Spelling of prefixes without- (bes-), from- (is-), times- (ras-), bottom- (nis-), vz- (vs-), voz- (vos-), through- (through-) will be discussed in this article. It is commonly believed that with the letters "c" and "z" we have different spellings of the same morphemes. In fact, for example, “is” and “from” have the same meaning: moving out. Therefore, the prefix is one, these are only two of its options.
General rule when writing "z" and "c" in consoles
When writing "z" and "c" in them, the general rule is as follows: "z" is written at the end of the morpheme that interests us if the next prefix or root begins with a voiced consonant or with a vowel; and "c" before the deaf consonant. It is easiest to memorize this formula as follows: voiced with voiced, deaf with deaf. Although the terms are scientifically slightly misused in this formulation, it is easy to remember and practical to use. This principle follows, in particular, the spelling of the prefixes "without" and "demon." The rule applies to all morphemes listed at the beginning of the article.
Recall which consonants are deaf and which consonants
Pronunciation determines the variability of consonants in these prefixes. [C] is pronounced before the deaf consonants, and is written “c”, and [h] - before voiced and vowels, and is written “z”. At the end of the prefix, the sound is voiced or stunned under the influence of neighboring vowels or consonants.
It is not possible to use these prefix rules (without and without) if you do not know which letters are voiced consonants and which are deaf. Many people think, for example, that “c” stands for sonorous sound. And this is no coincidence. It really sounds a little louder than other deaf consonants, but it remains deaf. Voiced consonants are “p”, “n”, “m”, “l”, “y”, “z”, “f”, “d”, “g”, “c”, “b”. Deaf - "u", "h", "c", "x", "s", "w", "t", "k", f "," p ".
Common Rule Usage Examples
Examples are as follows. "Cloudless" is written with "z", because this letter is in front of the vowel. "Useless" - with "c", as she is in a position in front of the deaf. "Merciless" - "z" is written, because it is in front of the voiced. "Unpack" - "c" in front of the deaf. "Scratched" is the same thing. "Deal" - "h" in the position in front of the voiced. “Overthrow” is the same.
Remember the following words, in the spelling of which mistakes are often made: scratched, tasteless, ruthless, lifeless, worldview, worldview, stealth, underneath, sneaky, disappear, too much.
Why and when did this rule arise?
This rule comes from the phonetic principle of writing. The phonetic principle requires spelling according to pronunciation. Of course, he is a subordinate, justifying the spelling of certain words and forms, established spontaneously, arbitrarily, in the absence of general rules.
For the first time, the rules for writing the prefixes “demon” and “without”, “races” and “times” and others were formulated in 1755 in Mikhail Lomonosov’s “Russian Grammar”.
However, Mikhail Vasilievich in his work wrote "it seems to me," that is, he left the freedom of choice to native speakers. And he himself did not always adhere to this principle. Therefore, the rule almost to the end of the 19th century was of a recommendatory nature. People wrote consoles without any rules, "arbitrarily," as they heard. Over time, the tradition has developed by itself in cases of stunning writing "s", and in cases of voicing - "z".
Use of prefixes with "z" and "s" in the 19th century
Philologists of the 19th century when developing the first spelling rules introduced the following restriction: "Prefixes through and without are always written through" h ":" through-band "," immeasurable "," bezpechny ". The rest (ra-, cart-, of- and others ) “c” is kept before “c”, as well as voiced consonants, and before the deaf you should write “c”: “tell”, “get rid of”, ban, “exclaim”, “come out”. As you can see, it has become much more difficult to remember in which cases and prefixes you should use "z". It was necessary to write differently than you hear. The rule in this option did not last long. The reform of the Russian language that took place in 1918 greatly simplified it.
Lunacharsky reform
For almost a hundred years, disputes over the writing of the prefix without (demon) have not stopped, since the moment when Lunacharsky introduced the prefix "demon" in Russian in 1921. It was customary to write it according to the phonetic principle (voiced with voiced, and deaf with deaf). Only one option (without-) existed before this reform. The rest of the prefixes, which ended in "c" and "z", in most cases by that time it was already customary to write as we are used to today.
The controversy caused the prefix to be inconsistent with the noun “demon”. Opponents of this reform believe that with its introduction demons were introduced into the Russian language, which would certainly destroy Orthodoxy and the entire Russian people. Therefore, it is necessary to change the spelling of the prefixes “without” and “demon”. This rule, however, has been around for almost a century.
