ABOUT THE DUAL
Everyone knows that there is a singular in the language, but there is a plural. But has there always been such a division, and are other options possible, for example, in other languages? No, it wasn't always like this, and yes, it is possible.
The dual number (lat. dualis) is a form of declension and conjugation, used to refer to two objects, or paired by nature (parts of the body, etc.) or by custom.
At present, the category of the dual number exists in Semitic languages (for example, in Arabic), in three Slavic languages (Slovene and a couple of Lusatian languages), in some dialects of the Ukrainian language, and in a number of other languages. On the territory of Russia, the languages that use the dual number include Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, as well as the Sami languages.
The category of the dual number existed in the ancient languages of the Indo-European family and in many other languages. In the vast majority of modern Indo-European languages, the dual has disappeared, leaving only more or less numerous traces of its existence.
Dual number in Indo-European proto-language
The historical forms of the Indo-European dual represent only three forms: one for the nominative, accusative, and vocative, one for the genitive and locative (prepositional), and one for the dative, dative, and instrumental.
However, in the Avestan language there is a difference between the forms of the genitive and the local dual number. This, as well as the presence in certain Indo-European languages of two types of endings for the dative and instrumental dual number, make us assume that in the Indo-European proto-language the forms of the genitive and local, as well as the dative and instrumental, differed from each other and only coincided in individual languages. Moreover, the difference between the genitive and the local was preserved in the Zende language, and various forms of the dative and instrumental were distributed in different separate languages (see "Dative case"). These assumptions have only a certain degree of probability and cannot be proven.
The Indo-European numeral *H₁oḱtōu "eight" is the dual form of the stem *H₁oḱtō, which has not come down to us, cf. in Kartvelian languages: cargo. ოთხი, Laz. otxo "four".
Dual number in Old Russian
The dual number also existed in the Old Russian language (as well as in other Slavic languages), but early (XIII century) it began to be replaced by the plural. In the XIV century, the correct use of the forms of the dual number is still common, but there are already various secondary forms nearby, indicating the oblivion of the primary meaning of the original forms of the dual number.
The numeral "two", f. R. "two" (Old Russian dva, dvѣ) retained the typical endings of the Old Russian dual number: - a, and -ѣ. These endings, as well as -i, were used in almost all cases, except for a very small group of words of the ancient declension for a short -u (see below). In the Proto-Slavic dialect of the Indo-European proto-language, the dual number was formed in some cases by lengthening the stem vowel, in others by adding the ending i; according to the phonetic laws of the Proto-Slavic language, the long *-ō in the declension in -o turned into *-a (*stolō > table), the diphthong *-ai in the declension in -a, as well as the diphthong * -oi in words of the neuter declension in * - o - in ѣ ( Gennady Ivanov> wife), long *-ū - in -s (*sūnū > sons), long *-ī - in -i (*noktī > nights).
Dual nouns
The ending -a was used for masculine words of the ancient stem in -o (now I declension): two brothers, tables (for a soft type, that is, after a soft consonant - I: two princes),
The words of the middle gender of the same declension and the words of the basis on -a, that is, the current II declension, according to the hard type, ended in ѣ, according to the soft type - and: dvѣ letѣ, mori, sister, maiden.
In the rest of the declensions there was an ending -i: fires, nights, mothers, daughters, stones, seeds, beeches.
The only exceptions were a few words of the ancient stem with a short u, the dual number of which sounded like this: sons, honeys, feasts (with the plural: sons, honeys, feasts); later this form supplanted the ancient plural.
When declensing nouns, in the dative and instrumental cases, the ending -ma was attached, and in the genitive and local - the ending -u (after the soft consonant -u), personally ("in the eyes"), cousin ("double native"):
Base on -o (now I declension)
I-V-Sv kind, horse, fly, mori
R.-M. family, horse, flight, sea
D.-T. rodoma, horse, summer, sea
Stem to short -u
I-V.-Sv. honeys
R.-M. honey
D.-Tv. medma
Base on -a (now II declension)
I-V.-Sv. sister, will, maiden
R.-M. sister, will, maiden
D.-Tv. sister, will, maiden
Base on -i (now III declension)
I-V.-Sv. nights
R.-M. at night(s)
D.-Tv. nightnight
stem to consonant
I-V.-Sv. stones, wheels, seeds
R.-M. stone, wheel, seed
D.-Tv.stone, wheel, seed
Stem to long -u
I-V.-Sv. letters
R.-M. letter
D.-Tv.bukvama
Dual number of pronouns
Personal pronouns sounded like this:
1st sheet: vѣ
2nd sheet: va
3rd sheet: m. - I, f.r. and cf. - And. Subsequently: f.r. — she, m.r. and cf. — he (similar to the corresponding demonstrative pronoun).
The feminine and neuter forms of all pronouns in the dual number coincided.
The pronoun of the 1st person in the accusative case had a form different from the nominative: on.
