Levina M.Z., Maticsák S. Linguistic Features of Pre-Revolutionary Monuments of Mordovian Written Tradition from the Second Half of the 17TH to the Early 18TH Century

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Original article

https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.018.2026.01.057-073
https://elibrary.ru/amduaq
УДК / UDC 003.3:81’282:811.511.152

Linguistic Features of Pre-Revolutionary Monuments of Mordovian Written Tradition from the Second Half of the 17TH to the Early 18TH Century

M. Z. Levina
National Research Mordovia State University, Saransk, Russian Federation

S. Maticsák
University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

Abstract

Introduction. The unique linguistic material preserved in pre-revolutionary monuments of Mordovian writing serves as a valuable source for studying the present state of the Mordovian languages. The sources contain important information on linguistic features as well as on the material and spiritual culture of the Mordovian people, which today acquires particular historical-philological, linguistic, and literary-historical significance. Above all, these materials contribute to clarifying the actual trajectory of the written linguistic evolution of the Mordovian people, enabling the reconstruction of the language at specific historical stages of its development and the identification of its interrelations with other languages. The aim of this study is to identify the characteristic features of fragmentary records of speech samples, to determine the dialectal basis of the linguistic material, and to examine the principles of its written representation, which are essential for addressing issues related to the development of Mordovian written literary languages.

Materials and Methods. The material for this study comprises pre-revolutionary monuments of Mordovian written tradition. The research employs a set of methods, including the descriptive method (used to systematize and characterize the material extracted from Mordovian written sources of the 17th–18th centuries) and the comparative-contrastive method (applied in the analysis of linguistic features of the Moksha and Erzya languages).

Results and Discussion. The study identified the most frequent characteristic features of fragmentary recordings of speech samples preserved in pre-revolutionary monuments of Mordovian writing. The dialectal basis of the analyzed linguistic material was established. A comparative analysis was conducted, making it possible to reveal historical connections that reflect the linguistic and cultural-historical characteristics of the Mordovian people.

Conclusion. The analysis of the language of pre-revolutionary monuments of Mordovian written tradition from the 17th–18th centuries makes it possible to determine both the chronological and territorial attribution of the recorded samples of Mordovian speech, and to establish the existence of a written tradition among the Mordovian people prior to the Great October Socialist Revolution. In order to reconstruct earlier stages of the Mordovian languages (Moksha and Erzya), it is necessary to compare the data derived from these monuments with the characteristic features of the contemporary Moksha and Erzya languages. The results of this study may be employed in the compilation of historical grammars and dialectological atlases of the Moksha and Erzya languages, as well as in university-level courses on the history and dialectology of the Mordovian languages.

Keywords: Mordovian languages, written sources, linguistic material, recordings of speech samples, linguistic analysis

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Levina M.Z., Maticsák S. Linguistic Features of Pre-Revolutionary Monuments of Mordovian Written Tradition from the Second Half of the 17TH to the Early 18TH Century. Finno–Ugric World. 2026;18(1):57–73. https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.018.2026.01.057-073

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Information about the authors:

Maria Z. Levina, Сand.Sci. (Philol.), Associate Professor of the Department of Mordovian Languages and Literature, National Research Mordovia State University (68 Bolshevistskaya St., Saransk 430005, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7808-2187, SPIN-код: 9412-4339, Lev.Mariya@mail.ru

Sándor Maticsák, Ph.D. (Philol.), Professor, Head of the Department of Finno-Ugric Linguistics, University of Debrecen (1 University Square, Debrecen 4025, Hungary), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9313-1162, Scopus ID: 56807207300, maticsak.sandor@arts.unideb.hu

Authors’ contribution:

M. Z. Levina – preparation and creation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation); ideas; verification of the reproducibility of the research results within the framework of the objectives of the research.

S. Maticsák – preparation and creation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation); ideas; verification of the reproducibility of the research results within the framework of the objectives of the research.

All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Submitted 21.12.2025; revised 04.02.2026; accepted 09.02.2026.

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