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 .
20 h cen u y. The beginning o
Li huanian: geoLingVis and
socioLingVis Ty iMas: ŽeMėLaPiai
and j koCen ai o med by Mikulė
Mikulėnienė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė
This Decision shall en e in o o ce on he day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
In 2014, he monumen al wo k en i led The Mode n Geolinguis ic Resea ch in Li huania:
The Op imiza 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.
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 huanian SSR. 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 Li huanian and La ian linguis s ha e begun 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. This 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
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 by app oxima ely
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 us was issued by he La ian Language Ins i u e in Riga 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, was published.
Whi es
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-yea 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.
Fo h ee yea s (2010-2013) P o . Danu a Mikulēne and 33 colleagues and s uden s
we e examining and analyzing he Li huanian dialec s in he geolinguis ic and
sociolinguis ic aspec s. The membe s o he p ojec se se e al main objec i es: o
collec and publish he la es ma e ial depic ing he cen al and pe iphe al Li huanian
dialec s, o p ecisely de e mine he bo de s o he Li huanian dialec s and
subdialec s on he basis o he phone ic ea u es analysis, o show he
sociolinguis ic si ua ion in he en i e a ea o he Li huanian language and o ca y
ou a p elimina y analysis o he collec ed ma e ial. As many as 735 owns in Li huania
and 15 ab oad we e esea ched (in o al abou 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 u es o he 20 h cen u y.
also new owns had been added) and c ea ing a con empo a y a chi e o he dia-
The 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. The au ho s s ess ha he e y no ion
o geolinguis ics appea ed in Li huanian dialec ology only a he beginning o he 21s
cen u y. he adi ional dialec ology shows he language eali y s a ically, and
geolinguis ics […] dynamically. The Li huanian dialec s and subdialec s equi ed newe
analysis and in e p e a ion, which a e in line wi h he achie emen s o 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. Fo 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 alodu
a lan s, anna s a ecka, danguolė Mikulėnienė, iga Vilnius, 2009.
2
The whi e language o he A lan eans. I 's called Flo a. A las o he Bal ic languages. I 's called
Flo a. A las o he Bal ic Languages. Lexis 1: Flo a, wha a e you doing?
The second e ised edi ion. edi ed by danguolė Mikulėnienė and anna s a ecka. Vilnius: La ian Language
Ins i u e o he Uni e si y o La ia, Li huanian Language Ins i u e. The 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 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. Thus, wi h 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 Russian 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. In his a icle, we will p o ide a de ailed analysis and
desc ip ion o hese issues (desc ibed by: Dai a Aliukai ė, Viole a Meiliūnai ė, Ju gi a
Ja osla ienė, Danguolė Mikulėnienė). The second undamen al chap e , w i en by
Danguilė 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. The 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 10 h 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. The g ea es wo k o he Li huanian dialec ologis s
was undoub edly 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 o e 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 e s 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 now being e iewed. Nex , he au ho s discuss he adi ional
classi ica ion o he Li huanian dialec s and subdialec s, s essing ha he e we e a
leas h ee ypes o selec ion depending on he ules adop ed by a ious esea che s
(and mo e speci ically […] on he choice o he app op ia e phone ic ea u es). Wi hin
many yea s almos one- i h o he poin s esea ched had been co ec ed, bu i did no
signi ican ly change he ne wo k o 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. The 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 21s cen u y and
he op imiza ion o he ield poin s. The 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 iance was analysed 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 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.
The esea che s de e mined a se en-s age le el o egionali y o he esponden 's
speech, based, among o he s, on such c i e ia as a place o bi h, a place o esidence
du ing a pe iod o up o 18 yea s o age, he o igin o pa en s, and 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. In o de o op imise he esea ch poin s, se e al ac o s we e speci ied, which
had been aken in o accoun by p e ious esea che s: 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). I 's no always one own, i can be cen al and
pe iphe al. 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 neighbou ing own o illage became a cen e), he numbe o he poin
emained he same, bu i s name was changed. An ex inc poin is a poin whe e he e is
no indigenous popula ion in a pa icula own o illage o in i s neighbo 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 he case o he Aukshai 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 he bo de s o he
coun y […] o example in bela us […] hey disappea he e. A posi i e excep ion, in he
opinion o he au ho s, a e he Li huanian sub-dialec s in he a ea a ound Puńsk in
Poland, whe e hey a e ac i e and o g ea 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 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 mos coun ies, while 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. The 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 bo de lands is desc ibed by
396 ac a
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
k is ina u ko ska, he Bela usian subdialec s […] by Lilija Plyga ka, and he Russian
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%. They 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. The Bela usian subdialec s a e qui e commonly used by
he olde gene a ion o inhabi an s li ing in he sou h-eas e n pa o he coun y. In
he case o he Russian language, we should speak o he dialec o he Old Belie e s
( hei illages we e no esea ched sepa a ely by he Li huanian esea che s) and o
he speech o he Russians li ing in nume ous owns. The 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 neighbou 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. The 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 ed and comp ehensi e way, and hey
cons i u e he g ea po en ial o analyze 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. The 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 's di icul o speak o he dialec in hese places. he 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, he 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 wi h ega d o he pa icula subdialec g oups and hei
cen e s. The subdialec s a e be e p ese ed in places whe e he speake s had hei
be e symbolic awa eness, which is be e in he a ea o , o example, Zemai ija and
no Aukš ai ija. in pa icula , in he eas e n highlands 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
The 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. The Li huanian dialec s
a e p ese ed in he majo i y o places ma ked ea lie in he A las o he Li huanian
Language, bu a p esen hey a e cha ac e ized by changeabili y and dynamism, and no
s abili y as 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. The
esea ch ca ied ou by he au ho s pe ec ly shows he disappea ance and speaking o
dialec s, and he 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. The 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 again in he decades 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 amoun o 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. They collec ed ma e ial om he en i e e i o y o Li huania, which made i possible
o compa e 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. In addi ion o an
inno a i e app oach o geolinguis ic esea ch, special a en ion is d awn o he ac ha
he au ho s ook in o accoun o he languages spoken o g ea a chi e-cogni i e
impo ance. The au ho s pu a lo o e o in o supplemen ing 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 wen y- i s cen u y
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
illage wi h he si ua ion 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 he dis ibu ion o he Bela usian, La ian, Polish and
Russian language poin s. a he end o he publica ion we can ind an ex ensi e appendix
(conce ning 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: Geolinguis ic and
398 ac a
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
sociolinguis ic s udy o he Li huanian language a he beginning o he 21s cen u y. The
maps and hei commen a ies also cons i u e 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 Russian 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. 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).
Habed on 5 Sep embe 2014.
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
The Ins i u e o Sla ic S udies a he PAN. This
Decision shall en e in o o ce on he day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
[Email p o ec ed]