I-Sound (personal) vѣ, va, i, i; (indicative) ta, te; she, he; si, si
V. (personal) on -//-
R.-M. (personal) nayu; vayu; ѣyu, (indicate) that, it, sow
D-Tv. (personal) nama; vama; ima, (indicative) topic, onema, sema,
Dual number of verbs
present tense
1st l. not sowing, becoming, knowing, praising
2nd and 3rd pp. bears, becomes, knows, praises
(In the Proto-Slavic and Old Slavonic, the 3rd person had a special ending, similar to the 2nd l. plural: carry, become, you know, praise)
Aorist
1st l. nesokhov, stakhov, znakhov, praise, bykhov
2nd and 3rd pp. nesosta, stasta, znasta, boaster, fast
(3rd person aorist in Proto-Slavic and Old Slavonic: nesost, stasta, znasta, praiser, fast)
Imperfect
1st l. nesyakhov, khvalyakhov, byakhov
2nd and 3rd pp. vain, boastful, blatant.
(In Old Church Slavonic:
1st l. nesakhov, staakhov, znaakhov, praise, beakhov
2nd l. neshesheta, staasheta, znaasheta, praise, besheta)
3rd person you don’t, you stop, you know, you praise, you beat)
Imperative mood
1st l. carry, become, know, praise
2nd and 3rd pp. bear, become, know, praise
Survivals of the dual number in modern Russian
At present, there are only a few, few remnants of the dual number in Russian. Forms of the dual (instead of plural) numbers have retained the names of some paired items: horns, eyes, shores, sleeves, sides, shoulders, knees, ears, eyes, etc.
The forms of the quasi-genitive case (in fact, the nominative-accusative-vocative dual) with numerals ascend to it: two brothers, according to the type of which combinations arise, like two wives with the genitive case, as well as three, four brothers, forms of indirect cases numeral two: two-x, two-m, two-mya, where two- is the genitive-prepositional of the dual number, complicated by the endings of pronouns like those, those, etc.: instrumental forms of numerals two, three , four, where me= to the ancient ending of the dative and instrumental dual number -ma, softened under the influence of the ending of the instrumental plural mi (originally there were two, but three). Numeral twelve (nominative, accusative, vocative feminine), two hundred (instead of two hundred, nominative, accusative, vocative neuter).
Some adverbs like firsthand (dual pronoun), between (also), etc.
In some proverbs, similar forms are also preserved: a sparrow sits on a tyne, hopes on a wing (accusative of the dual number), etc. In the northern Great Russian dialects, the ending of the dative and instrumental dual number -ma is in the role of the plural ending: with nogama, with hand, with stick. Similar forms are found in the Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. Also, in modern Indo-European languages, the numerals Russian came from the forms of the dual number. "both", "both", "both, both", Polish. "boba", eng. "both", etc.
Word between is by origin the local case of the dual number of the Old Slavonic noun mezhda (Russian mezha).
Dual Number Examples
I tied the wild horse with my hand
Tura me 2 metal (...) and 2 moose, one trampled with their feet, and the other hurt with a horn.
Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh
The two suns are dimmed, both the crimson column is extinguished, and it is immersed in the sea, and with them the young moon, Oleg and Svyatoslav, are entangled in darkness.
You, buoy Rurich, and Davyda! Do I not howl howling with golden helmets according to the blood of the swimmer?
A word about Igor's regiment
Two brothers best in spirit. (...) The name of love is great and unfeigned among itself.
Many times the brethren prayed to her<"братьев по духу">hedgehog humble yourself ima between yourself
The former two husbands are from the great city of that friend to themselves.
Kiev-Pechersk Patericon
And both were naked, Adam and his wife, and not ashamed
Book of Genesis, ch. 2, art. 25.
And I will come into His house, and the blind man will come to Him, and Jesus will say to them, Do you believe that I can do this? say to Him: to her. God. Then I will touch their eyes, saying: according to faith, I wake you up. And Ima's eyes are opened. And Jesus rebuke them, saying: watch over, but no one can steal away. She went out glorifying Him throughout all that land.
Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, vv. 28-32
Philosophical content of the dual category
Wilhelm von Humboldt considered it erroneous to think of the dual number as being limited simply to the concept of the number "two". According to his idea, the dual number combines the nature of the plural and the singular: it is simultaneously the collective-single of the number "two", while the plural can reduce the multitude to unity only in certain cases. Thus, the dual number expresses a collectively unique function, the idea of "unity in a multitude."
According to Humboldt, expressed by him in one of his last works, the unfinished "Über den Dualis", the dual number is wrong to consider a luxury or an outdated growth on the body of the language. From a philosophical point of view, the dual number fits well into the overall proportion of speech production, multiplying the possible relationships of words, increasing the scope of the impact of language and contributing to the philosophical foundations of sharpness and brevity of mutual understanding. In this it has the advantage that any grammatical form has, which differs from the corresponding descriptive expression in brevity and liveliness of impact.
DUAL NUMBER IN RUSSIAN
A. Griber
In the Old Russian language, in addition to the singular and plural numbers that are familiar to us, there was one more number that was used to designate paired objects. This is a dual number.
The presence of three numbers was inherited by the Old Russian language from the Proto-Slavic language, in which this, in turn, was a common European heritage.
