MOŽE LI SE REĆI U „BOLjŠOM TEATRU“?

During the process of transcribing the name of the Moscow’s Bolshoi theater (Большой театр) to Serbian, the Serbian normativistics was tending to gradually turn away from the declension Бољшој теат(а)р, Бољшоја театра (1960) to more or less variant declension Бољшој теат(а)р, Бољшог/Бољшоја театра (1989, 1994, 2010), concluding with the declension Бољшој театар, Бољшог театра (2013) exclusively. On the last transcriptional solution given, the author made remarks that it was discrepant, confusing, impractical, and gram- matically impossible to implement. Thus the author suggested that the Serbian normativistics adopt the following, most practical, solution: as it has come into use that way, Бољшој-театар should be normativized as a semicompound word. In all other and future cases, the Russian toponyms and names beginning with (Не) большой, in the neutre form (Не)большое, should be transcribed as (Не)бољши and (Не)бољше with (joint) genitive case (Не)бољшег, e. g. Russian Большой Город > Serbian Бољши город with genitive case Бољшег города, Russian Небольшой драматический театр > Serbian Небољши драматически театар with genitive case Небољшег драматическог театра, Russian Большое Трифоново > Serbian Бољше Трифоново with genitive case Бољшег Трифоновa. And in the case of Russian toponyms and names beginning with (Не)большая in the feminine gender, their transcription should not be altered anyhow, but stay the way as it is in Serbian normativistics – they should be transcribed as beginning with (Не)бољша(ја) with genitive case (Не)бољше, e. g. Russian Большaя Речка > Serbian Бољша(ја) Речка with genitive case Бољше Речке.