Acta Linguistica Lithuanica

Von antreiten bis eischen. Aus der Werkstatt des Mittelhochdeutschen syntaktischen Verbwörterbuchs (MSVW)

Albrecht Greule — 2023-12-19

Considerations for the writing of a Middle High German valence dictionary, an important part of historical German grammar, have been made several times since about the year 2000 in an international context. So far, all approaches have not led to any results. With the publication of the Middle High German Dictionary (MWB) both in print and on the Internet since 2006, the MWB will be used to continuously write entries for the Middle High German Syntactic Verb Dictionary (MSVW) from 2018 onwards. The article presents the method by which dictionary articles are written, and brings as a preprint the dictionary entries for the verbs mhd. ænigen, antreiten, arzâtîen, backen, bâren, dringen, eischen.

Mapping Indo-European Anatomical Terminology II: Latvian gaļa ‘meat’

Václav Blažek — 2023-12-19

The present contribution analyzes Latvian gaļa ‘meat, flesh’ from the point of view of the Indo-European anatomical terminology and identifies its cognates in Old Irish gaile ‘stomach’, ‘Para- Phrygian’ γάλλια ‘intestines’ with the same suffixal derivation in *-o-/-*-eH₂-, and further with Ancient Macedonian γόλα ‘intestines’, Greek χολάδες ‘entrails, guts’, and Slavic *želǫ̋dъkъ / *želǫdь(cь) ‘stomach’, all derivable from the aniṭ-root *g^hel- or its apophonic variants. Insular Celtic *eχs-glasso-/ā- ‘stomach’, if derivable from *eĝʰs-⁽ĝ^)(h)(H)-stH₂o- ‘standing out of *⁽ĝ^)(h)(H)-’, implies that *⁽ĝ^)(h)(H)- should belong to a different internal organ, probably ‘gall, bile’, whose designation derivable from the root *ĝ^helH₃- ‘green, yellow’ is attested in several Indo-European branches. The alternative, if γάλλια ‘intestines’ is of Greek origin, is also discussed.

Slavo-Iranica II: Compound Words with Slav. slav-, slux- : Iran. śrau ̯a-, śrauša-, *śrū̆ta- (against Baltic and Germanic Background)

Alexander I. Iliadi — 2023-12-19

The investigation contains the results of a comparative-historical analysis of Iranian, Slavonic, Baltic and Germanic lexical and syntactic units with reflexes of Indo-European root *k ̑leu ̯- ‘hear’, ‘listen’. The formation of compound-words and (hypothetically) formulaic expressions (stable syntactic combinations, expressing ideological semantics) with the mentioned etymon shows structural-semantic parallelism in four linguistic cultures. This parallelism manifests itself in the complete (or partial) genetical identity of the etymological composition of the compared units and in the common organization standards of their cultural semantics, reflecting: 1) understanding of glory as the absolute value in the system of moral relations inside ancient societies (for Iranian, Slavonic and Germanic); 2) cases of specialization (in Slavonic and Iranian) of the original “acoustic” semantics in the direction of the meanings Verba Dicere (‘to glorify’) and their derivatives ‘glory’, ‘glorified’; this semantical shift was widely demanded in the system of anthroponymic motivations. Conclusions as regards the сauses of structural and etymological affinity or semantical and typlogical similarity of compared datas are made

Valency of the Verb atvirauti and Noun atviravimas in Contemporary Lithuanian Language

Loreta Vaičiulytė-Semėnienė — 2023-12-19

The object of this article is the verb atvirauti and its noun derivative atviravimas. The aim is to investigate their combinability from the valency perspective, using the data from the Corpus of Contemporary Lithuanian Language. The research findings indicate that the valency of atvirauti (atviravimas) is influenced by the semantics and grammar of the adjective atviras and predicates within its minimal lexical semantic field. It was observed that the verb atvirauti (the noun atviravimas) exhibits a threefold valency.

Word Formation with Splinters in the Lithuanian Language

Rita Miliūnaitė — 2023-12-19

The article addresses a budding and unconventional method of word formation in the Lithuanian language, one that involves non-morphemic elements: splinters. It is driven by the recent surge of borrowed blends (that usually come from the English language) in the Lithuanian language, as well as translation and indigenous blends. Both blending and word formation with splinters is becoming an increasingly widespread in many European languages and the subject of all kinds of research.

The article highlights the reasons behind the occurrence of splinters, showcases how some of the splinters are semantically generalised or specialised and enter the process of morphemisation to possibly eventually become formational morphemes or even stand-alone lexemes.

The study is grounded on the data from the Database of Lithuanian Neologisms going back to the early 21^st century and covering both borrowed blends and those that are likely to be translations or indigenous blends.

The Women’s Surname Reform in the Lithuanian Language from the Perspective of Word Formation

Daiva Murmulaitytė — 2023-12-20

The formation of words (and consequently surnames) is an integral part of the language system. Therefore, Lithuanian female surnames must conform to this system’s regularities. For significant socio-cultural reasons, not solely based on aesthetic considerations, it is imperative to evaluate the prospects for the development of the Lithuanian language and anticipate the potential consequences of change when reforming the microsystem of surnames. The paper underscores specific aspects of Lithuanian language morphology (word formation) that are frequently overlooked or ignored in the discussions regarding the proposal to legalize Lithuanian female surnames ending in -(i)a. It delves into the relationship between tradition and systematicity. The use of the ending -ė for the formation of the female surnames not demonstrating women’s marital status is considered a motivated exception (due to the overlap in the form of female and male surnames) rather than a precedent to further reforming the surname system.

