Creating a Database of Russian Dialects and Prospects for Dialectometric Studies

I. I. Isaev^a1, V. D. Solov’ev^b2, F. I. Salimov^b3, A. G. Pilyugin^b4, and V. R. Bairasheva^b5,*
Translated by B. Alekseev

^aVinogradov Russian Language Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

^bKazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia

Correspondence to: e-mail: ¹ignatis@mail.ru; ²maki.solovyev@mail.ru; ³Farid.Salimov@kpfu.ru; ⁴pag@kch.ru; ⁵vbayrasheva@gmail.com

*Igor’ Igorevich Isaev, Cand. Sci. (Philol.), is a Senior Researcher at the Vinogradov Russian Language Institute (RLI), RAS. Valerii Dmitrievich Solov’ev, Dr. Sci. (Phys.–Math.), is a Leading Researcher at Kazan Federal University (KFU). Farid Ibragimovich Salimov, Cand. Sci. (Phys.–Math.), is an Associate Professor at KFU. Aleksandr Gennad’evich Pilyugin is an Assistant Professor at KFU. Venera Rustamovna Bairasheva, Cand. Sci. (Phys.–Math.), is an Associate Professor at KFU.

Received 15 January, 2016

Abstract—The necessity to transfer from the paper-based Dialectological Atlas of the Russian Language, published 30 years ago, to an electronic database is substantiated. This would make the information contained in the atlas available to a large number of users and ensure on-the-fly information retrieval, isogloss plotting, and finding dialects with a specified set of properties. It would also be possible to use state-of-the-art analytical tools for dialectological data, including mathematical methods, particularly cluster algorithms and multidimensional scaling, widely used in dialectometric studies in the West.

Keywords: Russian dialects and subdialects, database of Russian subdialects, Dialectological Atlas of the Russian Language, dialectometry.

DOI: 10.1134/S1019331616060022