With the development of language, the concept of duality is lost, giving way to a simple multiplicity. Although there are modern languages, such as Hebrew, in which the dual number still exists.
In the Old Russian language, as in other languages, the dual number was used to designate two or paired objects. Nouns in the dual form, as well as in the singular and plural forms, changed by case.
However, if in the last two numbers the nouns had quite diverse case forms, then in the dual number, in essence, only three such forms were distinguished:
2) for the genitive and local cases;
3) for the dative and instrumental cases.
The loss of the dual number is a relatively late phenomenon: it is assumed that this refers to the era after the formation of the three East Slavic languages, that is, to the era of the XIV - XV centuries.
So, in the history of the Russian language, the dual number has disappeared, but its traces remain in the modern language.
These, first of all, include forms with the stressed ending “-a”, which are formed from words denoting paired objects: “horns, sides, eyes, shores, sleeves”. All of them, by origin, are forms of the nominative case of the dual number.
The nominative plural had the ending "-i": "rosi, botsi, eyes, birches, sleeves."
When we mean the plural, we put these words in the dual form.
The forms “shoulders, knees” have the same character, which are by origin the form of the nominative case of the dual number from the words “shoulder, knee” (the form of the nominative case of the plural was “shoulder, knee”).
Compare with Pushkin: "Wash your face, shoulders and chest" ("Eugene Onegin").
The form of the word "ears" is inexplicable from the form of the word "ear". Therefore, S.P. Obnorsky assumed the form of the nominative case of the singular - "ear". In this case, the word "ears" is the nominative form of the dual.
The remainder of the dual number in the Russian language is the adverb “with your own eyes”, which is by origin a form of the local case of the dual number from the word “eye” with the preposition “v”.
The "petrified" form of the dual number is the modern preposition "between". By origin, this is the local case of the dual number from the noun "between" (Old Slavic correspondence to the East Slavic "boundary").
Reviews
Thank you. A curious reminder for those who love the language.
Here's something else interesting:
one row - nominative singular of the word "row"
two rows - the nominative case of the dual number of the word "row"
...
five rows - the genitive plural of the word "row"
six rows - the genitive plural of the word "row"
...
Subsequently, the form of the dual number of the word "row" extended to:
three rows
four rows
But for the amount from five to twenty, the genitive plural of the word "row" remained
For row 21 - again the nominative singular of the word "row"
For 22, 23, 24 rows - again the nominative case of the dual number of the word "row"
For 25 rows - again the genitive plural of the word "row"
etc.
Shishkov A.S. in his PSS vol. 3 p. 174 (published in 1824) has an interpretation of the word "hoop" - both streams - both hands - THAT IS - something that can be clasped with two hands.
And there is the word earrings = useryazi, where the mustache is ears, ryazi are outfits, robes are outfits for ears = earrings
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From childhood, I remember the episode when a football commentator called Maradona's left hand the right hand, with which he scored a goal in the 1986 World Cup final. How could it be, I was indignant, having barely started the basics of Church Slavonic in the gymnasium, - after all, the “right hand” is the right hand. And for the left hand there is the name "shuya". Years later, and courses in philology at the boundary with philosophy, I learned that in many African languages there are dozens of verbs for a specific type of running, but not a single one for running in general, as such. These and many other amazing facts continue to fuel interest in the language. But perhaps the most intriguing phenomenon that was present in Old Church Slavonic but disappeared in Russian is the dual number. What is it and what is its relevance, if today many people are seriously talking about his return to the great and mighty?
In an uncomplicated child's mind, "points" are a lot of points.
What is a dual number?
Here's a simple example for you. When the interlocutor says that he bought two gloves, what do you imagine? Just two gloves or two pairs? There would be no misunderstanding if in our language, in addition to the singular and plural, the dual number was also preserved. In cases, it distinguishes itself with an ending. Simply put, dual nouns decline in a special way, as do adjectives.
Imagine the noun "parent". Let's say a parent has lost their passport. Whose passport is this? This parent's passport. In plural - parents' passports. But what is the plural? How many of these parents? Is it just my two or a dozen in the parent meeting? The Russian language is constructed in such a way that the answer remains unclear without context, and we must supplement the available information with new ones. Let's imagine that in the dual number - when it comes only to my mom and dad - an ending is used that is different from the usual one. Let's say parental passports.
I agree, not the best example. Yes, and unaccustomed to its sound repels. However, now we can immediately convey the exact meaning without addition: I bought two gloves brought two glasses and sharpened two scissor. Sound heavy? But why then do the ancients, and also some modern languages, have a dual number?
We can observe echoes of the dual number, but we do not always notice it in our native language. For example: one brother, many brothers, But - two brothers. This is an indication that either there are only two brothers, or in this particular case we are talking about these two brothers. It is in our blood to use a dual number when we talk about dual parts of the body - arms, legs, eyes, etc. Surely we will be surprised by the phrase: “How I hurt knees"(by analogy with logs). After all, a person has two of these joints, so “my knees».
In a word, everyone has already managed to understand that the dual number was in our parent language - Old Slavonic. In general, the dual number was common among many languages of the Indo-European family. It also exists in the Semitic languages, in particular, in Arabic and Hebrew. And if we talk about languages that are closer to us, both chronologically and culturally, in which the dual number is found today, then Slovenian should be named first of all.
