L. V. Scherba – a Theoretician and Practitioner of Russian Lexicography

Abstract

The article analyses some aspects of lexicographic activity of L. V. Scherba: it examines his contribution into the development of the theory of lexicography, gives a survey of the dictionaries compiled with his participation in the 1920s–30s of the XX century, introduces to the scientific community some little-known facts of his lexicographic activity of the period. In addition to a general scientific overview of special literature and the analysis of his «Dictionary of the Russian Language», the article presents facts of the archival documents from Saint Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article deals with such unknown or little-known facts as L. V. Schera’s personal participation in the 1920s–30s in a number of lexicographic projects in Moscow and Leningrad: he took part in the compilation of «Lenin’s» dictionary of the Russian language, made in Moscow, A. S. Griboyedov’s «Woe from Wit» dictionary. A special page in the history of L. V. Scherba’s lexicographic activity became his work as a member of the Dictionary commission of the Academy of Sciences, his being an editor of a number of issues of the «Dictionary of the Russian Language» under the general edition of A. A. Shahmatov, and also compilation of the IX volume of the «Dictionary of the Russian Language» edited by N. S. Derzhavin. The article gives a brief analysis of the materials of the only published first issue («И – Идеализироваться») of this volume. The article summarizes important and topical for the theory of lexicography L. V. Sherba’s observations and statements resulting from his considerable practical dictionary making work. The article gives a brief account of concrete lexicographic material testifying for a very high level of the scientist’s lexicographic work.