| Titre | Du diable vauvert russe et de ses trois neuf terres d'origine | |
|---|---|---|
| Auteur | Guy Imart | |
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Revue | Revue des Etudes Slaves |
| Numéro | Vol. 75, no 3-4, 2004 | |
| Rubrique / Thématique | Articles |
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| Page | 403-410 | |
| Résumé anglais |
On the Russian Fag End of the World and Its Three-Nine Native Lands
The enigmatic Russian (and Baltic) tridevjať remains until now much of a mystery.
It can be found in Eastern Slavic texts as early as the beginning of the 14th century. Most of the authors link it to another 'abnormaľ form: devjanosto and conclude that there probably existed 'an ancient reckoning system on base nine'.
However, since nothing can give evidence of it in Indo-European languages, this tridevjat looks much like a loan, or a calque. Turkic toguz (9) could, at first sight, be considered a plausible matrix for it but ultimately proves to be a mere specifier. More convincingly Nenetz - a language in which 9 is 'native ju''' and has been later replaced by 'Russian ju"' meaning 10 - could yield the clue to the enigma, suggesting that the Novgo- rodian uškujniki were those who introduced this expression further South.
Be it as it may. But this isolated numeral, strictly limited to a few idiomatic set expressions, does most probably not imply the existence of a fully fledged reckoning system on base 9.
The emphasis laid on the penultimate numbers of the two series (units and tens) rather suggests, as far as the signifier is concerned, that in civilizations with no writing system, these numbers may have played the role of an acoustic signal (warning about the near end of a series), much similar to the visual signal played by zero in civilizations based on writing.
On the whole - primitive, mnemonic counting tradition in use among tradesmen, based on 'sets' and 'wholes' rather than on isolated, listed units - but a system in which, as far as the signified is concerned, the ultimate unit - making ten - remains included into the series and completes it. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | https://www.persee.fr/doc/slave_0080-2557_2004_num_75_3_6914 |
