392 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
ins i u e o sla ic s udies, Polish academy o sciences
ields o esea ch: he bela usian language, Polish k esy dialec ,
bela usian-bal ic-Polish linguis ic on ie .
XXi a. P adŽios Lie uVi a Mės:
geoLingVis inis und
socioLingVis inis y iMas:
ŽeMėLaPiai und j koCen a ai
suda y ojos danguolė Mikulėnienė,
Viole a Meiliūnai ė
Vilnius: b iedis, 2014, 459 p.
isbn 978-9955-26-468-2
In 2014 he monumen al wo k en i led The Mode n Geolinguis ic Resea ch in Li huania:
The Op imisa ion o Ne wo k Poin s and he In e ac i e Dissemina ion o In o ma ion
was published in Vilnius, which is he esul o long- e m wo k o amous linguis s doing
esea ch on he Li huanian dialec s, he Polish, Bela usian and Russian languages /
dialec s in Li huania. a e he second Wo ld Wa he Li huanians de eloped a ne wo k
o esiden ial poin s o he Li huanian language owns, co e ing mo e han 720 owns.
he collec ed ma e ial was he basis o he c ea ion and issue o he a las o he
Li huanian Language (Lie u ių kalbos a las). he collec ed ma e ial, which is
unde s andable, e lec s he si ua ion o he decades behind, i does no conce n
o he languages spoken wi hin he Li huania ss . on he o he hand, i con ains a
classi ica ion o he Li huanian dialec s (1966) de eloped by aleksas gi denis and zigmas
zinke ičius.
i has been 60 yea s since he ma e ial was ga he ed, Li huania has egained i s
independence, he demog aphic and socio-economic si ua ion has changed. he
ac o s men ioned abo e ha e in luenced he language si ua ion in he s a e o
Li huania. bo h he Li huanian and La ian linguis s ha e commenced new ex ensi e
esea ch in o de o show he con empo a y condi ion o he Li huanian and
La ian dialec s on he e i o y o Li huania and La ia. his is all he mo e im-
XXI a. p adžios lie u ių a mės: geoling is inis
i socioling is inis y imas: žemėlapiai i jų komen a ai
suda y ojos danguolė Mikulėnienė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė
393 ecenzijos e iews po an because bo h languages a e spoken by ew
inhabi an s (in he s a e and in exile he Li huanian language by app oxima ely 4
million, he La ian language app oxima ely by 2 million), and he language is s ill
conside ed o be one o he mos impo an elemen s o na ional iden i y in hese
coun ies. / 2009 in The A las o he Bal ic Languages. A p ospec 1 was issued by he
La ian Language ins i u e in iga and he ins i u e o he Li huanian Language in
Vilnius, and in 2014 he i s olume o he A las, p esen ing he plan ocabula y (
Bal ų
kalbų a lasas. Leksika 1: Flo a)2
. ano he e y impo an s udy is he book being e iewed now, c owning a
mul i-annual p ojec en i led The Mode n Geolinguis ic Resea ch in Li huania: The
Op imisa ion o Ne wo k Poin s and he In e ac i e Dissemina ion o In o ma ion.
o h ee yea s (2010-2013) p o . danguolė Mikulėnienė oge he wi h 33 colleagues and
s uden s was examining and analysing he Li huanian dialec s in he geolinguis ic and
sociolinguis ic aspec s. die Mi gliede des P ojek s se z en meh e e Haup ziele zu
sammeln und e ö en lichen das la es Ma e ial da s ellend die zen alen und
pe iphe al li auischen Dialek e, um genau die G enzen de li auischen Dialek e und
Subdialek e anhand de phone ic ea u es analysis zu bes immen, um die
soziolinguis ic Si ua ion in he en i e a ea o he Li huanian language zu zeigen und
um eine o läu ige Analyse des gesammel en Ma e ials du chzu üh en. as many as 735
owns in Li huania and 15 ab oad we e esea ched (in o al app ox. 5,000 hou s o
digi al eco dings), upda ing he ne wo k o dialec ological poin s (some illages had
al eady become ex inc , and lec s o he XXi cen u y.
