On the Problem of Separate and Hyphenated Spelling of Russian Toponyms with Postpositive Adjective

Abstract

The paper explores the problem of separate and hyphenated spelling of place names with a postnominal adjective such as Strugi(-)Krasnye. It provides a general review of the spelling rules for place names that include adjectives and covers various structural and semantic types of toponyms with postpositive adjectives. Using examples retrieved from dictionaries and legal documents (State Index of Place Names, etc.) the author identifies the preferred spelling variants for each type of toponym, as well as possible spelling motivations, investigates the orthographic history and officially approved spellings of toponyms including the settlement name Strugi Krasnye and the Strugo-Krasnensky district. It has been established that the codification of place names with a postpositive adjective is not fully aligned with the current rule on their hyphenated spelling, which poses the problem of choosing the right spelling policy to use in such cases. The two main factors that influence this choice are: the generally accepted separate spelling of structures with a postpositive inflected adjective, on the one hand, and the tendency to hyphenize the components of the name to create a compound, on the other. The positive and negative sides of both choices are considered. The conclusion is that the hyphenated spelling of the “noun + adjective” pattern is more convenient as it allows us to rely on formal features without looking into the history of the name formation: to apply this rule correctly it only takes to determine if the second component is an adjective by form (although by origin it can be, in fact, a standalone name, i.e. a substantivized adjective). At the same time, changing the rule will create a problem of orthographical differentiation between such names as Ilyinskoye-Khovanskoye and Ilyinskoye Kesemskoye.