Acta Linguistica Lithuanica

Editorial Board and Table of Contents

Pavel Skorupa — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:49:52 +0200

Changes in the Stock of Given Names in the Context of a New Dictionary of Latvian Given Names

Laimute Balode, Renāte Siliņa-Piņķe — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article introduces the forthcoming Small Dictionary of Personal Names (Mazā personvārdu vārdnīca), planned for publication in 2026. The first part outlines how the principles of compilation differ from those used in the previous dictionary. Special attention is given to the approximately 7% of names in the new dictionary that were not included in the earlier Latvian personal name dictionary by Klāvs Siliņš (Latvijas personvārdu vārdnīca, 1990). The article explores and analyses possible reasons for these differences. One reason is the differing criteria and justifications used in the two dictionaries; another is that the names may have spread in Latvia only after the publication of K. Siliņš’s dictionary. These include newly borrowed names such as Maikls, Mišela, and Raiens, as well as very rare or even unique Latvian-origin names like Ārvalda and Magone.

On the Transfer of an Oikonym from Linkmenys Parish

Laimutis Bilkis — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article examines the historical development of the name of the present-day village of Meironys, located in the territory of the Ignalina District Municipality and eldership. An analysis of records from 16^th–18^th century sources reveals that this oikonym can be classified as a transferred toponym, since it originally referred to a different village, the present-day Ripaičiai, situated in the Linkmenys eldership of the Ignalina District Municipality. It was only from the beginning of the 18^th century that the present-day settlement began to be referred to by this name. In contrast, its original name was *Antadringiai or a similar one. Research data indicate that the process of oikonym transfer was completed in the second half of the 18^th century. This type of change in settlement names is evidenced by descriptions of village locations in historical sources, the analysis of settlement anthroponymy, and the usage of oikonym variants in documents from past centuries.

The analysis of historical material aims not only to establish the fact of the toponym transfer, but also to describe this case within the broader context of research on transferred toponyms and to highlight its distinctive features. The study also offers considerations on the possible reasons behind the emergence of such an atypical case of toponym transfer.

Fundamental Frequency and Intensity in Lithuanian Epistemic Modality Markers and Modal Phrases

Emilija Carboni — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:39:47 +0200

The study aims to identify the key characteristics of fundamental frequency (pitch) and intensity in modal phrases: what pitch and intensity are typical of modal phrases, whether modal words are marked by pitch and intensity, and whether these features can signal varying degrees of certainty in modal phrases. The study material consists of 17 sentences containing lexical modal markers, along with one sentence expressing modality phonetically and one neutral sentence. Each sentence was read three times. The selected acoustic parameters for analysis (average, minimum, and maximum pitch and intensity) were determined using the sound analysis program “Praat”. A total of 57 recordings were analysed. The study employs experimental, instrumental acoustic analysis, and descriptive methods. The results indicate that phrases simulating uncertainty exhibit slightly higher pitch parameters and lower intensity compared to neutral phrases of the same structure. Modal phrases containing modal markers tend to have higher pitch and greater intensity than the neutral phrase, although the results may vary. Modal words are marked with a higher pitch and greater intensity than the rest of the phrase, thereby emphasising the modality of the phrase. Phrases expressing higher or lower certainty are pronounced with greater intensity and lower pitch compared to phrases expressing doubt.

Multimodal Argumentation in Social Advertising

Eglė Gabrėnaitė, Viltė Nausėdaitė — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article addresses the problem of multimodal argumentation and its rhetorical potential. The targeted realisation of multimodal argumentation is investigated through examples of Lithuanian social advertising. The study aims to identify characteristic models of multimodal argumentation, analyse their specific verbal and visual manifestations, and summarise the rhetorical functions and value of these models. The research was conducted by combining methods of critical discourse analysis and rhetorical discourse analysis. In advertising, multimodal strategies serve as fundamental means of meaning-making, transmission, and establishing contact with the audience, thereby shaping argumentation models oriented toward rhetorical persuasion. The multimodal arguments found in social advertising discourse rely primarily on classical structures of reasoning, the enthymeme and analogy.

Ein Fall von „umgekehrter“ Etymologie? die Reduktion der verbalen Polymorphie am Beispiel von germanisch *klīƀ- ‘kleben bleiben’

Albrecht Greule — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The etymology of the German verb kleben (to stick) shows, against the background of the Indo-European root language, that German kleben is the last remnant of a polymorphy. Initially, separate Indo-European morphemes for aorist, present, perfect, causative, and essive are reconstructable. However, the approach of the underlying root morpheme Indo-European *gleib^h- (Proto-Germanic *klīƀ-) ‘to remain stuck’ is marked with a question mark. It is a Germanic special development through which Indo-European *leip- ‘to remain stuck’ was replaced in West and North Germanic. The article demonstrates the role that syntactic and semantic causes play in the reduction of the original complete set of forms of Proto-Germanic *klīƀ- ‘to remain stuck’ from Old High German to Modern High German.

On the Correspondence between Jurgis Ambroziejus Pabrėža’s Manuscript Iźęgis Geograpyje and Walenty Szacfajer’s Geografiia krótko zebrana

Jūratė Pajėdienė — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article discusses the textual relationship between a 166-page manuscript, referred to as a geography textbook by Jurgis Ambroziejus Pabrėža, lacking a title page and beginning with the words Iźęgis Geograpyje, and a textbook by Walenty Szacfajer, which was especially popular in Lithuania in the first half of the 19^th century. The article reveals the general correspondence between the Samogitian manuscript and the Polish original, both in content and structure, and shows the modifications and additions found in Pabrėža’s translation.

