DOUBLET OPPOSITIONS IN LATE OLD RUSSIAN VOCALISM: EVIDENCE FROM THE GOSPEL APRAKOS (OR F.256 NO. 114)

Abstract

The present article examines distributive and quantitative regularities in the usage of doublet graphemes for vowel phonemes, based on material from a Late Old Russian parchment manuscript of the Gospel Aprakos, preserved in the Russian State Library collection (OR F.256 No. 114) and dated to the late 14th - early 15th centuries. A comprehensive analysis of the text addresses the principal doublet series characteristic of Late Old Russian vocalism. It is established that in each series, neutral graphemes consistently predominate in all positions, whereas marked variants exhibit distinct positional and functional limitations. Marked graphemes are encountered primarily in word-initial and word-final positions, at the beginning and end of lines, and are employed in borrowings (including those from Church Slavonic) and similar contexts, which is indicative of their differentiating role within the writing system. The observed distribution correlates with the processes of the so-called Second South Slavic Influence. Specifically, the consistent use of certain marked graphemes in Grecisms and ligature combinations reflects the South Slavic tradition of preserving the graphic appearance of loanwords, while the appearance of innovative letter forms within doublet series demonstrates a synthesis of Greek, South Slavic, and East Slavic graphic practices. The orthography of the manuscript under consideration thus shows that the South Slavic influence not only enriched the repertoire of graphic means, but also consolidated conscious variation as an organic and normative feature of professional book-writing during the transitional period. The results of the study refine existing conceptions of the functional differentiation of doublet graphemes in the Late Old Russian manuscript tradition and contribute to the study of orthographic norms of the epoch.