The spelling of another prefix also changed during this reform - through- (through-). There was only one version of it before Lunacharsky’s reform (his photo is presented below), and people wrote the word “too much” as “too much”.
The history of the use of the prefix without (without)
At first, it was unusual for the Russian consciousness that the prefix without and without has two options. This rule was learned quite quickly nevertheless. The reason was that in Russia, which at the time the reform was introduced "uneducated," spelling standards were not familiar to most of the country's population. Subsequently, people had no choice but to simply accept them and study the rules of prefixes without and without, through and through, etc. However, many in the following years believed that this modernization was introduced specifically to extol and praise the unclean power, that is, a demon. But wise old people said that you can’t say his name out loud, otherwise he will come to you. The people strictly observed this wisdom. She was at a conscious level the habit of conversation, the norm of speech.
Demon versus demon
Perhaps the most insidious prefix is the prefix without and without in Russian. The rule involves its double use, which significantly changes the meaning of some words. They really seem to begin to praise the unclean, if we consider the following single-root words as two-root: “heartless”, “disinterested”, “wordless”, “shameless”, “inglorious”, “useless”.
Some representatives of the old generation are still cautiously using the demon prefix for word formation. In the village today, grandmothers continue to say to their grandchildren: "Do not call him to yourselves, do not cry trouble on your head."
Some believe that the influence of these words crippled moral principles, mental principles bequeathed to ancestors. Words with a prefix do not unconsciously bring negative meaning into the soul, assimilating and gaining a foothold in the vocabulary. Even when their original meaning is not recognized, they still pass on their impact to the audience. It turns out a growing chain of negative influence, entangling all people. Some believe that one of the causes of cruelty in various segments of the population is precisely the prefix without and without. The rule should be changed so that the second option, as they believe, disappears.
Changeling words
With the introduction of two variants of the prefix of interest to us in the morphology of the Russian language, the so-called "change-over words" arose in the dictionary. That is, one is written, but the other is heard at the same time, the third is consciously understood.
A vivid example in which the rule of writing the prefix without (demon) is implemented is the word “heartless”, which, according to the spelling of the Old Russian language, has a heartless, cruel person. Everything here was correct in meaning - a clear description was given by the negating prefix. And in the modern version of the spelling, the word turned into "heartless", that is, it turned out a hearty demon, kind and good.
In our language there are many curious shifters whose appearance determined the spelling of prefixes without- (demon-) (the rule that exists today). Linguists believe that this is just a pun, a coincidence. However, some of our compatriots are inclined to believe that this is a planned action in order to embitter people against each other. They were able to see the following ambiguous images that arose when two options appeared, where today there is a prefix: without and without. The rule of writing it led to the appearance of such words.
“Powerless” - here the semantic substitution leads at the level of a person’s subconscious to a powerless state before a demon.
"Useless" - an attempt to confront him is completely useless.
“Fearless” - replacing one letter, we turned a strong word that meant a brave man, calling for fear of the demon.
“Aimless” - we are left without a goal and without honor, and he is purposeful and honest.
The concept of a person who has become one because of the substitution of one letter in the prefix becomes very unsightly. And all thanks to the fact that there is a modern rule for writing prefixes without- (demon-) in Russian. This man is without a purpose in life, without honor, without compassion and without a path. And here is a pointless, honest image that will rule over people in this and another world. So the life-affirming, sonorous sound of “z” lost together with people the strength in front of “with,” a weak sound, as some of our compatriots believe.
The controversy surrounding the rule of writing the prefix without- (dem-) in Russian
This rule is still being questioned by some. They turn to pre-revolutionary sources. In the Dahl dictionary (his portrait is presented below), for example, we find a clear distinction between the rules of prefixes without and without from a traditional, Slavic point of view.
However, only the corrected by Lunacharsky word variants contain all the dictionaries of the last century. Some believe that he fundamentally changed the meaning of many of them, introducing misunderstanding and confusion into the Russian language. Having overthrown the writing of the prefix without, originally Slavic, the revolutionaries distorted the image of the Rusich - strong, glorious. Whether this was so in reality, we are now unlikely to find out. No one has yet canceled the rules of prefixes without and without, so they will have to be followed, whether we like it or not. The debate continues today. In the meantime, modern spelling standards are being studied in schools, including the topic "The prefix without and without in Russian." The rule (Grade 5 first gets to know him) should certainly be observed in order to write correctly.