Phonetic and Morphological Adaptation of the Anthroponyms Anna, Elizabeth and Solomonida in Russian Official Documents of the 16th–17th Centuries

Abstract

This article explores the phonetic and morphological adaptations of the anthroponyms Anna, Elizabeth, and Solomonida in Old Russian official documents of the 16th and 17th centuries. These names, often used in their vernacular derivatives, reflect the linguistic practices of scribes and translators, who aligned them with morphological patterns from Old Greek, Hebrew, and English.

The study highlights how these anthroponyms were integrated into Old Russian through the addition of native suffixes, including possessive markers, to loanword stems. For example, the English name Elizabeth was Russified with the suffix -a, adhering to the conservative norms of official etiquette.

The analysis draws on annotated citations from Old Russian documents, providing valuable insights into the diachronic development and morphological variability of anthroponyms. The findings contribute to our understanding of the interplay between borrowed and native linguistic elements in historical anthroponymy.

This research also opens pathways for further studies on productive and unproductive anthroponyms, their derivatives, possessive forms, and regional variations, particularly in yet-undiscovered archival manuscripts. The proposed linguistic analysis expands the foundation of historical anthroponymy and enhances our understanding of diachronic linguistic processes.