Jakobson’s Remarks on the Evolution of Russian and the Slavic Languages

Its significance and How to Read it

Analyzes the methodology of Jakobson’s pioneering 1929 book on historical linguistics. Introduces Jakobson’s principles of compatible and incompatible features (such as tonal accent, intensity accent, and vowel quantity). The paper then presents the historical implications of incompatible feature coexistence, resulting from phonological change, as exemplified by the various Slavic language zones after the loss of final jer vowels.