to separate the fractional part with a
comma, and places from each other with spaces. A comma is used in the following cases:
Between words and phrases (for example, lists):
He bought a lot of books, magazines and newspapers.
Among additions and details:
This is my friend, he works in an IT company.
Question marks (?) – are used to answer a question. If a sentence contains a question, a question
mark is placed at the end. For example:
How do you do it? (How are you?)
It has been found in printed books since the 16th century, but it was adopted for expressing
questions much later, only in the 18th century. The spelling of the mark comes from the Latin
letters q and o (Latin quaestio - search for an answer). Initially, q was written above o, which
was later transformed into the modern spelling. [N. G. Goltsova. History of Russian punctuation.
The role of punctuation marks.]
Exclamation marks (!) - are used to express excitement or strong emotions in a sentence. For
example:
How wonderful!
According to one theory of its origin, it was the Latin word for joy (Io), written with the letter "I"
above the letter "o" [Power J., A handy-book about books, for book-lovers, book-buyers, and
book-sellers, 1870, p. 91.]. The exclamation mark was introduced into English typography in the
15th century and was called the "sign of admiration or exclamation"[ MacKellar, Thomas. The
American Printer: A Manual of Typography, Containing Practical Directions for Managing all
Departments of a Printing Office, As Well as Complete Instructions for Apprentices: With
Several Useful Tables, Numerous Schemes for Imposing Forms in Every Variety, Hints to
Authors, Etc. (English). — Fifteenth - Revised and Enlarged. — Philadelphia: MacKellar,
Smiths & Jordan, 1885. — P. 51.] or "note of admiration", until the middle of the 17th
century.[ Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation
(English). — New York: Gotham Books, 2004. — P. 137. — ISBN 1-59240-087-6.] In German
orthography, this mark first appeared in the September Bible of 1797.[ Mathias, Wolfgang. From
the Virgel to the Comma — The development of German punctuation (German) (Press release).
Cologne University (8 October 2002). Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. ] The mark
was not found on regular typewriters until the 1970s. Instead, a period was typed, backtracked
one character, and then an apostrophe was typed.[ Truss (2004), p. 135.]
Quotation marks ("") – used to separate a specific word or phrase. For example:
He said: "Today I will be at work until 6:00 p.m."
One of the very first attempts to establish rules for the use of quotation marks in the Slavic
languages (and consequently in Russian) was undertaken by the 15th-century Bulgarian
scholar Constantine the Philosopher in Chapter 17 of his treatise "On Writings." The quotation
marks recommended by Constantine looked virtually the same as modern fir-trees, and were
used to quote phrases from pseudographic works. [Yagich I. V. The Book of Constantine the
Philosopher and the Grammar of Writings // Reflections of South Slavic and Russian Antiquity
on the Church Slavonic Language. — St. Petersburg: Printing House of the IAN, 1885-1895. —
Vol. 1. — P. 429, 502.]
Colon (:) – used before a list, explanation or comment. For example:
You have three options: go to Moscow, stay at home or visit family.
The colon [:] as a separator began to be used from the end of the 16th century. It is mentioned in
the grammars of Lavrenty Zizaniy, Melety Smotritsky (1619), and also in the first Russian
grammar of the pre-Lomonosov period by V. E. AdoDurov (1731).
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A dash (French tiret, from tirer — “to pull”) is one of the punctuation marks used in many
languages. The dash was introduced into Russian writing by the writer and historian N. M.
Karamzin. [Chernykh P. Ya. Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the Modern Russian
Language. — 3rd edition, stereotypical. — M.: Russkiy yazyk, 1999. — V. 2. — P. 245. —
ISBN 5-200-02686-5.] The rules of use and the name of this sign were not established
immediately. It was described in the “Russian Grammar” by A. A. Barsov, where it was called
“molchanka”, then “cherta”, and later “thought-separating sign” (in the “Abridged Russian
Grammar” by A. Kh. Vostokov). [Larisa Fedorova. Period, period, comma... (From the history of
punctuation): [Russian]: [archived July 26, 2011] // Philologist: journal. — Perm, 2010. — No.
10. — ISSN 2076-4154]
Brackets (()) – used to add additional comments or details. For example:
He (aka my best friend) helped me.
Brackets (usually round, as in this sentence) are used as punctuation marks in natural languages.
In Russian, they are used to highlight an explanatory word or an inserted sentence. For example:
The Oryol village (we are talking about the eastern part of the Oryol province) is usually located
among plowed fields, near a ravine, somehow turned into a dirty pond (I. Turgenev).
An unpaired closing bracket can be used when numbering items in a list, for example:
1) the first item; 2) the second.
Punctuation marks are necessary for the convenience of reading and understanding the text, and
their incorrect use can make the text unclear or confusing. Therefore, it is very important to use
correct and precise punctuation.
References:
1. Larisa Fedorova. Period, period, comma... (From the history of punctuation): [Russian]:
[archived July 26, 2011] // Philologist: journal. - Perm, 2010. - No. 10. - ISSN 2076-4154
2. Lebedev A. A.. Guidelines. § 105. The tragedy of the comma. Artemy Lebedev Studio (June
14, 2004).
3. N. G. Goltsova. History of Russian punctuation. The role of punctuation marks.
4. MacKellar, Thomas. The American Printer: A Manual of Typography, Containing Practical
Directions for Managing all Departments of a Printing Office, As Well as Complete Instructions
for Apprentices: With Several Useful Tables, Numerous Schemes for Imposing Forms in Every
Variety, Hints to Authors, Etc. (English). — Fifteenth - Revised and Enlarged. — Philadelphia:
MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, 1885. — P. 51.
5.Mathias, Wolfgang. From the Virgel to the Comma — The development of German
punctuation (German) (Press release). Cologne University (October 8, 2002). Archived June 6,
2011.
6.Chernykh P. Ya.Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the Modern Russian Language. —
3rd edition, stereotyped. — M.: Russkiy yazyk, 1999. — Vol. 2. — P. 245. — ISBN 5-200-
02686-5.
7. Yagich I. V. The Book of Constantine the Philosopher and the Grammar of Letters //
Discussions of South Slavic and Russian Antiquity on the Church Slavonic Language. — SPb.:
Typography of the IAN, 1885-1895. — Vol. 1. — P. 429, 502.
8. Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation (English).
— New York: Gotham Books, 2004. — P. 137. — ISBN 1-59240-087-6.
9. Yu. N. Karaulov. Russian language. Encyclopedia. - M.: Drofa, 1997.