And why do we need a dual number today?
Indeed, many may ask: why do we need a dual number today? It was in Old Church Slavonic, it is preserved in modern Slovenian, so what? Somehow we cope in everyday life without it. Why, then, produce entities, the dangers of which were warned by Occam?
I will try to formulate the thesis pluses of the return of the dual number to the Russian language. So.
Plus the first: word creation. No matter how much they talk about the uselessness of the dual number, nevertheless, it is necessary to recognize its extremely productive role in word formation. Actually, the word "both", which we use today as an analogue of "two", "two", is a form of a dual number. Compare in the very first biblical book in the Old Slavonic translation: “And the devil is both naked, Adam and his wife, and are not ashamed” (Gen. II, 25).
Many words that have become familiar today were actually formed not without the participation of a dual number. For example, "hoop" literally translates as "what can be clasped with two hands": "both streams." And “earrings” came from “mustache” + “ryazi”, where mustache are the ears, muddy- outfits (compare: to dress up). Accordingly, earrings are outfits for the ears.
Plus two: humor. Turning to the same ears, one can recall the cinematic "I'll tear my ears off." The humorous effect here is obviously caused by the deliberately incorrect use of the number. In modern Russian, "ears" have become the rule, which is, in fact, an exception to the rule, but carefully disguises it. After all, “ears” is the original form of the dual number, which today is unequivocally interpreted as plural. While the letter "x" is used only in the singular - "ear". This explains the involuntary laughter when we hear "hoosh". A similar effect will be produced by “sides” instead of “sides”: “how my sides hurt”; "horns" instead of "horns", etc.
I agree that in this case we are not talking about the return of a dual number, since then the forms that are now funny would become an unfunny norm, but about a flexible and thoughtful attitude towards language as such. After all, such respect for the language will always bring humorous dividends, whether it has a dual number or not.
Plus the third: philosophy. Wilhelm von Humboldt, the number one philologist of all times and peoples, considered the dual number to be not just a special case of the plural. In a rough translation into Russian proverb, “husband and wife are one Satan” – this is approximately the meaning Humboldt put into his position (“Über den Dualis”, 1827). The thinker believed that the dual number expresses the unity, composed of two inseparable halves. Something like an explosion, which is the result of a spark and oxygen: without a spark, oxygen will not ignite, and without oxygen, a spark will not ignite anything.
In German, the dual number was denoted by the noun “Dualis”, which involuntarily conjures up the idea of duality to a modern person - the struggle and unity of opposites, yin and yang. I do not rule out that the idea of returning the dual number to the Russian language can be supported by representatives of the progressive stratum of society, intellectuals, jazzmen - I don’t know, many people. As experience shows, fashion spares no one and nothing. There will be a fashion for the color of children's surprise - for now, Mercedes is releasing a batch of such ladies' SUVs. Maybe just these ladies will start using the dual number in speech.
That's when philologists will need to tighten up and draw up the rules for its use. In the meantime, I can assume that, perhaps, your obedient servant will write a short story interspersed with the plural. But all this is a vague future. In the meantime, let's name one more advantage of the dual number.
Plus number four: flirting. The utilitarian function of language is to express thoughts. But with it, you can do a lot of other tricks. Of course, provided there is a reliable link between intellect and language. So, what, being expressed in society, could be considered intellectual show-offs, alone with a lady can act as a significant support during the draft of her castle. More precisely, two castles ... Wait, how right?
Indeed, why do we say "chest" if there are two of them? Of course, for reasons of etiquette. However, this situation in the language was not always observed. In general, the dual number from Old Slavonic began to disappear during the formation of national languages - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, that is, in the XIV - XV centuries. But even in the XIX its traces continued to be preserved. Why go far - Pushkin in "Eugene Onegin" describes the girl's morning toilet: "Wash your face, shoulders and chest." The words "shoulder" and "chest" are used here not in the plural, but in the dual.
Today, these parts of the body have transformed into multiple "shoulders" and into a single "chest". But if, wanting to show off knowledge, mention Pushkin's line, - not the chest, but the chest of the object of seduction can sigh and let you go one more step. So the dual number in the general context of intelligence is a sure way to improve your chances. It is desirable, of course, to be handsome with nine-digit savings. But, you see, even Robert Downey Jr., quoting Pushkin with his millions, certainly does not hurt!
P.S. Having finished the main part of the article, I suddenly discovered with surprise how many words that begin with “dv” come to mind: Dvina, movement, courtyard, door. Who knows, maybe intuition is akin to insight and under my momentary observations there are serious scientific grounds - or they have yet to become scientific. In any case, the study, understanding and admiration of the language - whether it be a dual number or another phenomenal phenomenon - makes us discover new facets of human nature, thinking and behavior. I call on all of us to this: let's be human - and, therefore, we will think, speak out and be endlessly fascinated by the great gift - language!
And many other languages. In the vast majority of modern Indo-European languages, the dual has disappeared, leaving only more or less numerous traces of its existence.
