M.V. Lomonosov's Rhetorical Teaching on the Order of Words

This article examines the role of Lomonosov rhetoric in the history of language, in particular, in the normalization of the Russian literary language of the first half of the XVIII century. This question is examined in the light of M.V. Lomonosov's rhetorical teaching on the order of words, set forth in both his textbooks of rhetoric: "A Brief Guide to Rhetoric" (1744) and "A Brief Guide to Eloquence" (1748). Lomonosov's theory of word order is considered in comparison with the concepts of word order in Russian grammatical works of the late XVIII - early XIX century. On this basis, the factors characteristic of each epoch for assessing the order of words in the linguistic structure of the Russian language and in its use are identified. It is concluded that M.V. Lomonosov's concept of word order is not grammatical, but rhetorical and stylistic, due primarily to the tasks of rethinking the linguistic structure of artistic speech when it is used for rhetorical purposes.