also new owns had been added) and c ea ing a con empo a y a chi e o he dia-
he i s pa o he publica ion is de o ed o heo e ical aspec s ( heo ies,
me hodologies, e minology), as well as o he ole and posi ion o he Li huanian
dialec ology wi hin he wo ld dialec ology. he au ho s s ess ha he e y no ion
geolinguis ics appea ed in he Li huanian dialec ology only a he beginning o he XXi
cen u y. he adi ional dialec ology shows he language eali y s a ically, and
geolinguis ics dynamically. he Li huanian dialec s and subdialec s equi ed newe
analysis and in e p e a ion, which a e consen o he achie emen s o he
con empo a y linguis ics, ega ding he linguis ic, social and geog aphical aspec s
and wi h he la es e minology applied. o example, he au ho s use he e m
opolec (a e chinese esea che , Vic o h. Mai i), which ela es o a code, which 1
Bal u Sp ache a lan s, anna s a ecka, danguolė Mikulėnienė, iga Vilnius, 2009.
2
Bal u Sp ache a lan s. Leksika 1: Flo a. Bal ische Sp achen-A las. Leksika 1: Flo a. A las o he
Bal ic Languages. Lexis 1: Flo a.
2nd e ised edi ion. edi ing by danguolė Mikulėnienė and anna s a ecka. Vilnius: La ijas uni e si ā es
La iešu alodas ins i ū s, Lie u ių kalbos ins i u as. he La ian Language ins i u e o he uni e si y o
La ia and he ins i u e o he Li huanian Language, 2013, 568 pp.
394 ac a
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
coexis s on he same e i o y wi h o he languages mu ually incomp ehensible, and
opolec s lack any independen linguis ic iden i y. hus, in espec o Li huania he
au ho s ea as opolec s all he local a ian s o he ollowing languages: Polish,
bela usian, he local a ian o he ussian language, La ian. he app op ia e use o
me hodology (ma e ial collec ion and i s elabo a ion) o e minology in his publica ion
was e y impo an , e en c ucial. he e o e, in he book we can ind a de ailed analysis
and desc ip ion o hese issues (desc ibed by: dai a aliūkai ė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė,
ju gi a ja osla ienė, danguolė Mikulėnienė). he second undamen al chap e , w i en
by danguolė Mikulėnienė, as a Leskauskai ė and Lau a ge žo ai ė is de o ed o he
geolinguis ic esea ch in Li huania. he au ho s p esen ed he de elopmen o
esea ch s a ing om he p egeolinguis ic s age (end o he XiX cen u y) h ough
he in ense de elopmen o he linguis ic geog aphy (kazimie as būga) un il he p esen
days he neogeolinguis ic s age. he g ea es wo k o he Li huanian dialec ologis s
undoub edly was he issue o The A las o he Li huanian Language in h ee olumes
(showing ocabula y, phone ics and mo phology in 376 maps). i included he ma e ial
collec ed wi hin 15 yea s, in mo e han 800 owns (beyond he bo de s o Li huania 13
addi ional poin s), and he a chi e consis s o 30,000 me es o magne ic ape and
15,000 pages o manual no es p epa ed by 600 people. ano he impo an e en was also
he publica ion o he A las o he Bal ic Languages, depic ing he ma e ial o he a ea
o Li huania and La ia. he la es pe iod in he Li huanian dialec ology he neolinguis ic
one began oge he wi h he abo e-men ioned p ojec , which esul ed in he publica ion
being now e iewed. nex die Au o en besp echen die adi ionelle Klassi izie ung o he
Li huanian dialec s and subdialec s, un e s eichend dass es mindes ens d ei A en on
Selek ion gab abhängig on den Regeln angenommen on e schiedenen Fo sche n (und
meh spezi isch on he choice o he app op ia e phone ic ea u es). Wi hin many yea s
almos one- i h o esea ched poin s we e co ec ed, bu i did no change
signi ican ly he ne wo k o he dialec ological poin s. his new classi ica ion, subjec
o co ec ions i.e. changing he subdialec names did no change, howe e , he
geolinguis ic si ua ion in Li huania, al hough some elemen s o his classi ica ion e lec
e en he p ewa adminis a i e- e i o ial di ision. he hi d chap e o he book
(danguolė Mikulėnienė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė, janina Š amba y ė-Valužienė and o he s)
desc ibes he geolinguis ic si ua ion o he Li huanian dialec s in he XXi cen u y and he
op imisa ion o he ield poin s. he esea che s, in ela ion o he adi ional
dialec ology, supplemen ed he su ey o ms wi h he socio-demog aphic pa ame e s.