Dual number in Indo-European proto-language
The historical forms of the Indo-European dual represent only three forms: one for the nominative, accusative, and vocative, one for the genitive and locative (prepositional), and one for the dative, dative, and instrumental.
see also
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Notes
Literature
- W. von Humboldt, "Über den Dualis" (Berl., 1828, and also Gesamm. Werke, vol. VI);
- Silberstein, "Über d. Dualis in dem indogerm. Sprachstamm" (Jahn's Jahrbücher, Suppl. XV, 1849);
- fr. Müller, Der Dual im indogerm. und semit. Sprachgebiet" (B., 1860); Brugmann, "Grundriss d. vergl. Grammatik d. indogerm. Sprachen” (vol. II, 1890), where other literature is also indicated.
- V. V. Ivanov. Historical grammar of the Russian language. M., 1983 or according to some sources 1982
An excerpt characterizing the Dual Number
The sovereign, bowing his head, was silent for some time.- Eh bien, retournez a l "armee, [Well, go back to the army.] - he said, straightening to his full height and addressing Michaud with an affectionate and majestic gesture, - et dites a nos braves, dites a tous mes bons sujets partout ou vous passerez, que quand je n" aurais plus aucun soldat, je me mettrai moi meme, a la tete de ma chere noblesse, de mes bons paysans et j "userai ainsi jusqu" a la derniere ressource de mon empire. Il m "en offre encore plus que mes ennemis ne pensent," the sovereign said, more and more inspired. "Mais si jamais il fut ecrit dans les decrets de la divine providence," he said, raising his beautiful, meek and brilliant feelings eyes to the sky, - que ma dinastie dut cesser de rogner sur le trone de mes ancetres, alors, apres avoir epuise tous les moyens qui sont en mon pouvoir, je me laisserai croitre la barbe jusqu "ici (the sovereign showed half of his chest with his hand) , et j "irai manger des pommes de terre avec le dernier de mes paysans plutot, que de signer la honte de ma patrie et de ma chere nation, dont je sais apprecier les sacrifices!.. [Tell our brave men, tell all my subjects wherever you pass, that when I have no more soldiers, I myself will be at the head of my kind nobles and good peasants, and thus exhaust the last resources of my state. They are more than my enemies think ... But if it was destined by divine providence that our dynasty ceased to reign on the throne of my ancestors, then, having exhausted all the means that are in my hands, I will grow a beard until now and rather go to eat one potato with the last of my peasants, rather than decide to sign the shame of my homeland and my dear people, whose sacrifices I know how to appreciate!..] Having said these words in an excited voice, the sovereign suddenly turned around, as if wishing to hide from Michaud the tears that came into his eyes, and went into the depths of his office. After standing there for a few moments, he returned to Michaud with large steps and with a strong gesture squeezed his hand below the elbow. The beautiful, meek face of the sovereign flushed, and his eyes burned with a gleam of determination and anger.
- Colonel Michaud, n "oubliez pas ce que je vous dis ici; peut etre qu" un jour nous nous le rappellerons avec plaisir ... Napoleon ou moi, - said the sovereign, touching his chest. – Nous ne pouvons plus regner ensemble. J "ai appris a le connaitre, il ne me trompera plus ... [Colonel Michaud, do not forget what I told you here; maybe we will someday remember this with pleasure ... Napoleon or I ... We can no longer reign together. I recognized him now, and he will not deceive me anymore ...] - And the sovereign, frowning, fell silent. Hearing these words, seeing the expression of firm determination in the eyes of the sovereign, Michaud - quoique etranger, mais Russe de c?ur et d "ame - felt himself at this solemn moment - entousiasme par tout ce qu "il venait d" entendre [although a foreigner, but a Russian at heart ... admiring everything that he heard] (as he later said), and he portrayed in the following expressions as his feelings, and the feelings of the Russian people, whom he considered himself empowered.
– Sir! - he said. - Votre Majeste signe dans ce moment la gloire de la nation et le salut de l "Europe! [Sir! Your Majesty is signing at this moment the glory of the people and the salvation of Europe!]
The emperor, with a bow of his head, released Michaud.
While Russia was half conquered, and the inhabitants of Moscow fled to distant provinces, and militia after militia rose to defend the fatherland, it involuntarily seems to us, who did not live at that time, that all Russian people, young and old, were busy only with to sacrifice oneself, save the fatherland or cry over its death. The stories, descriptions of that time, without exception, speak only of self-sacrifice, love for the fatherland, despair, grief and heroism of Russians. In reality, it was not so. It seems to us so only because we see from the past one common historical interest of that time and do not see all those personal, human interests that people of that time had. And meanwhile, in reality, those personal interests of the present are so much more significant than the general interests that because of them one never feels (even not at all noticeable) a general interest. Most of the people of that time did not pay any attention to the general course of affairs, but were guided only by the personal interests of the present. And these people were the most useful figures of that time.
