Acta Linguistica Lithuanica

Editorial Board and Table of Contents

Pavel Skorupa — 2025-06-19

On the Etymology of Lithuanian alėti, almuo, almė, elmės, etc. and Their Relationship to the German Place Name Ulm and Its Cognates

Harald Bichlmeier — 2025-06-21

Lith. alėti ‘to flow, to drizzle, to hurry’, nualėti ‘to inundate (fields), to flow over’, almuõ (3) m. ‘pus’, álmė (1), almė (4) f. ‘matter flowing out of a body’, elmės (4) f. Pl. ‘id.’ have been traditionally etymologized as deriving from a root meaning ‘to flow’. This article argues instead that these words originate from at least two distinct Proto-Indo-European (PIE) roots. On the one hand, they may be linked to PIE *h₁elh₂- ‘to drive somewhere’ or PIE *h₂elh₂- ‘to go around aimlessly, to wander around’. On the other hand, some of them appear to derive from PIE *h₁el(H)- ‘to be foul, rotten’.

The root PIE *h₁el(H)- ‘to be foul, rotten’ also underlies the place-name NHG Ulm and related toponyms in Germany. These names can be connected to PGerm. *ulma- ‘foul(ness), putrid(ity)’. Among the three prevailing explanations for these names, one can be ruled out entirely, while the remaining two others are semantically plausible — but only one of them also fits phonologically. The proposal to connect the names to the root PGerm. *u̯al(l)‑, *u̯ul‑ ‘to boil, to seethe’ is impossible. The alternative hypothesis — interpreting them as ‘Old European’ hydronyms, at first proposed by Hans Krahe — remains possible but requires revision. However, since a Germanic explanation free of semantic and phonological contradictions can be provided, it is methodologically preferable to the ‘Old European’ hypothesis.

Old Prussian poaris

Václav Blažek — 2025-06-22

The article analyses the isolated Old Prussian word poaris ‘mole cricket’ from the point of view of word formation and etymology. For this reason, all published etymological attempts are collected and evaluated. Finally, a new solution is proposed, operating with the IE root *per- ‘to step over, pass across; penetrate’, which allows us to derive from the same root the designation of ‘worm’ in Middle Iranian Sogdian, Khotanese and in several modern Iranian languages from Pamir. The common semantic denominator for the zoonyms ‘mole cricket’ and ‘worm’ is ‘penetrating one’.

The Radziwiłłs and Their Horses: Hipponyms in 17th- and 18th-Century Inventories of the Magnate Family’s Herds

Kamil Frejlich — 2025-06-22

The article examines the hipponyms (proper names for horses) recorded in the inventories of the Radziwiłł family’s herds in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, predominantly located in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A total of 434 lexical units were identified, consisting of 106 female and 328 male forms. Analysis of these names reveals that they were not arbitrary but part of a deliberate naming system. The names referred to various cha-racteristics of the animals, including their appearance, behaviour, and possibly their places of origin. Some names were associated with “femininity” and beauty in the case of mares, while those for male horses often referred to fighting, courage, and offices. Greek and Roman mythology served as a significant source of inspiration for many hipponyms, while others were derived from the names of animal species. Many were also connected to the widely understood Muslim world. The languages most frequently represented among the names were Polish, Turkish, and Italian. The authors of the sources likely wrote only in Polish and were not well-educated, which may explain the distorted forms encountered.

Naming and Renaming of Watercourses. The Schwappach Case. An Addendum to the German Water Name Book

Albrecht Greule — 2025-06-23

The origins of hydronyms when, by whom, and why the flowing waters were first named as they are today often remain beyond our full understanding. We can only speculate, relying on etymological hypotheses. For instance, why was the Rhine called *Reinos, or the Danube *Dānewjos? Such questions are deeply tied to the antiquity of these names and the significance or size of the waterways they denote. The situation, however, changes when it comes to renaming a body of water. As the case examined in this article demonstrates, we can precisely trace the individuals and factors involved in a modern renaming or the obstacles preventing it. A telling example from Bavaria illustrates this dynamic: Schwappach, though a relatively short tributary of the Main, became the focus of a renaming effort. Notably, it took the dedicated involvement of two local historians to initiate the process. Their efforts highlight broader issues related to geogeography, settlement history, and name transmission. Additionally, the etymology of the hydronym Schwappach plays a crucial role and is reexamined in light of these developments.