he egional a ian i i y was analysie no only om he poin o iew o one language
dialec / he de elopmen cha ac e is ic and changes o a ian i i y we e no ea ed
as he phenomenon
XXI a. p adžios lie u ių a mės: geoling is inis
i socioling is inis y imas: žemėlapiai i jų komen a ai
suda y ojos danguolė Mikulėnienė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė
395 ecenzijos e iews o a closed sys em, bu as a de i a i e o he c oss-sys em
in e ac ions. / he esea che s de e mined a 7-s age le el o egionali y o he
esponden speech, based, among o he s, on such c i e ia as a place o bi h, a place o
he esidence du ing a pe iod o up o 18 yea s o age, o igin o pa en s, he p esen
place o esidence. he pa icula le els o egionali y a e e lec ed in he language
dialec quali y. um die Fo schungspunk e zu op imie en, wu den meh e e Fak o en
spezi izie , die genommen wo den wa en in Be ach on o he igen Fo sche n: he
geog aphical c i e ia o he poin de e mina ion (dis ance be ween poin s is 812 km),
he adminis a i e e i o ial di ision (old illages and se lemen s, a ely small owns),
he c i e ia o he dialec pu i y selec ing a illage no on he basis o adminis a i e
loca ion, bu i s assignmen o a pa icula subdialec g oup; he name o he own
( illages o o eign, non-Li huanian names we e a oided). he poin is no always one
own illage, his may be a cen al and pe iphe al owns. he au ho s o his p ojec
and publica ion also de ined a no ion o an ac i e and ex inc poin . an ac i e poin is a
poin whe e all h ee gene a ions li e and speak one dialec o subdialec in e e yday
li e. in case o changes (e.g. he illage is ex inc o he neigbou ing own/ illage became
a cen e) he numbe o he poin emained he same, bu i s name was al e ed. an
ex inc poin is a poin whe e he e is no indigenous popula ion in a pa icula
own/ illage (cen e) o in i s neighbou hood. he analysis o he ga he ed ma e ial
con i med he adi ional di ision o he Li huanian e i o y in o wo majo dialec s
samogi ian and aukš ai ian, co e ing he e hnogene ic di ision. he ma e ials also
showed he changes aking place o he wes e n samogi ian subdialec s he le el o
ac i i y was assessed o be e y low, in con as o he a ea o he sou he n, eas e n
and no he n Žemai ija egion, whe e he e a e ew ex inc poin s. in case o he
aukš ai ian subdialec s we can also no ice a e y well-p ese ed s uc u e o he
dialec among he esponden s. excep ions o his ule a e hose poin s, which a e
loca ed ou side o he bo de s o he coun y o example in bela us hey disappea
he e. a posi i e excep ion, in de opinion o he au ho s, a e he Li huanian subdialec s
in he a ea a ound Puńsk in Poland, whe e hey a e ac i e and o la ge p ospec s o
su i al in he nea u u e. he na ional uni o mi y in mos o he a eas o Li huania
suppo s he linguis ic uni o mi y and good p ese a ion o he Li huanian subdialec s
s uc u e. Whe e he e is mul ilingualism, changes in he Li huanian subdialec s
s uc u e a e as e , as i akes place in he Vilnius egion. special a en ion should be
gi en o chap e iV (The local a ian s o o he languages in Li huania). in he majo i y
o coun ies, du ing wo king on he dialec a lases o a pa icula language, o he