Those who tried to understand the general course of affairs and with self-sacrifice and heroism wanted to participate in it, were the most useless members of society; they saw everything upside down, and everything they did for good turned out to be useless nonsense, like the regiments of Pierre, Mamonov, plundering Russian villages, like lint, plucked by ladies and never reaching the wounded, etc. Even those who, loving to be smart and express their feelings, they talked about the real situation in Russia, involuntarily bore in their speeches the imprint of either pretense and lies, or useless condemnation and anger at people accused of what no one could be guilty of. In historical events, the prohibition against eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge is most obvious. Only one unconscious activity bears fruit, and the person who plays a part in a historical event never understands its significance. If he tries to understand it, he is amazed at the barrenness.
The significance of the event taking place in Russia at that time was the more imperceptible, the closer was the participation of a person in it. In St. Petersburg and provincial cities far from Moscow, ladies and men in militia uniforms mourned Russia and the capital and talked about self-sacrifice, etc.; but in the army that was retreating beyond Moscow, they hardly spoke or thought about Moscow, and, looking at its conflagration, no one swore to take revenge on the French, but thought about the next third of the salary, about the next stop, about Matryoshka, the shopper, and the like ...
Nikolai Rostov, without any goal of self-sacrifice, but by chance, since the war found him in the service, took a close and prolonged part in the defense of the fatherland and therefore, without despair and gloomy conclusions, looked at what was happening then in Russia. If he were asked what he thinks about the current situation in Russia, he would say that he has nothing to think about, that there are Kutuzov and others, but that he heard that regiments are being completed, and that they must be fighting for a long time , and that under the present circumstances it is not surprising for him to receive a regiment in two years.
By the fact that he looked at the matter in such a way, he not only accepted the news of his appointment on a business trip for repairs for the division in Voronezh without regret that he was deprived of participation in the last battle, but also with the greatest pleasure, which he did not hide and which his comrades understood very well.
A few days before the battle of Borodino, Nikolai received money, papers, and, having sent hussars forward, went to Voronezh by post.
Only those who experienced this, that is, spent several months without ceasing in the atmosphere of military, combat life, can understand the pleasure that Nicholas experienced when he got out of the area that the troops reached with their forages, supplies, hospitals; when, without soldiers, wagons, dirty traces of the presence of the camp, he saw villages with peasants and women, landowners' houses, fields with grazing cattle, station houses with sleepy caretakers. He felt such joy, as if seeing it all for the first time. In particular, what surprised and delighted him for a long time were women, young, healthy, each of whom did not have a dozen courting officers, and women who were glad and flattered that a passing officer was joking with them.
In the most cheerful mood, Nikolai arrived at a hotel in Voronezh at night, ordered for himself everything that he had been deprived of in the army for a long time, and the next day, having cleanly shaved and put on a dress uniform that had not been put on for a long time, he went to appear to the authorities.
The head of the militia was a state general, an old man who apparently amused himself with his military rank and rank. He angrily (thinking that this was a military property) received Nikolai and significantly, as if having the right to do so and as if discussing the general course of the matter, approving and disapproving, questioned him. Nikolai was so cheerful that it was only amusing to him.
From the head of the militia, he went to the governor. The governor was a small lively little man, very affectionate and simple. He pointed out to Nikolai those factories where he could get horses, recommended him a horse dealer in the city and a landowner twenty miles from the city, who had the best horses, and promised him all kinds of assistance.
- Are you the son of Count Ilya Andreevich? My wife was very friendly with your mother. On Thursdays I have a gathering; Today is Thursday, you are welcome to me easily, - said the governor, releasing him.
Directly from the governor, Nikolai took the relay and, having seated the sergeant-major with him, galloped twenty miles to the factory to the landowner. Everything during this first time of his stay in Voronezh was fun and easy for Nikolai, and everything, as happens when a person himself is well disposed, everything went well and went smoothly.
The landowner Nikolai came to was an old bachelor cavalryman, a horse connoisseur, a hunter, the owner of a carpet, a hundred-year-old casserole, an old Hungarian and wonderful horses.
In a nutshell, Nikolai bought for six thousand seventeen stallions to select (as he said) for the casual end of his repair. After dinner and drinking a little extra Hungarian, Rostov, kissing the landowner, with whom he had already agreed on "you", along a disgusting road, in the most cheerful mood, galloped back, constantly chasing the driver in order to be in time for the evening to the governor.
Having changed clothes, perfumed himself and doused his head with cold water, Nikolai, although somewhat late, but with a ready-made phrase: vaut mieux tard que jamais, [better late than never,] appeared to the governor.
It was not a ball, and it was not said that they would dance; but everyone knew that Katerina Petrovna would play waltzes and ecossaises on the clavichord and that they would dance, and everyone, counting on this, gathered for the ballroom.
Provincial life in 1812 was exactly the same as always, with the only difference that the city was livelier on the occasion of the arrival of many wealthy families from Moscow and that, as in everything that was happening at that time in Russia, there was a noticeable some kind of special sweeping - the sea is knee-deep, the grass is in life, and even in the fact that that vulgar conversation that is necessary between people and which was previously conducted about the weather and mutual acquaintances, was now conducted about Moscow, about the army and Napoleon.
The society gathered at the governor's was the best society in Voronezh.
