Ellipsis in Russian literature of the 18th–19th centuries: usage and codification

The article examines the evolution of the use of written marks that indicate omissions, pauses, and speech interruptions in Russian literature from the 18^th to the early 19^th century. The authors argue that, through the example of the ellipsis and competing punctuation marks, it is possible to see how the punctuation usage evolved throughout the 18^th century and how the process of normalization in the field of punctuation proceeded in the 19^th century. The currently accepted viewpoint is that there was no unified norm in the Russian language after Peter the Great’s time, and the usage was of a hybrid nature. On one hand, there was a diminishing influence of early printed Slavic books, while on the other hand, the role of translated literature was increasing. The nature and intensity of the interaction between these two traditions depended on a given system of language. For example, the hybrid nature of punctuation usage persisted until the 19^th century. During this period, punctuation marks can be grouped according to their degree of codification. Non-codified marks were those that were yet to be recorded in normative manuals but already occurred in literary texts from the first quarter of the 18^th century. They were codified much later, when they had become commonly used in the literary language. In this regard, it would be worthwhile and linguistically important to clarify the rules for using non-codified punctuation marks within a certain time period and determine the extent to which these rules depended on existing writing traditions. The most illustrative in this respect is the ellipsis: its presence in literary production can be traced to as early as the 1720s, although it was only codified in grammar in 1831.