languages spoken in he a ea a e no usually men ioned a all. he au ho s no only ook
in o accoun o he languages and subdialec s, bu also desc ibed hem on he basis o
he la es ield s udies. hus he eade ob ains a comple e o e iew o he linguis ic
si ua ion in he en i e Li huania. he La ian language is desc ibed in he a icle by
gin a ė judžen y ė (The La ian language in Li huania). he Polish language o no he n
396 ac a
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
bo de lands is desc ibed by k is ina u ko ska, he bela usian subdialec s by Lilija
Plyga ka, and he ussian language by nadežda Mo ozo a. he Polish language conce ns
h ee egions: he Vilnius egion, he kaunas egion and he ignalina-za asai egion. he
Polish people in Li huania ep esen a signi ican p opo ion o he popula ion
app oxima ely 200 housand, o which in he alčininkai dis ic Municipali y he Poles a e
as many as 79.5%, in he Vilnius egion 61.3%, in he akai dis ic Municipali y 33.2%, and
in he Š enčionys dis ic Municipali y 27.4%. hey p ese e hei adi ions, including
he mo he ongue, pe ec ly well. in he kaunas egion and in he ignalina-za asai
egion he si ua ion p esen s wo se. he Bela usian subdialec s a e qui e commonly
used by he elde gene a ion o inhabi an s li ing in he sou h-eas e n pa o he
coun y. in case o he ussian language we should speak o he old belie e s dialec
( hei illages we e no esea ched sepa a ely by he Li huanian esea che s) and o
he speech o he ussians li ing in nume ous owns. he esea ch allowed no only o
a chi e he con empo a y condi ion o he
Li huanian dialec s as well as o he languages and subdialec s spoken in Li huania and in
he neigbou hood, bu also allow o do he long- e m dialec ological esea ch and analysis
o he linguis ic si ua ion on his e i o y, and e en o make p edic ions o changes in
he nea u u e. he esul s o he linguis s wo k on his p ojec showed he linguis ic
si ua ion in Li huania in a mul i-laye and comp ehensi e way, and hey cons i u e he
g ea po en ial o analyse no only he pa icula dialec s and subdialec s, bu also
owa ds he gene al language and o he languages (Polish, Bela usian, Russian, La ian)
spoken in a ious egions o he coun y. he au ho s d aw ou a en ion o he changes
in he linguis ic si ua ion nea he majo ci ies (e ol ing p ocess o u banisa ion) e en
wi hin he dis ance o dozens o kilome es om he cen es. i is di icul o speak o
he dialec in hese places. exis ence o o he languages makes he si ua ion mo e
colou ul especially in Vilnius and klaipeda ( he Russian language). on he o he hand, he
speech o he kaunas egion p ese ed he dialec al s uc u e e y well, which esul s
om, among o he s, homogeneous s uc u e o he popula ion. in his chap e he
au ho s p esen ed he con empo a y classi ica ion o he dialec s ega ding he
pa icula subdialec g oups and hei cen es. he subdialec s a e be e p ese ed in
places whe e he speake s had i s be e symbolic awa eness, which is be e in he
a ea o , o example, Žemai ija and no aukš ai ija. in pa icula , in he eas e n aukš ai
i ja i is di icul o ecognize good p ese a ion o he subdialec s uc u e he
coexis ence o a ious languages (Polish, Bela usian) caused he con e gence mu ual
in luence o he languages and hei assimila ion.