Varia Onomastica: Sarmato-Alanica (Danapria, Bohus)

Alexander I. Iliadi — 2025-06-23

The research is aimed at singling out the Iranian language heritage in the toponymy of the Dnieper and the Bug regions. In particular, it dwells upon the reconstruction of the Sarmatian-Alanian lexical stratum, whose existence does not run counter to the data of the history and archaeology of the areas under investigation. The research has resulted in the reconstruction of 20 lexemes supposed to be affiliated with the vocabulary of Sarmatian and Alanian. Such a conclusion is substantiated by the etymology of the reviewed toponyms, explained due to the vocabulary of the Ossetian language. The latter, in its turn, being the only surviving descendant of the Alanian language, has inherited the typical features of the Sarmatian and Alanian dialects on one side, and the old Eastern Iranian dialects closely related to the dialects of the Alans and Sarmatians, on the other side. A strong argument in favour of the Sarmato-Alanian origin of the reconstructed lexical fund is grounded by a range of exclusive whole-lexical Alanian-Ossetian parallels. Lexical reconstruction is confirmed with certain phonetic and morphological peculiarities inherent only in the structure of the assumed Alanian prototypes and the words from the Ossetian language.

The parallels in the reconstructed Sarmato-Alanian vocabulary and the vocabulary of the other Iranian languages are also described.

Motherhood in the Worldview of the Lithuanian Language (Based on the Associations of the Word mama (En. Mom) and the Compounds of the Words motiniškas, -a (En. Motherly), motiniškai (En. in a Motherly Way)

Silvija Papaurėlytė-Klovienė — 2025-06-23

The article describes part of the content of the concept MOTINA (En. MOTHER), which belongs to the Lithuanian worldview. Using the results of the analysis of the association field of the word mama (En. mom), all forms of the adjectives motiniškas, -a (En. motherly) and the compounds of the adverb motiniškai (En. in a motherly way), the paper aims to summarise the perception of what a mother is in the Lithuanian language worldview, and the behavioural patterns that are typical of her. The paper is based on the analysis of the results of the free association experiment and the analysis of the examples from the Current Lithuanian Language textbook compiled at the Centre for Computational Linguistics of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas. The research presented in the paper provides information about the content of the MOTINA (En. MOTHER) concept and adds to what is already known about the peculiarities of world categorisation in the worldview of Lithuanians.

Stress Retraction in the Manuscript Sources of the Eastern Aukštaitian Subdialect of Utena from the 1950s and 1960s

Vilija Ragaišienė — 2025-06-23

The article examines manuscript sources of the Eastern Aukštaitian subdialect of Utena from the 1950s and 1960s, stored in the Dialect Archive of the Centre of Geolinguistics at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language, from the perspective of accentuation. The study aims to identify the stress retraction phenomena that were in effect in the Utena subdialect in the mid-20^th century and to discuss the nature and distribution of this phenomenon within the subdialect area. The analysis reveals an uneven and rather late formation of stress retraction as a rule in the Utena subdialect. Drawing on 19th-century texts (from the 1860s to the 1880s) covering the subdialects of Kupiškis, Anykščiai, and Utena (which belong to the eastern part of the Eastern Aukštaitian dialect), published by the German linguist Franz Specht in Litauische Mundarten gesammelt von A. Baranowski in Leipzig, as well as 20th-century descriptions of subdialects (from the 1950s and 1960s), the article provides new insights into the nature of stress retraction in the Utena subdialect. It is assumed that between the 1950s and mid-1960s, a more intensive rather than weak conditional stress retraction rule was forming in the northern part and western periphery of the Utena subdialect, an area previously assigned to the weak conditional stress retraction by the compilers of the Atlas of the Lithuanian Language (1982).

Denominal Verbs in the Catechism of M. Petkevičius (1598)

Anželika Smetonienė — 2025-06-23

The article presents a study of the denominal suffixal verbs in the Catechism of M. Petkevičius (PC) published in 1598. A total of 70 such verbs were found in this source, and they are divided into four categories of denominal verbs: factitive, similative, stative and participatory meanings. The article presents the frequency of PC denominal suffixes, the features of the base words, and the general trends in the derivation of PC deno- minatives. The paper also focuses on the more complex cases of derivational interpretation.

