To the History of Capital Letters Use in Writing Pronouns (Based on Articles by Nikolai M. Karamzin of 1802–1803)

Abstract

The article examines the problem of codifying the norms for the use of capital letters in the Russian texts of the second half of the 18th — first half of the 19th centuries. The author argues that during this period there was a significant number of textbooks, grammars, which determined the features of capital letters use, while they implemented one of two models for constructing this section — with a brief or lengthy description of the rules. In particular, in most grammars there is a rule of using capital letters when writing pronouns. Based on three articles by Nikolai M. Karamzin of 1802–1803, the author demonstrates that the usage of the author’s texts by Karamzin differs significantly from the norms fixed by grammars. On the one hand, the area of capital letters use when writing pronouns by Karamzin is broader and covers cases of use not described by grammars: a) reflexive, relative and attributive pronouns (along with personal and possessive pronouns noted by grammars), while in most cases (46 out of 50) pronouns are used in the anaphoric function; b) forms of indirect cases (in grammars examples of the use of words in the form of the nominative case are given); c) pronouns correlated with the names of monarchs who ruled in previous eras. On the other hand, in contexts that require the use of capital letters, pronouns can be written in lowercase letters. It is suggested that the use of capital letters when writing pronouns in the texts of Karamzin can be explained by the same reason as the use of capital letters when writing nouns, noted by Yu. M. Lotman and B. A. Uspensky: in some cases, capital letters are used by Karamzin as a means of creating a certain author’s modality of the text.

Keywords:

Nikolai M. Karamzin, Russian grammars of the 18th–19th centuries, capital letters, pronouns