Re: [tied] Re: -(o,e)vic^

On Sat, 09 Dec 2000 20:42:58 -0000, "Mark Odegard"
<markodegard@...> wrote:

>But what, precisely, does the Polish -ski derive from?

Slavic *-IskU-jI (the definite form of -IskU, fem. -Iska(-ja)).
It's the same suffix as English "-ish".

>And why do Russian names have the alteration Ivanov/Ivanovitch (as the
>second element of a Russian name, my recollection is that the -ovitch
>form is the one used for males, -ovna for females.).

The patronymic is -ovich, -ovna. The family name can end in -ov,
-ova. Ivan Ivanovich (pron.: /ivan(@)tS/) Ivanov, Ivana Ivanovna
(pron.: /ivann@/) Ivanova

>I've read in popular sources that it is virtually impossible to
>converse in Russian, with a Russian, unless he knows your father's
>name.

The polite way of addressing someone is first name + patronymic.
There are of course ways of avoiding it (cf. avoiding someone's first
name, if you've forgotten it, or (much more difficult) avoiding
personal pronouns when you're not sure whether to address someone as
"Ud./U/vous/Sie" or "tú/jij/tu/du").


=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv@...