There were a lot of ladies, there were several Moscow acquaintances of Nikolai; but there were no men who could compete in any way with the Knight of St. George, the hussar repairman, and at the same time the good-natured and well-bred Count Rostov. Among the men was one captured Italian - an officer of the French army, and Nikolai felt that the presence of this prisoner even more exalted the importance of him - a Russian hero. It was like a trophy. Nikolai felt this, and it seemed to him that everyone looked at the Italian in the same way, and Nikolai treated this officer with dignity and restraint.
Everyone knows that there is a singular in the language, but there is a plural. But has there always been such a division, and are other options possible? No, it wasn't always like this, and yes, it is possible.
The dual number (lat. dualis) is a form of declension and conjugation, used to refer to two objects, or paired by nature (parts of the body, etc.) or by custom.
At present, the category of the dual number exists in Semitic languages (for example, in Arabic), in three Slavic languages (Slovene and a couple of Lusatian languages), in some dialects of the Ukrainian language, and in a number of other languages. On the territory of Russia, the languages that use the dual number include Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, as well as the Sami languages.
The category of the dual number existed in the ancient languages of the Indo-European family and in many other languages. In the vast majority of modern Indo-European languages, the dual has disappeared, leaving only more or less numerous traces of its existence.
Dual number in Indo-European proto-language
The historical forms of the Indo-European dual represent only three forms: one for the nominative, accusative, and vocative, one for the genitive and locative (prepositional), and one for the dative, dative, and instrumental.
However, in the Avestan language there is a difference between the forms of the genitive and the local dual number. This, as well as the presence in certain Indo-European languages of two types of endings for the dative and instrumental dual number, make us assume that in the Indo-European proto-language the forms of the genitive and local, as well as the dative and instrumental, differed from each other and only coincided in individual languages. Moreover, the difference between the genitive and the local was preserved in the Zende language, and various forms of the dative and instrumental were distributed among different separate languages. These assumptions have only a certain degree of probability and cannot be proven today.
The Indo-European numeral *H₁oḱtōu "eight" is the dual form of the stem *H₁oḱtō, which has not come down to us, cf. in Kartvelian languages: cargo. ოთხი, Laz. otxo "four".
Dual number in Old Russian
The dual number also existed in the Old Russian language (as well as in other Slavic languages), but early (XIII century) it began to be replaced by the plural. In the XIV century, the correct use of the forms of the dual number is still common, but there are already various secondary forms nearby, indicating the oblivion of the primary meaning of the original forms of the dual number.
The numeral "two", f. R. "two" (Old Russian dva, dvѣ) retained the typical endings of the Old Russian dual number: - a, and -ѣ. These endings, as well as -i, were used in almost all cases, except for a very small group of words of the ancient declension for a short -u (see below). In the Proto-Slavic dialect of the Indo-European proto-language, the dual number was formed in some cases by lengthening the stem vowel, in others by adding the ending i; according to the phonetic laws of the Proto-Slavic language, the long *-ō in the declension in -o turned into *-a (*stolō > table), the diphthong *-ai in the declension in -a, as well as the diphthong * -oi in words of the neuter declension in * - o - in ѣ, long *-ū - in -s (*sūnū > sons), long *-ī - in -i (*noktī > nights).
Dual nouns
The ending -a was used for masculine words of the ancient stem in -o (now I declension): two brothers, tables (for the soft type, that is, after the soft consonant - I: two princes),
The words of the middle gender of the same declension and the words of the basis on -a, that is, the current II declension, according to the hard type, ended in ѣ, according to the soft type - and: dvѣ letѣ, mori, sister, maiden.
In the rest of the declensions there was an ending -i: fires, nights, mothers, daughters, stones, seeds, beeches.
The only exceptions were a few words of the ancient stem with a short u, the dual number of which sounded like this: sons, honeys, feasts (with the plural: sons, honeys, feasts); later this form supplanted the ancient plural.
When declensing nouns, in the dative and instrumental cases, the ending -ma was attached, and in the genitive and local - the ending -u (after the soft consonant -u), personally ("in the eyes"), cousin ("two relatives"):
Base on -o (now I declension)
I-V-Sv kind, horse, fly, mori
R.-M. family, horse, flight, sea
D.-T. rodoma, horse, summer, sea
Stem to short -u
I-V.-Sv. honeys
R.-M. honey
D.-Tv. medma
Base on -a (now II declension)
I-V.-Sv. sister, will, maiden
R.-M. sister, will, maiden
D.-Tv. sister, will, maiden
Base on -i (now III declension)
I-V.-Sv. nights
R.-M. at night(s)
D.-Tv. nightnight
stem to consonant
I-V.-Sv. stones, wheels, seeds
R.-M. stone, wheel, seed
D.-Tv.stone, wheel, seed
Stem to long -u
I-V.-Sv. letters
R.-M. letter
D.-Tv.bukvama
Dual number of pronouns
Personal pronouns sounded like this:
1st sheet: vѣ
2nd sheet: va
3rd sheet: m. - I, f.r. and cf. - And. Subsequently: f.r. - she, m.r. and cf. - he (similar to the corresponding demonstrative pronoun).
