Thread: inflection

I am trying to compile a list of the Russian terms that are equivalent to grammatical terms in English. I am stuck on the word "inflect", which means to change the ending of a word, whether verb, noun, adjective, pronoun, numeral, participle, adverb, etc. If the word is a verb, then "conjugate" can also be used, but I already know the Russian term for that. If the word is a noun, adjective, pronoun, numeral, participle, etc., then "decline" can be used, but I already know the Russian term for that. In English, the single term "inflect" encompasses both conjugations and declensions. I cannot find a Russian word for "inflect", either in any online dictionary or from my Russian teacher. All I can find is an onliine definition in Russian, which says that "to inflect" means "to change the ending of a word." I already knew that. Is there a single-word Russian verb equivalent to "inflect" and which means any kind of inflection?

There is a word флексия - inflextion, but it is too special (is not learnt at school). And looks like there is no corresponding verb.

Thanks for your reply. I had already discoverd флексия and passed over it, as it is about 80% cognate and is a noun and not a verb. If there should be a verb инфлектировать, I would keep on looking for a Russian root rather than an imported cognate.

I discovered this website only this morning (11 JUN 09) and am surprised at how quickly so many people read my post and even one replied. I am very glad to have found this site, and will consult it often.

What about словоизменение? That's the title of the Wikipedia article that the English article on inflection links to.

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0% ... 0%B8%D0%B5

It appears from reading the linked article on словоизменение that this word subsumes all types of word inflection. Thanks very much for the link. Perhaps the verb "to inflect" that is produced from this noun would be словоизменить? I Googled for this word and found only one link whose abstract included this phrase: "... словоизменить мое имя...". It would appear that this is the verb I sought. Many thanks to all.

Originally Posted by Wild_Bill

I Googled for this word and found only one link whose abstract included this phrase: "... словоизменить мое имя...". It would appear that this is the verb I sought. Many thanks to all.

Yes, only one link for "словоизменить" and only two for "словоизменять." I wouldn't use it. I would be satisfied with "изменять(ся)."

>Yes, only one link for "словоизменить" and only two for "словоизменять." I wouldn't use it. I would be satisfied with "изменять(ся)."

I believe that изменить, изменять, etc., mean generally to change or alter, and can be applied to anything, whereas словоизменить means specifically to change or alter a word. So in English to "change" or "alter" can be applied to any thing, whereas to "inflect" is used only with respect to a word ending. Is it the same in Russian? If we were talking about words and I suddenly used изменить, would it be understood that I meant to inflect or could it also mean to replace a word with one of its synonyms that is more specific, more poetical, a euphemism, less archaic, sounds better, etc.? Would there be any such ambiguity in a language class?

Russian has different verbs with different prefixes.

Изменять / изменить means "to change" something when a thing stays the same, but its quality changes.
Заменять / заменить means to replace a thing with another one.

Therefore, when applied to a word, "изменить слово" is normally understood as "to inflect a word", i.e. to change its grammar form (the word is still the same). If you want to select another word which is less archaic etc., you would say "заменить слово (другим словом)".