XXI a. p adžios lie u ių a mės: geoling is inis
i socioling is inis y imas: žemėlapiai i jų komen a ai
suda y ojos danguolė Mikulėnienė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė
397 ecenzijos e iews he s udy being e iewed is o pa amoun impo ance as i
p esen ed he sys em o no only he linguis ic and geog aphical ac o s, bu also he social
and cul u al ea u es. he me hodology adop ed enabled o analyse he linguis ic con inuum
in Li huania bo h a e ical and ho izon al le els, libe a ing he Li huanian dialec ology om
he classic esea ch me hods, showing only a agmen o he linguis ic eali y. he
Li huanian dialec s a e p ese ed in he majo i y o places ma ked ea lie in The A las o
he Li huanian Language, bu a p esen hey a e cha ac e ised by changeabili y and
dynamism, and no s abili y like decades ago. he lowes i ali y conce ns he subdialec s o
wes e n Žemai ija and sou he n and eas e n aukš ai ija, he highes i ali y he
samogi ian dialec s. he esea ch ca ied ou by he au ho s pe ec ly show disappea ing
and speaking o dialec s, and c ea ion o new, so-called de i a i e dialec s. he eldes
gene a ion o speake s ep esen s in he bes way he s a ic dialec model (ho izon al
changeabili y), middle-aged gene a ion huge dynamism ( e ical changeabili y) con e gence
wi h o he languages o simila i y o he li e a y language. he mos mul idimensional is he
language o he younges gene a ion o speake s, and i is going o shape he linguis ic
si ua ion in he nea u u e. i will be he language ha should be e-examined in he decades
again so as o obse e he changes in he language. he p esen ed book is an ex emely
impo an publica ion and e en o c ucial signi icance o he Li huanian dialec ology. i is
no only he la ge ma e ial me iculously and p o essionally collec ed by he expe ienced
linguis s, bu also he ex ensi e analysis and in e p e a ion ca ied ou wi h he applica ion
o he la es me hodologies. du ing he h ee yea p ojec he au ho s pe o med i anic
wo k. sie sammel en das Ma e ial des gesam en e i o iums o Li huania, das e möglich e
zu e gleichen he con empo a y linguis ic si ua ion wi h he old esea ch esul s, and i
will be a e y good benchma k o nex ield s udies ca ied ou in he u u e. apa om an
inno a i e app oach o he geolinguis ic esea ch, special a en ion is a ac ed by he
ac ha he au ho s ook in o accoun o he languages spoken g ea a chi e-cogni i e
impo ance. he au ho s pu a lo o e o o supplemen each chap e wi h nume ous
colo ul maps, diag ams and cha s, which oge he wi h se e al appendices gi e a pe ec
oppo uni y o compa e he con empo a y si ua ion in he XXi cen u y illage wi h he
in he e i o y o Li huania – bela usian, La ian, Polish and ussian. all he
abo e men ioned ac s allowed o p esen he eal linguis ic si ua ion in Li huania,
including all he linguis ic, social and adminis a i e ac o s. he publica ion is o
si ua ion o decades ago. in he publica ion he e a e 14 maps ( o compa ison, he old one
om The A las o he Li huanian Language and he con empo a y one), showing he la es
ends as ega ds he s uc u e o he Li huanian dialec s and subdialec s, including one
map showing dis ibu ion o he Bela usian, La ian, Polish and Russian language poin s. am
Ende de Publika ion können wi einen um ang eichen Appendix inden (konzen ie end he
esea ch me hodology, ques ionnai es, he lis o he esea ched poin s oge he wi h he
names and numbe ing o The A las o he Li huanian Language and he new ones, in en ed
o he pu poses o his p ojec ). he p esen ed wo k: XXI a. anhal s li auische a mės:
398 ac a
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
geoling is inis und socioling is inis Un e suchung. Žemėliai und ih e Kommen a e
cons i u es also a pe ec and ho ough compendium o knowledge o esea ches o he
Li huanian dialec s and language, people dealing wi h he Polish, bela usian and ussian
languages unc ioning in he e i o y o Li huania, issues conce ning he linguis ic bo de s,
as well as o he bal ic s udies s uden s. he pa o he ma e ials ga he ed and
elabo a ed by he au ho s is a ailable on a specially c ea ed websi e www. a mes.l , which
allows he eade o ha e easy access o he esul s o he Li huanian dialec ologis s
(p epa ed in Li huanian and english).
habded on 5 sep embe 2014.
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Ins y u Slawis yki PAN ul. Ba ewicza 1Bosz 17,
00-337 Wa szawa, Poland /
[email p o ec ed]