The term razlichiye in the first Slavic grammars: signification and denotation issues

The article is devoted to the analysis of the term razlichiye functioning in the first Slavic grammars. The research is based on the data contained in the works of Laurentiy Zizaniy and Meletius Smotrytsky, as well as in some later grammatical descriptions. On the basis of etymological, motivational and orienting analyzes, the ratio of denotative and significative components in the structure of the term, which in the first native grammars functioned as razlichiye , was identified. The review of theoretical research papers on the issue is introduced. The variability of the term usage resulting from the studied exponent signification and denotation ambiguity has been revealed. At the opening phase of the formation of grammatical terminology, reflected in the grammars of the Church Slavonic language in the 16th - 17th centuries the linguistic personality of grammarians, the cultural context of the era are proved to play an important role. The authors conclude that introducing the term razlichiye in the description of the Church Slavonic grammatical structure was the first step towards understanding the relational meaning of flexion as a morpheme. A comparative analysis of the term and its equivalents functioning in the grammars of ancient Greek, Latin, and Slavic languages has been performed. It was found that the interpretation of the medieval understanding of the term razlichiye as one of the parts of speech is recognized by the majority of modern researchers, but different assumptions are made about the significative and denotative correlation of the term (indicative-relative pronouns or articles). It is assumed that the signification of the term razlichiye in its modern interpretation can be explained as follows: it is a rudimentary inflectional category of syncretic (part-of-speech-and-affixal) nature, embodied in the forms of pronouns i , ja , e . The denotation of the term razlichiye is a transitional phenomenon between the realities corresponding to a definite article, an indicative-relative pronoun and an inflection.