{"id":8704,"date":"2015-12-24T07:54:52","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T07:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=8704"},"modified":"2018-08-15T13:19:24","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T13:19:24","slug":"wanted-dead-or-alive-noun-animacy-in-russian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wanted-dead-or-alive-noun-animacy-in-russian\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanted Dead Or Alive: Noun Animacy in Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

You might have learned at some point that all nouns in Russian are either animate (\u043e\u0434\u0443\u0448\u0435\u0432\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435) or inanimate (\u043d\u0435\u043e\u0434\u0443\u0448\u0435\u0432\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435). Roughly speaking, living things are animate and\/or sentient: \u0441\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0442, \u043a\u043e\u0301\u0448\u043a\u0430, \u0434\u0435\u0301\u0442\u0438; and non-living things are inanimate: \u0441\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0430\u0301, \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0444\u043e\u0301\u043d, \u043f\u0438\u0441\u044c\u043c\u043e\u0301. This subject has been covered<\/a> on this blog before.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, determining whether a noun is animate is not always as straightforward as it may sound. This article<\/a> in\u00a0Moskovskie Novosti\u00a0<\/em>lists some of the difficult cases, which we will discuss further in this post. The\u00a0Gramota\u00a0<\/em>site answers some of the difficult questions<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

Different Declensions<\/h2>\n

This is all very interesting, you may say, but why should I care? The reason is that animate and inanimate nouns diverge in their declension, specifically, in the accusative case. Plural animate nouns are identical in accusative and genitive, while plural inanimate nouns are identical in accusative and nominative.\u00a0For masculine nouns, both singular and plural declensions are affected:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nAnimate<\/td>\nInanimate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nom.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0441\u043b\u043e\u043d.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0441\u043b\u043e\u043d\u044b.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u044b\u0301<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acc.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u0441\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0430\u0301<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u0441\u043b\u043e\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0432<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u044b\u0301<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gen.<\/td>\n\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0430\u0301<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u043b\u043e\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0432<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0301.<\/td>\n\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0301\u0432.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The animate-inanimate distinction also applies to plural feminine and neuter nouns. Luckily, singular forms are not affected. Compare the plural declension of \u0434\u0430\u0301\u043c\u0430 (a lady) and \u043b\u0430\u0301\u043c\u043f\u0430 (a lamp).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nAnimate<\/td>\nInanimate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nom.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0434\u0430\u0301\u043c\u044b.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u043b\u0430\u0301\u043c\u043f\u044b<\/i><\/b>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acc.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u0434\u0430\u043c<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u043b\u0430\u043c\u043f\u044b<\/i><\/b>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gen.<\/td>\n\u0417\u0434\u0435\u0441\u044c \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0434\u0430\u043c<\/strong><\/em>.<\/td>\n\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u043b\u0430\u043c\u043f.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Here is a neuter plural example. This is a bit of a spoiler — it tells you that the word \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0438\u0449\u0435 (monster) is declined as an animate noun, while \u043e\u043a\u043d\u043e\u0301 (window), as expected, is declined as an inanimate noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nAnimate<\/td>\nInanimate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nom.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0438\u0449\u0430.<\/td>\n\u042d\u0442\u043e \u043e\u0301\u043a\u043d\u0430<\/i><\/b>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acc.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0438\u0449<\/i><\/b>.<\/td>\n\u0412\u0438\u0436\u0443 \u043e\u0301\u043a\u043d\u0430<\/i><\/b>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gen.<\/td>\n\u0417\u0434\u0435\u0441\u044c \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0438\u0449<\/i><\/b>.<\/td>\n\u0423 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f \u043d\u0435\u0442 \u043e\u0301\u043a\u043e\u043d.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Living Dead<\/h2>\n

The first surprise is that Russian is inconsistent in talking about dead people. For instance, \u043f\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0439\u043d\u0438\u043a and \u043c\u0435\u0440\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0446 (deadman) are animate, while \u0442\u0440\u0443\u043f ([dead] body) is inanimate.<\/p>\n

‘\u0422\u044f\u0301\u0442\u044f! \u0442\u044f\u0301\u0442\u044f! \u043d\u0430\u0301\u0448\u0438 \u0441\u0435\u0301\u0442\u0438<\/em><\/p>\n