Structural Semantic Distance Between Synonymous Two-Word Terms

Asta Mitkevičienė — 2023-12-20

The article discusses the distance between synonymous terms in the Lithuanian language and how this distance is reflected in their structure. The study focuses on two-word synonymous terms listed in two terminological dictionaries. The comparison of synonyms is based on two criteria: their roots (formal criterion) and the similarity in meaning of the words that differentiate synonyms (semantic criterion). An attempt is made to elucidate the lexically explicable semantic distance between two-word synonymous terms and its correlation with the types of synonyms.

Changes in Meanings of Words speculation, speculator, and speculate

Anželika Gaidienė — 2023-12-20

The article delves into a comprehensive examination of the meanings associated with the words speculation, speculator and speculate. Its primary objective is to discern shifts in the meanings of these words by drawing from general (explanatory) and special dictionaries alongside contemporary usage of the Lithuanian written language. The discussion within the article explores the breadth and variations of meanings attributed to these words across Lithuanian, English, and Russian dictionaries. It further examines insights derived from the current usage trends in the Lithuanian written language while also offering conjectures about the reasons for the emergence of new meanings.

Accentuation Tendencies of Locative Cases in the Southern Aukštaitian Subdialects

Vilija Ragaišienė — 2023-12-20

The study delves into accentuation patterns within the locative cases — singular and plural inessive and illative — in the Southern Aukštaitian dialect. It draws upon written sources spanning the second half og the 20^th century to the early 21^st century. The article aims to describe the accentuation features of the locative cases from a synchronic perspective, explain the reasons behind accent diversification, and map the areal distribution of accented variants within the same subdialect. The findings reveal that the accentuation of locatives in the Southern Aukštaitian dialects is influenced by accentuation analogy, semantics, and a tendency for accentual variation and oxytonesis. Interestigly, it emerged that locative forms exhibiting dual stress patterns are more prevalent in southwestern and southern subdialects.

The Reconstruction of the Priedzūkis Dialectal Features in Horizontal and Vertical Continuum: the Case of the Bottom of the Kaunas Lagoon

Žydrūnas Šidlauskas — 2023-12-20

The article analyses the horizontal and vertical continuum of the territory flooded by Kaunas Lagoon and the coastal dialect zones. The study material was collected in Rumšiškės (LKA536) and Šlienava (Margininkai (LKA553 point)). The informants once lived at the bottom of the Kaunas Lagoon; the language of two families (inhabitants of different generations) was contrasted.

The study area is the Western Aukštaitian subdialect of Kaunas area, where Priedzūkis dialectal features were expected to find. This assumption was confirmed: although theoretically, the manifestations of Priedzūkis are the clearest on the right bank of the lagoon and the vicinity of Nemunas toward the south, the findings show that the manifestations can be found on both sides of the lagoon, close to the lagoon. At the same time, it implies the distinctiveness of the area.

The article also highlights the significance of the vertical continuum: a clear correlation between dialectal characteristics and the age of informants was established. With a new approach to the typology of age, breaking away from the usual three-generation division, the vertical fragmentation is revealed in deeper cross-sections. The older informants (who, according to the traditional three-generation division, would belong to the same generation as the younger ones) have retained more of the Priedzūkis features.

Unraveling Vilnius County Drymonymy: the Case of Metonymy

Alisa Stunžaitė — 2023-12-20

The primary objective of this study is to provide insights into the metonymic patterns exhibited by drymonyms within present-day Vilnius County. The research focuses on a selection of 696 names extracted from a total of 787 officially functioning drymonyms found in the territory of Vilnius County. Data for the study were collected from various sources, including printed materials, electronic resources, and interactive maps. The research findings underscore the prevalence of metonymic thinking in forming drymonyms. Three distinct metonymic models emerged from the analysis: PLACE FOR THE PLACE, SALIENT FEATURE FOR THE PLACE, and PERSON FOR THE PLACE. The PLACE FOR THE PLACE model proved highly productive, yielding 570 drymonyms. The SALIENT FEATURE FOR THE PLACE model was linked to 100 drymonyms. The PERSON FOR THE PLACE model influenced the naming of 26 drymonyms.

The Development, Uniqueness and Interrelationship of Lithuanian Explanatory Dictionaries

Vilija Sakalauskienė — 2023-12-20

This article aims to show the evolution of the dictionaries of the modern and standard Lithuanian language from the end of the 19^th century to the 21^st century, based on the most important dictionaries of the period and specific examples of these dictionaries. One of the most outstanding lexicographical works of the 19^th century is the Lithuanian–Russian–Polish dictionary by the famous Lithuanian lexicographer and folklore collector Antanas Juška. The importance and significance of this dictionary were also recognised by Jonas Jablonskis, who took the first steps in lexicographical work by editing the dictionary of A. Juška. His work on the dictionary prompted the linguist to collect materials for research on the Lithuanian written language, to record the data on cards and to keep them in a separate card file. Jablonskis’ wish to compile a dictionary of the standard Lithuanian language was partly fulfilled by the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language, which combines three different dictionaries: the dialectal, the old written and the modern standard Language. The rich and varied material in this dictionary made it possible to compile the Dictionary of the Modern Lithuanian Language (1954) and many other editions. Each of the dictionaries has given rise to one or another impulse to think about a new and improved dictionary or another edition. The current Dictionary of the Standard Lithuanian Language is quite different in terms of its lexical composition, structure and methodology. The article reveals the most important problems that the compilers of explanatory dictionaries may face.

Filosofija ir gimtoji kalba

Naglis Kardelis — 2023-12-20

Justyna B. Walkowiak. Litewskie nazwiska polaków. Słownik etymologiczno-frekwencyjny

Christiane Schiller — 2023-12-20

Ramunė Vaskelaitė. Makroekonomikos terminija: sinonimijos priežastys

Vidas Valskys — 2023-12-20