Dvoyetochiye [Colon]: A Historical-Linguistic Study
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-5-105-127
Abstract
This paper systematically compiles information about the term dvoyetochiye [colon] and its equivalents, drawn from grammatical and lexicographical sources spanning the 16th to the early 19th centuries. Employing methods of comparative, semantic, and historical-linguistic analysis, it establishes that the word dvoyetochiye [colon] has held a terminological status since its first recorded mention in textual sources in 1619. The study reveals that from the early 17th century to 1810, the colon as a punctuation and diacritical mark served a range of functions, each corresponding to a distinct meaning of the term. Among these meanings are the following: a linear punctuation mark represented by two vertical dots; a sign indicating the end of a phrase; a superscript mark above the letter i; a superscript mark above ї; a superscript mark above ё; and a superscript mark denoting the distinct phonetic realization of adjacent vowels. The investigation identifies several doublet terminological designations, including dve tochki [two dots] (1738 — vertical colon / 1780 — horizontal colon), dvoesrochie (16th century), dvoestrochie (1640), dvosrochnaya (17th century), dva punkta [two points] (1627), diaeresis (1788), trema (1798), punkt dvoyakiy [double point] (1730), and dva apostrofa [two apostrophes] (1808). These designations are encapsulated within the terminological microfield of “Colon”, reflecting the dual representation of the corresponding sign in writing: horizontal (as a diacritical or pseudodiacritical mark above a letter) and vertical (as a punctuation mark).
About the Author
A. V. Ivanov
Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Andrey V. Ivanov, Doctor of Philology, Professor, Head of the Scientific Research Laboratory “Fundamental and Applied Linguistic Research”
Nizhny Novgorod
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Review
For citations:
Ivanov A.V. Dvoyetochiye [Colon]: A Historical-Linguistic Study. Nauchnyi dialog. 2025;14(5):105-127. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-5-105-127
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