\u041f\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0449\u0438\u0301\u043b\u0438 \u043c\u0435\u0440\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0446\u0430\u0301’.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Literally, “Daddy, daddy, our nets have caught a deadman,” from the Pushkin poem “The Drowned Man<\/a>“)<\/p>\n

\u0412 \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0432\u0430\u0301\u043b\u0435 \u0434\u043e\u0301\u043c\u0430 \u043d\u0430\u0448\u043b\u0438\u0301 \u0442\u0440\u0443\u043f.<\/em> (A body was found in the building basement.)<\/p>\n

All The Small Things<\/h2>\n

Microscopic or small organisms may be declined as either animate or inanimate. Examples include \u043c\u0438\u043a\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0431 (microbe), \u043b\u0438\u0447\u0438\u0301\u043d\u043a\u0430 (maggot), \u0431\u0430\u043a\u0442\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0438\u044f (bacterium), \u0437\u0430\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0434\u044b\u0448 (f\/o\/etus), \u044d\u043c\u0431\u0440\u0438\u043e\u0301\u043d (embryo) — depending on the source you consult.<\/p>\n

\u0411\u0438\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0433 \u0438\u0437\u0443\u0447\u0430\u0301\u043b \u0431\u0430\u043a\u0442\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0438\u0438<\/em> OR\u00a0\u0411\u0438\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0433 \u0438\u0437\u0443\u0447\u0430\u0301\u043b \u0431\u0430\u043a\u0442\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0438\u0439.\u00a0<\/em>(The biologist was studying bacteria).<\/p>\n

All Fun And Games<\/h2>\n

Many playthings are also animate. For example, \u043a\u0443\u0301\u043a\u043b\u044b (dolls), cards, and chess pieces are all declined as animate nouns.<\/p>\n

\u041c\u0443\u0437\u0435\u0301\u0439 \u043a\u043e\u043b\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0446\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0301\u0440\u0443\u0435\u0442\u00a0\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u043a\u0443\u0301\u043a\u043e\u043b<\/em> (The museum collects antique dolls).<\/p>\n

Uncanny Valley<\/h2>\n

Non-human or imaginary creatures that are perceived as sentient will also fall in the animate category. Examples include\u00a0\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0431\u043e\u0442 (robot) and\u00a0\u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0438\u0449\u0435 (monster).<\/p>\n

“\u0421\u043e\u043d \u0440\u0430\u0301\u0437\u0443\u043c\u0430 \u0440\u043e\u0436\u0434\u0430\u0301\u0435\u0442 \u0447\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0438\u0449”<\/em>\u00a0<\/b>(Francisco Goya’s etching\u00a0The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n

The World’s Your Oyster<\/h2>\n

When we talk about eating \u0443\u0301\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0446\u044b (oysters) or \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442\u043a\u0438 (shrimp), they\u00a0may be\u00a0animate or inanimate depending on whether they are seen as food or animals. However, when we talk about them being hunted by other animals in the wild, we can only use the animate declension.<\/p>\n

\u041c\u044b \u0435\u0434\u0438\u0301\u043c \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442\u043a\u0438\/\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442\u043e\u043a<\/em> (We eat shrimp).<\/p>\n

\u042d\u0301\u0442\u0430 \u0440\u044b\u0301\u0431\u0430 \u0435\u0441\u0442 \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442\u043e\u043a<\/em> (This fish eats shrimp).<\/p>\n

These are just a few of borderline cases that I find unexpected or interesting. Are there any that surprised you? What other animate\/inanimate nouns do you think are important to know?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You might have learned at some point that all nouns in Russian are either animate (\u043e\u0434\u0443\u0448\u0435\u0432\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435) or inanimate (\u043d\u0435\u043e\u0434\u0443\u0448\u0435\u0432\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435). Roughly speaking, living things are animate and\/or sentient: \u0441\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0442, \u043a\u043e\u0301\u0448\u043a\u0430, \u0434\u0435\u0301\u0442\u0438; and non-living things are inanimate: \u0441\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0430\u0301, \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0444\u043e\u0301\u043d, \u043f\u0438\u0441\u044c\u043c\u043e\u0301. This subject has been covered on this blog before. As it turns out, determining whether a…<\/p>\n

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