Reception of Surinkimininkai Repertory in Prussian Lithuanian Works of the Second Half of the 19th Century

Inga Strungytė-Liugienė — 2025-06-23

The article aims to investigate the influence of the Surinkimininkai hymnal Visokios naujos giesmės arba evangeliški psalmai on Prussian Lithuanian books of the second half of the 19^th century and reveal the attitude of clergy in Lithuanian parishes, as well as that of members of the Lithuanian Literary Society in Tilsit (which included representatives of the Lutheran Church and educators) towards the Surinkimininkai repertoire. The following sources were selected for analysis: the hymnals Gieſmjû bey Maldû=Knygos Karalißkojo Pruſû Waiſko (1854, Königsberg) and Trecʒioji Dalis Gieſmjû Knygû (1857, Königsberg) by Friedrich Kurschat, the school hymnal 64 Gieſmes (1856, 1862, Tilsit) by Carl Wilhelm Otto Glogau, the anthology Litauische Chrestomathie zum Schulgebrauch (1880, Memel) by Carl Rudolph Jacoby, the reading book Litauisches elementarbuch (1898, Heidelberg) by Maximilian Voelkel, the collection of melodies Gieſmiu Balſai (1894, Heidelberg, Tilsit) by Carl Theodor Waldemar Hoffheinz, and the publications on hymnody in the scholarly periodical Mitteilungen der Litauischen litterarischen Gesellschaft. The analytical, comparative and textological methods were employed for the investigation.

Effects of Consonant Voicing on Vowel Formant Distribution in Standard Lithuanian: A Factorial Analysis

Evaldas Švageris — 2025-06-24

This study aims to continue experimental research on the dynamics of vowel formant distribution in Standard Lithuanian. The primary focus is on the interaction and hierarchy of factors that directly influence formant placement in the spectra of Lithuanian vowels. After CVC combinations with voiced plosive consonants were added to the dataset, the differential power of the voicing factor was analysed. A factorial analysis (two-way ANOVA) was performed to determine what position in the hierarchy the voicing factor can take. Additionally, the question of factor coordination in the field of formant distribution was raised. The results suggest that the voicing factor occupies weak positions in the hierarchy and exhibits low-level autonomy. To some extent, its relative power correlates with the backness of the vowel, as it shifts towards the back tongue position, differences implied by the consonant voicing factor on formant distribution increase. Although it has no significant impact, consonant voicing plays a role in expanding the spectral space, allowing other factors to exert greater influence (for example, it creates conditions for high back vowels to be more fronted in a dental stop environment).

Music of Language

Giedrius Kuprevičius — 2025-06-19

Linguistic wokeism: Revisionism of the gypsy moth and Asian carp, and fate of the Russian salad

Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva — 2025-06-24

The concept of wokeism in academia might represent two radically ideological poles: neoliberally, it is a symbol of socio-cultural liberation, but conservatively, it is a symbol of unnecessary revisionism that tests the limits of traditional culture. Academia is in the belly of this socio-cultural battle. In this discussion, the term “linguistic wokeism” describes an attempt to correct perceived social inequalities through the medium of language. Two cases are highlighted, the gypsy moth, which was revised to sponge moth (Lymantria dispar), and Asian carp, which was revised to invasive carp. It is argued that “linguistic wokeism” is effectively propagated and established when neoliberal ideologies are aligned among academia, socio-political action groups, and neoliberal media, including social media. Finally, in the current ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, early bans on the letters “V” and “Z” in some countries, as a linguistic form of Russophobia, suggests the possibility that geo-political animosities may also be linguistically expressed in neoliberal ways, with a tongue-in-cheek risk being suggested for the Russian salad. The greater risk, in an academic publishing context, if neoliberal revisionist policies are converted into “ethical” policies, is that those who do not agree or align with such policies might be labelled as unethical.

Nijolė Tuomienė. Language and Identity in the Borderlands of Southeastern Lithuania and Belarus (2nd Half of the 20th Century–Beginning of the 21st Century). Part I

Janina Švambarytė-Valužienė — 2025-06-19

Guidelines for Authors

Pavel Skorupa — 2025-06-19