Abstract

The Russian language is notorious among English speakers for its grammatical complexity. In particular, the acquisition and usage of punctuation rules of Russian as a foreign language, as well as for native speakers, presents considerable difficulty.

One reason for this problem is the existence of substandard uses of punctuation that deviate from standard punctuation rules to convey particular communicative nuances. Some punctuation patterns in Russian are not dictated by syntactic context; but instead vary according to the author`s choice of communicative style. Guidelines for such usage are not provided in the majority of Russian textbooks and guides on orthography. General information about such deviations can be found, for example, in the guide “Orthography and Punctuation” by Valgina & Svetlysheva; however, substandard use of punctuation marks in the Russian written language remains poorly described. This presents a problem for students trying to master Russian punctuation, especially for nonnative speakers.

This paper focuses on the essence of substandard use of punctuation marks (substandard punctuating), in particular the use of contextually conditioned marks. I explain such punctuation by using a communicative approach to Russian punctuation. This paper analyzes examples of sentences with identical wording but different punctuation strategies. The examples are taken from textbooks, guides and monographs on modern Russian punctuation.

I conclude that these variants in punctuation are regular and represent an integral part of the Modern Russian punctuation system. However, by using substandard punctuation in accord with one`s intention the author should be able to “protect” his text from misunderstanding. Identifying a context where punctuation is not fixed by the syntax, but rather allows communicative variation, can be challenging for the student. In this case, for example, an editor should apply to some new set of rules to suggest the proper punctuation in different communicative situations.

The traditional approach to the codification of Russian punctuation rules does not allow for a description of all variety of usages and, most importantly, does not in fact register the necessary punctuation patterns in long-term memory of a native speaker of Russian.

Therefore, modern Russian punctuation rules need to be revised in terms of actual usage and communicative function in texts of different styles. This topic is, in fact, broader than the present article, which simply introduces the problem.

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