Ukrainian-Lithuanian Linguo-Cultural Parallels and Differences in Ethnonymy and Related Lexical Units

Volodymyr Ponomarenko — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article offers a comparative linguo-cultural analysis of ethnonymic, and choronymic, lexicon, as well as word combinations containing related elements, in the Ukrainian and Lithuanian languages, along with facts from other, primarily neighbouring, languages of the European linguistic and cultural space. In particular, it deals with etymology, which testifies to both common Indo-European (first of all, Balto-Slavic) features and historical differences. The study also explores semantic changes, such as the transfer of meaning in ethnic names, new meanings of feminine word forms and diminutives, and other derivatives. The relevant topics include, from the semantic point of view, ethnicity, everyday life realia, nature, and more. Phrases and figurative expressions are presented, a significant part of which belong to interlanguage universals: different (also terminological) lexical units, covering such areas as science, medicine, sports, household equipment and utensils, tools and instruments, substances and materials, and food. Phraseologies with ethnonymic components are also examined. The study aims to demonstrate certain common features of Slavic, Baltic, and other genealogically related languages of the European linguistic and cultural area, as well as divergences arising from different language and cultural contacts.

Lexical Representations of the Concept of “SEN” (‘dream, sleep’) in the Onomasiological Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego Online

Bożena Sieradzka-Baziur — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article provides a description of the Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego (Conceptual Dictionary of the Old Polish Language), available online (hereinafter also referred to as SPJS). It was edited at the Institute of the Polish Language of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków in the years 2011–2015 based on the printed eleven-volume Słownik staropolski (Dictionary of Old Polish) (hereinafter also referred to as SStp). It is a database for conducting onomasiological and other research on the oldest Polish vocabulary recorded from the 12^th century to the beginning of the 16^th century. The article also presents the results of the onomasiological analysis of continuous and discontinuous medieval lexical units representing the concept of SEN // DREAM, SLEEP in SPJS. It is one of 231 concepts of the SPJS conceptual structure. Within this concept, there are 19 discontinuous auto-semantic units and 86 continuous auto-semantic units. The conducted onomasiological analysis shows that they belong to 10 separate zones of the semantic field, each of which is complementary to the others. Most of the analysed words have survived to modern times in unchanged meanings, some of them are archaisms, and the rest are competence homonyms.

The Reception of Hymns by Philipp Ruhig: From the 18th to the mid-20th Century

Birutė Triškaitė — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:29:52 +0200

This article is dedicated to the hymnodic legacy of Philipp Ruhig (1675–1749), a priest from Prussian Lithuania and one of the most prolific figures of Lithuanian literature of the 18^th century, or more presicely, it is devoted to the reception of his hymns in the official church hymnals of Prussian Lithuania from the fourth decade of the 18th century to the mid-20^th century. Based on primary sources that have survived to this day, the hymns translated and created by Ruhig, which were first published in Johann Behrendt’s hymnal Iß naujo pérweizdėtos ir pagérintos Giesmû-Knygos [Newly Revised and Improved Hymn Books] (Königsberg, 1732), and included in later editions, are analysed in terms of quantity and quality. A comparative analysis of Prussian Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran hymnals has revealed that the number of Ruhig’s hymns in the official church hymnal grew gradually: from 9 in the first editions of the so-called Quandt-Behrendt hymnal to 12 in later editions. The durability of these hymns is evidenced by the fact that they all became a stable part of the official Lithuanian hymnal until the eve of World War II, i. e., the last edition of Pagerintos giesmų knygos [Improved Hymnal] (Klaipėda, 1936), and some of them were included in the current Evangelical Lutheran hymnal Krikščioniškos giesmės [Christian Hymns] (Vilnius, 2007). The analysis also showed that, starting with the first edition, these hymns were edited to a greater or lesser extent

Correlative Suffixal Derivatives Designating Persons with Mental Disabilities in the First Lithuanian Psychiatry Textbook

Palmira Zemlevičiūtė — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article examines correlative suffixal derivatives that designate persons with mental disabilities, as featured in Įvadas į psichiatriją (Introduction to Psychiatry; 1935), the first Lithuanian psychiatry textbook by Juozas Blažys. The study identifies their international suffixes and discusses both the structure of the base word stems and the derivational characteristics of the derivatives. It has been determined that the most typical stems of the base words of correlative suffixal derivatives are expanded with the addition of suffixes (usually -ija, -izmas), which, however, are not incorporated into the derivatives. When it comes to correlative relations with the base words, suffixal derivatives tend to show diverse patterns, correlating with one or more base words. Moreover, some derivatives pose a challenge in establishing correlative relations, as their base words tend to be vague. Suffixal derivatives that correlate with a single base word typically relate derivationally only to nouns, whereas those correlating with multiple base words may also relate derivationally to adjectives and verbs.

The Search for a Fading Identity – a Palliative Strategy in Lithuanian Studies: Language, Science, and Education

Danguolė Mikulėnienė — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Guidelines for Authors

Pavel Skorupa — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:07:10 +0200