Slavic microlanguages
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Slavic microlanguages are literary linguistic varieties that exist alongside the better-known Slavic languages of historically prominent nations. The term "literary microlanguages" was coined by Aleksandr Dulichenko in late 1970s; it subsequently became a standard term in Slavistics.[citation needed]
Slavic microlanguages exist both as geographically and socially peripheral dialects of more well-established Slavic languages and as completely isolated ethnolects. They often enjoy a written form, a certain degree of standardisation and are used in a variety of circumstances typical of codified idioms—albeit in a limited fashion and always alongside a national standard language.[1][2]
List of microlanguages
In terms of classification, each literary microlanguage is traced back to one of the major Slavic languages or is closely related to it. Pannonian Rusyn is the only language that poses a challenge in this regard.
South Slavic
- Slovene
- Prekmurje Slovene — Prekmurje (north-eastern Slovenia), neighbouring areas of Austria.
- Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy).
- Veneto-Slovene
- Serbo-Croatian
- Shtokavian
- Slavomolisano dialect (Molise Croatian) — spoken in the region of Molise (Italy) since the 15th–16th centuries, originally spoken in Dalmatia.
- Slavonic-Serbian
- Kajkavian
- Chakavian
- Burgenland Croatian (Gradishan Croatian) — Burgenland (Austria) and surrounding areas of Hungary.
- Shtokavian
- Bulgarian
- Banat Bulgarian dialect — Banat (Romania and Serbia), spoken since the 18th century.
- Pomak — spoken by Bulgarian Muslims in Greece (Pomaks).
- Macedonian
- Slavic dialects of Greece — spoken by Macedonians in Greece. Periodicals and books have been published in different countries, with one primer published in 1925;[3] nowadays, as far as is known, the literary standard is no longer used.
West Slavic
- Slovak
- Literary Eastern Slovak — the language of Protestants in eastern Slovakia since the mid-18th century
- Czech
- LachianÓndra Łysohorsky — based on the Silesiandialect — used by only one author — the poet
- Polish
East Slavic
- Ukrainian
- ) — spoken by
- West Polesian (Sudovian/Yotvingian) — south-western Belarus
- Belarusian
- Halshanish — project to introduce a literary standard based on local Belarusian dialects in Lithuania; used since late 1980s
- West Polesian (Sudovian/Yotvingian) — south-western Belarus
- Podlachian (their language) — Podlachia
Pannonian (Yugoslav) Rusyn — spoken by Rusyns of Vojvodina and Croatia; genetically, Pannonian Rusyn is related to the Slovak language, however, it has experienced strong substrate and adstrate influence of East Slavic Rusyn dialects. Based on a set of criteria, this language occupies an intermediate position between microlanguages and the main Slavic languages.
According to Aleskandr Dulichenko, the formation process of new literary microlanguages is still ongoing. One example is the Bunjevac literary standard based on
Insular and peripheral microlanguages
Functional characteristics
The precise
As literary microlanguages are, in terms of functionality, more expansive than their corresponding
In terms of location, Slavic microlanguages exist in both predominantly Slavic and non-Slavic areas, earning some the designation of linguistic "islands" resulting from a past migration, whereas others exist indigenously, having never been entirely separated from their genetic and geographic points of origin.
Ethnic factor
The majority of Slavic microlanguages are not represented by nations, but rather the cultural-linguistic and ethno-linguistic groups which are in turn branches of larger Slavic ethnic groups or nations.
Peripheral literary microlanguages function in the environment of cultural and linguistic groups that exist within the peripheral (ethnic) area and are distinguished within its framework only by local features of culture-historical and linguistic (dialectal) nature – such are Chakavians, Kajkavians in Croatia.
Insular ethno-linguistic groups — represented by the "islands" of
Origin and history of Slavic microlanguages
Conditions necessary for the emergence of literary microlanguages include: compactly populated area of speakers and the resulting isolation from the main dialect continuum; awareness of linguistic and ethnic distinctiveness; complexity of the dialectal environment, which prompts speakers to introduce their own literary language (especially during the formation of national literary languages) on the basis of a close group of dialects; pre-existing literary tradition in a related or unrelated language, which could provide ground for experiments in using the native language as a literary standard. The number of speakers alone does not guarantee the emergence of a literary standard, although it influences the potential outcome of the literary language formation process. Historical factors stimulating the emergence of a number of Slavic microlanguages has been Protestantism (in the 16th century), the Slavic national revival movements (19th century), and subjective factors such as prominent enlightenment figures giving an impetus to the development of the emerging literary standard based on their dialect, mainly by the power of their literary works.
It is noteworthy that almost all peripheral literary microlanguages at the initial stage of their development (that it, before the period of national revival) were regional varieties that competed to become the basis of the emerging national literary language.
Criticism
Theory of “Slavic microlinguistics” is critically assessed by the Russian Slavic scholar
Czech researcher Vladislav Knoll points out to “the lack of a strict definition of the key terms in the literary microlanguage theory". This, in his opinion, gives ground to refer to an increasing number of Slavic idioms of both the present and the past as Slavic microlanguages, which has recently become a trend. In particular, modern varieties such as Podhalian, Masurian, Silesian and Moravian, as well as historical languages such as Biblical Czech, Bernolákova Slovak , Trnava Slovak, Camaldolese Slovak and Transylvanian Bulgarian have all been labeled "new microlanguages".[8] Most of the linguistic varieties that Aleksandr Dulichenko groups as "microlanguages", are classified as "literary dialects" by Vladislav Knoll. In Knoll's opinion, it is necessary to separate the group of literary idiolects, such as the project of the Lachian language and the group of regional literary languages, such as Molise Croatian and Pannonian Rusyn, and, possibly, Kashubian and Slovakian Rusyn.[9]
See also
Notes
- ^ Grażyna Balowska (2000). "Mikrojęzyki literackie". In Władysław Lubaś (ed.). Socjolingwistyka. Vol. 16. Wydaw. Instytutu Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk. pp. 41–49.
- ^ "Литературный микроязык". Академик. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ Милетич, Любомир. Нова латинска писменост за македонските българи под Гърция. — Македонски преглед, С., 1925, г. I, кн. 5 и 6, с. 229–233. (Miletich, Lyubomir. New latin alphabet for Macedonian Bulgarians under Greece, Macedonian review, 1925, vol. 5-6, pp. 229–233)
- ISBN 978-5-9765-0321-2.
- ISBN 978-5-9765-0321-2.
- ISBN 978-5-9765-0321-2.
- )
- )
- )
Bibliography
- Dulichenko A.D. Malyje slavianskije literaturnyje jazyki (mikrojazyki) // Jazyki Mira: Slavianskije Jazyki. М.: Academia, 2005
- Dulichenko A.D. Slavianskije literaturnyje mikrojazyki. Voprosy formirovanija i rasvitija. Tallinn, 1981.
- Dulichenko A.D. Jazyki malyh etničeskih grupp: funkcionaljnyj status i problemy razvitija slovaria (na slavianskom materïale) // Modernisierung des Wortschatzes europäischer Regional- und Minderheitensprachen. Tübingen, 1999.
- Dulichenko A.D. Kleinschriftsprachen in der slawischen Sprachenwelt // Zeitschrift für Slawistik, 1994, Bd. 39.
- ) Retrieved 2020-10-30.
References
- Resianica Materials on the Resian-Slovene language
- Ruska Matka An organisation seeking to preserve and develop the Pannonian Rusyn language in Serbia
- Gradišćansko-hrvatski Centar Cultural organisation of Burgenland Croats
- Bunjevački Nacionalni Savet Cultural and political organisation of the Bunjevci minority in Serbia