1、 Introduction

The definition of transitional phenomena by Sherba and Babaytseva was cited, emphasizing the importance of transitional phenomena in linguistic research. This article introduces the research tradition of transitional phenomena in the Russian linguistic community, as well as the attention of domestic scholars to transitional phenomena in Russian. Current research has mainly focused on the level of word classes and syntactic structures, and there is not yet in-depth research on the level of morphemes. This article aims to analyze the transitional characteristics of Russian affixes from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives.

2、 Overview of modern Russian affixes

Explored in depth the transitional characteristics of class affixes in modern Russian. Traditionally, morphemes have been divided into two categories: roots and affixes, but there are some special morphemes such as "ведение", "воз", and "град" that combine the characteristics of roots and affixes, making it difficult to classify them clearly. Shansky proposed calling these morphemes "transitional morphemes" and pointed out their word formation function in Russian. Scholars such as Bodeun de Kurtne and Bogoroditsky of the Kazan School also paid attention to the phenomenon of differentiation in root meaning and function. There were differences in the definition and classification of transitional morphemes in the Soviet academic community, but with the widespread recognition of the term 'affixoid', the 1979 edition of the Russian Encyclopedia provided a clear definition, dividing it into class prefixes and class suffixes.

3、 The transitional characteristics of Russian affixes over time

Explored the transitional characteristics of Russian class affixes over time, namely the process of class affixes evolving from lexical items to morphemes. By analyzing the evolution of the suffix - жды, the process of grammaticalization is revealed, which involves the transition from the actual meaning to the grammatical word, then to the attachment form, and ultimately to the affix. As a typical product of lexical grammaticalization, class affixes can be described as the process of grammaticalization from vocabulary to class affixes and then to affixes. The transitional scale proposed by Babaitseva helps to describe the degree of grammaticalization of class affixes, where class affixes exhibit lexical and affix characteristics on the transitional scale. Specific use cases analyzed the transitional characteristics of class affixes in different stages, such as the class affixes in the Аб stage showing lexical features, while the class affixes in the АБ stage showing affix features. Over time, the form, semantics, and pragmatics of class affixes have changed, showing a trend of transition from vocabulary to affixes.

4、 The synchronic transitional characteristics of Russian affixes

Explored the transitional characteristics of Russian affixes in the synchronic morpheme system. As a transitional morpheme between roots and affixes, class affixes exhibit a "semi real and semi virtual" transitional semantic feature and word formation function. Semantically, class affixes not only retain the specific real meaning of the root word, but also extend abstract and general meanings. For example, "x од" in compound words describes both the semantics of "movement" and the general meaning of the tool or method of movement. In terms of word formation function, the class affix word formation (аффиксоидация) falls between affix word formation and non affix word formation. It not only has the characteristic of directly combining to produce stems, but also plays the role of affixes, serving as a carrier of derived word category and classification meanings. However, the word formation ability of class affixes has not yet reached the level of affixes, and can only attach to semantically related production stems to form compound nouns or compound adjectives. Therefore, class affixes have unique transitional characteristics in the synchronic morpheme system.

5、 Conclusion

Russian affixes, as an atypical language phenomenon, exhibit transitional features in the process of grammaticalization of lexical items, manifested as a weakening of lexical features and an enhancement of affix features. Class affixes are semantically intermediate between the semantic meaning of roots and the semantic meaning of affixes, and their word formation function is also in a transitional state. In the era of the internet and the impact of the pandemic, the vitality of class affix word formation has increased, and new compound words composed of class affixes have emerged in Russian, reflecting the dynamic changes in language and new trends in the development of word formation systems. There is still room for further research on Russian affixes compared to Chinese and English.