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Period: 700 to 800
Pre-Kievan Period
There were many borrowings from Germanic languages, especially Gothic and Old Norse. Later, during the Kievan period, they were influenced by Old Church Slavonic and Byzantine Greek. краткий [ˈkratkʲɪj] ОCS = ESl короткий 'brief'
короткий [kɐˈrotkʲɪj] ESl = CS краткий 'short'
вивліоѳика [vɪvlʲɪofʲ'ikə] Gr bibliothḗkē via OCS 'library' (archaic form)
правописание [ˌpravəpʲɪˈsanʲɪje] Gr orthographíā via OCS calque:
OCS правый [ˈpravɨj]=orthós 'correct',
OCS писати [pʲɪˈsatʲɪ] =gráphō 'write' -
Period: 800 to 1100
Kievan Rus' period (9th–12th century)
The earliest written record of the language, an amphora found at Gnezdovo, dates from ca. mid-10th century. Old Church Slavonic was the standard written language, but Rus' variations started appearing in the 11th century. These were more distinguishable from the serb ones. Also in the 11th century, differences in written sources point to the slow emergence of distinct East Slavic languages. -
Period: 1200 to 1400
Feudal and linguistic breakup (13th–14th century)
Around ca. 1200, a largely different version of the Old Church Slavonic began to develop. Nevertheless, it still remained an official language. After the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, many borrowed words from Turko-Mongol started appearing in the Rus' language. товар [tɐˈvar] Turkic 'commercial goods'
лошадь [ˈloʂətʲ] Turkic 'horse' -
Period: 1400 to
The Moscow period (15th–17th centuries)
In the 16th century, what we know as modern russian literature begun, and the use of Church Slavonic decreased by a lot. From that point forward, the russian language evolved into what we know and russian today. глаз [ɡlas] R; relegates (to poetic use only) ComSl око [ˈokə] = Lat oculus = E eye 'eye'
куртка [ˈkurtkə] P kurtka, from Lat curtus 'a short jacket'
бархат [ˈbarxət] G Barhat 'velvet' -
Period: to
Empire (18th–19th centuries)
In the 18th century Peter the Great reformed the alphabet by combining it with many languages from western Europe (Latin, French, German) and also greek. мачта [ˈmatɕtə] D mast 'mast'
интерес [ɪnʲtʲɪˈrʲɛs] G Interesse/Fr intérêt 'interest'
библиотека [bʲɪblʲɪɐˈtʲɛkə] Gr bibliothḗkē via Fr. bibliothèque 'library' (modern form) In the 19th century, the modern language took its form, and literature flourished. Spurred perhaps by the so-called Slavophilism, some terms from other languages. -
Period: to
Soviet period and beyond (20th century)
During the Soviet period, the russian language was reformed completely: grammar, spelling, phonology...
In 1964, there was an attempt to reform the orthography, but it failed to work due to political circumstances.