Обозначение марийского заднеязычного шумного г кириллической буквой г и латинской g в памятниках письменности марийского языка второй половины XVIII в. [The Mari Velar Obstruent г and the Latin Grapheme g in Mari Writings of the Second Half of the 18th Century]

The article analyzes the use of the Cyrillic letter г and the Latin grapheme g in the early written records of the Mari language. The letter g was first used alongside the letter г in the Cheremis grammar of 1775. In the grammar, the letter g is used more frequently than its variant г. The grapheme g is used more frequently than the letter г in Damaskin’s handwritten dictionary. In the unpublished dictionary by V. Kreknin and I. Platunov, the letter g is used very limitedly. There are many examples where the letters г and g are used in parallel. Both lexicographic works were compiled in 1785. In the Damaskin’s dictionary, the active use of g can be explained by the church canons of writing. In the Kreknin’s monument, the letters г and g are used as graphic synonyms. There are lexical units where the Cyrillic letter г and the Latin letter g are fixed in the same word.