Dialectology of the Montenegrin Language


Book Description

Montenegrin dialects have long been treated as part of the Serbian or Serbo-Croatian language in traditionalist dialectology. Even though they are among the best studied dialects of Slavic languages, this is the first monograph offering a synthesis of Montenegrin dialects. In Dialectology of the Montenegrin Language, Adnan Čirgić addresses them as a compact unit, mostly corresponding to Montenegrin state borders, with isoglosses that cross those borders—much like the behavior of dialects in general. Čirgić brings a different approach to classifying Montenegrin dialects, free from the ideological shackles imposed by unitarian language policy in the former Yugoslav federation, which included Montenegro as one of its constituent members. In addition to classifying Montenegrin dialects and summarizing features of individual dialects and speech groups, this book also presents a comprehensive history of research on those dialects since the nineteenth century, along with an exhaustive dialectological bibliography of Montenegro.




The Development of the Bulgarian Literary Language


Book Description

Ivan N. Petrov’s The Development of the Bulgarian Literary Language: From Incunabula to First Grammars, Late Fifteenth–Early Seventeenth Century examines the history of the first printed Cyrillic books and their role in the development of the Bulgarian literary language. In the literary culture of the Southern Slavs, especially the Bulgarians, the period that began at the end of the fifteenth century and covered the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is often seen as a foreshadowing of the pre-national era of modern times. In particular, the centuries-old manuscript tradition was gradually replaced by the Cyrillic printed book, which—after the incunabula of Krakow and Montenegro—was published in such centers as Târgoviște, Prague, Venice, Serbian monasteries, Vilnius, Moscow, Zabłudów, Lviv, Ostroh, and many others. Petrov shows how the study of old Slavic prints is closely linked to the processes that determined the emergence of modern literary languages in the Slavia Orthodoxa area, including the influence of the liturgical Church Slavonic language shared by the Orthodox Slavs, which was increasingly standardized and codified at that time. The perspective of a language historian brings new light to the complex and multidimensional issues of this important transitional period of Slavic history and culture.







Politics and the Slavic Languages


Book Description

During the last two centuries, ethnolinguistic nationalism has been the norm of nation building and state building in Central Europe. The number of recognized Slavic languages (in line with the normative political formula of language = nation = state) gradually tallied with the number of the Slavic nation-states, especially after the breakups of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. But in the current age of borderless cyberspace, regional and minority Slavic languages are freely standardized and used, even when state authorities disapprove. As a result, since the turn of the 19th century, the number of Slavic languages has varied widely, from a single Slavic language to as many as 40. Through the story of Slavic languages, this timely book illustrates that decisions on what counts as a language are neither permanent nor stable, arguing that the politics of language is the politics in Central Europe. The monograph will prove to be an essential resource for scholars of linguistics and politics in Central Europe.




The Handbook of Dialectology


Book Description

The Handbook of Dialectology provides an authoritative, up-to-date and unusually broad account of the study of dialect, in one volume. Each chapter reviews essential research, and offers a critical discussion of the past, present and future development of the area. The volume is based on state-of-the-art research in dialectology around the world, providing the most current work available with an unusually broad scope of topics Provides a practical guide to the many methodological and statistical issues surrounding the collection and analysis of dialect data Offers summaries of dialect variation in the world's most widely spoken and commonly studied languages, including several non-European languages that have traditionally received less attention in general discussions of dialectology Reviews the intellectual development of the field, including its main theoretical schools of thought and research traditions, both academic and applied The editors are well known and highly respected, with a deep knowledge of this vast field of inquiry




Skepticism and Language in Early Modern Philosophy


Book Description

Danilo Marcondes argues that, contrary to a traditional view maintaining that language is not given any central role in early modern philosophy, an “early linguistic turn” in the seventeenth century opened a place for the philosophy of language as part of the philosophical system then under construction. Skepticism and Language in Early Modern Philosophy: The Early Linguistic Turn also claims that the revival of ancient skepticism at the modern age contributed decisively towards this “linguistic turn” insofar as it attacked the “powers of the intellect” in representing reality and making knowledge possible. Marcondes also argues that the concept of language itself becomes crucial to this investigation since the various understandings that developed during this period led to the central role that would be given to the philosophy of language in contemporary philosophy.




The Systemic View as a Basis for Philological Thought


Book Description

In The Systemic View as a Basis for Philological Thought, Olga Valentinova, Vladimir Denisenko, Sergey Preobrazhenskii, andMikhail Rybakov explore the interrelation of language material, structure, and functions in various subjects of philological research, such as grammatical systems of language, semantics, linguistic personality, literary text, and formal aspects of verse. Their systemic approach is rooted in the theories of Wilhelm von Humboldt and his followers, including Russian scholars Alexander Potebnya, Gustav Shpet, and more recently Gennadii Prokop’evichMel’nikov (1928–2000). The authors use the concept of systematicity as an opportunity to see the studied whole in development, to show and explain the functional interaction of linear and supra-linear connections, to explain their interdependence, and to predict further changes within the system. This book displays the scientific potential of the systemic approach to linguistics and related spheres, employing the framework of systematicity to revise the modern trends of philology and to map out an alternative paradigm for linguistic and philological thought that could restore the status of philology as a holistic science.







Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook


Book Description

Three official languages have emerged in the Balkan region that was formerly Yugoslavia: Croatian in Croatia, Serbian in Serbia, and both of these languages plus Bosnian in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook introduces the student to all three. Dialogues and exercises are presented in each language, shown side by side for easy comparison; in addition, Serbian is rendered in both its Latin and its Cyrillic spellings. Teachers may choose a single language to use in the classroom, or they may familiarize students with all three. This popular textbook is now revised and updated with current maps, discussion of a Montenegrin language, advice for self-study learners, an expanded glossary, and an appendix of verb types. It also features: • All dialogues, exercises, and homework assignments available in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian • Classroom exercises designed for both small-group and full-class work, allowing for maximum oral participation • Reading selections written by Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian authors especially for this book • Vocabulary lists for each individual section and full glossaries at the end of the book • A short animated film, on an accompanying DVD, for use with chapter 15 • Brief grammar explanations after each dialogue, with a cross-reference to more detailed grammar chapters in the companion book, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar.




Congruence in Contact-Induced Language Change


Book Description

Modern contact linguistics has primarily focused on contact between languages that are genetically unrelated and structurally distant. This compendium of articles looks instead at the effects of pre–existing structural congruency between the affected languages at the time of their initial contact, using the Romance and Slavic languages as examples. In contact of this kind, both genetic and typological similarities play a part.