The feminine and neuter forms of all pronouns in the dual number coincided.
The pronoun of the 1st person in the accusative case had a form different from the nominative: on.
I-Sound (personal) vѣ, va, i, i; (indicative) ta, te; she, he; si, si
V. (personal) on -//-
R.-M. (personal) nayu; vayu; ѣyu, (indicate) that, it, sow
D-Tv. (personal) nama; vama; ima, (indicative) topic, onema, sema,
Dual number of verbs
present tense
1st l. not sowing, becoming, knowing, praising
2nd and 3rd pp. bears, becomes, knows, praises
(In the Proto-Slavic and Old Slavonic, the 3rd person had a special ending, similar to the 2nd l. plural: carry, become, you know, praise)
Aorist
1st l. nesokhov, stakhov, znakhov, praise, bykhov
2nd and 3rd pp. nesosta, stasta, znasta, boaster, fast
(3rd person aorist in Proto-Slavic and Old Slavonic: nesost, stasta, znasta, praiser, fast)
Imperfect
1st l. nesyakhov, khvalyakhov, byakhov
2nd and 3rd pp. vain, boastful, blatant.
(In Old Church Slavonic:
1st l. nesakhov, staakhov, znaakhov, praise, beakhov
2nd l. neshesheta, staasheta, znaasheta, praise, besheta)
3rd person you don’t, you stop, you know, you praise, you beat)
Imperative mood
1st l. carry, become, know, praise
2nd and 3rd pp. bear, become, know, praise
Survivals of the dual number in modern Russian
At present, there are only a few, few remnants of the dual number in Russian. Forms of the dual (instead of plural) numbers have retained the names of some paired objects: horns, eyes, shores, sleeves, sides, shoulders, knees, ears, eyes, etc. Forms of the quasi-genitive case (actually nominative - accusative-vocative dual) with numerals: two brothers, according to the type of which combinations arise, like two wives with the genitive case, as well as three, four brothers, forms of indirect cases of the numeral two: two-x, two-m, two-mya , where two- is the genitive-prepositional of the dual number, complicated by the endings of pronouns like those, those, etc.: the instrumental forms of the numerals are two, three, four, where me = the ancient ending of the dative and instrumental dual number - ma, softened under the influence of the ending of the creative plural mi (originally there were two, but three). Numeral twelve (nominative, accusative, vocative feminine), two hundred (instead of two hundred, nominative, accusative, vocative neuter). Some adverbs like firsthand (dual pronoun), between (also), etc.
In some proverbs, similar forms are also preserved: a sparrow sits on a tyne, hopes on a wing (accusative of the dual number), etc. In the northern Great Russian dialects, the ending of the dative and instrumental dual -ma is in the role of the ending of the plural: with nogama, c hand , with a stick. Similar forms are found in the Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. Also, in modern Indo-European languages, the numerals Russian came from the forms of the dual number. "both", "both", "both, both", Polish. "boba", eng. "both", etc.
The word between is by origin a local case of the dual number of the Old Slavonic noun between (Russian between).
Dual Number Examples
I tied the wild horse with my hand
Tura me 2 metal (...) and 2 moose, one trampled with their feet, and the other hurt with a horn.
Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh
The two suns are dimmed, both the crimson column is extinguished, and it is immersed in the sea, and with them the young moon, Oleg and Svyatoslav, are entangled in darkness.
You, buoy Rurich, and Davyda! Do I not howl howling with golden helmets according to the blood of the swimmer?
A word about Igor's regiment
Two brothers best in spirit. (...) The name of love is great and unfeigned among itself.
Many times the brethren prayed to her<"братьев по духу">hedgehog humble yourself ima between yourself
The former two husbands are from the great city of that friend to themselves.
Kiev-Pechersk Patericon
And both were naked, Adam and his wife, and not ashamed
Book of Genesis, ch. 2, art. 25.
And I will come into His house, and the blind man will come to Him, and Jesus will say to them, Do you believe that I can do this? say to Him: to her. God. Then I will touch their eyes, saying: according to faith, I wake you up. And Ima's eyes are opened. And Jesus rebuke them, saying: watch over, but no one can steal away. She went out glorifying Him throughout all that land.
Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, vv. 28-32
Philosophical content of the dual category
Wilhelm von Humboldt considered it erroneous to think of the dual number as being limited simply to the concept of the number "two". According to his idea, the dual number combines the nature of the plural and the singular: it is simultaneously the collective-single of the number "two", while the plural can reduce the multitude to unity only in certain cases. Thus, the dual number expresses a collectively unique function, the idea of "unity in a multitude."
According to Humboldt, expressed by him in one of his last works, the unfinished "Über den Dualis", the dual number is wrong to consider a luxury or an outdated growth on the body of the language. From a philosophical point of view, the dual number fits well into the overall proportion of speech production, multiplying the possible relationships of words, increasing the scope of the impact of language and contributing to the philosophical foundations of sharpness and brevity of mutual understanding. In this it has the advantage that any grammatical form has, which differs from the corresponding descriptive expression in brevity and liveliness of impact.
