HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Slavic microlanguages are literary linguistic varieties that exist alongside the better-known
Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...
of historically prominent nations. Aleksandr Dulichenko coined the term "(
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
) microlanguages" at the end of the 1970s; it subsequently became a standard term in
Slavistics Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was prim ...
. Slavic microlanguages exist both as geographically and socially peripheral
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s of more well-established Slavic languages and as completely isolated
ethnolect An ethnolect is generally defined as a language variety that mark speakers as members of ethnic groups who originally used another language or distinctive variety. According to another definition, an ethnolect is any speech variety (language, diale ...
s. They often enjoy a written form, a certain degree of
standardisation Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...
and are used in a variety of circumstances typical of codified idioms—albeit in a limited fashion and always alongside a national
standard language A standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage, although occasionally the term refers to the entirety of a language that includes ...
.


List

In genetic terms, each literary microlanguage is traced back to one of the major Slavic languages or has a close degree of kinship with it. Only
Pannonian Rusyn Pannonian Rusyn ( rsk, label=Pannonian Rusyn, руски язик, translit=ruski jazik), also historically referred to as Yugoslav Rusyn, is a variety of the Rusyn language, spoken by the Pannonian Rusyns, primarily in the regions of Vojvodin ...
poses a challenge in this regard. ;South Slavic * Slovene **
Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, East Slovene, or Wendish ( sl, prekmurščina, prekmursko narečje, hu, vend nyelv, muravidéki nyelv, Prekmurje dialect: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmör ...
Prekmurje Prekmurje (; dialectically: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; hu, Muravidék) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarian minority, lying between the Mur R ...
(north-eastern
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
), neighbouring areas of
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
**
Resian dialect The Resian dialect or simply Resian (self-designation Standard , Bila , Osoanë , Solbica ; sl, rezijansko narečje , ; ) is a distinct variety in the South Slavic continuum, generally considered a Slovene dialect spoken in the Resia Valley, P ...
Resia Valley Resia may refer to: __NOTOC__ Locations in northern Italy South Tyrol * Resia, a frazione (subdivision) of the village Graun im Vinschgau * Reschen Pass ( it, Passo di Resia, link=no), a border pass connecting Italy and Austria * Reschensee, ( it ...
(
Friuli Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
) ** *
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...
**
Shtokavian Shtokavian or Štokavian (; sh-Latn, štokavski / sh-Cyrl, italics=no, штокавски, ) is the prestige dialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language and the basis of its Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin standards. It ...
***
Slavomolisano dialect ''Slavomolisano'', also known as Molise Slavic or Molise Croatian, is a variety of Shtokavian Serbo-Croatian spoken by Italian Croats in the province of Campobasso, in the Molise Region of southern Italy, in the villages of Montemitro (), Acq ...
(Molise Croatian) — from the 15th to 16th centuries in the region of
Molise Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...
(
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
), from
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
. **
Slavonic-Serbian Slavonic-Serbian (славяносербскій, ''slavjanoserbskij''), Slavo-Serbian, or Slaveno-Serbian (славено-сербскiй, ''slaveno-serbskij''; sr, славеносрпски''/slavenosrpski'') was a literary language used by ...
*
Kajkavian Kajkavian (Kajkavian noun: ''kajkavščina''; Shtokavian adjective: ''kajkavski'' , noun: ''kajkavica'' or ''kajkavština'' ) is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia, Gorski Kotar and nort ...
*
Chakavian Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...
**
Burgenland Croatian Burgenland Croatian (; german: Burgenländisch-Kroatisch, Burgenlandkroatisch, burgenlandkroatische Sprache, burgenländisch-kroatischen Sprache, hu, gradiscsei horvát nyelv) is a regional variety of the Chakavian dialect of Croatian spoken ...
(Gradishan Croatian) —
Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...
(
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
) and surrounding areas of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
*
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
**
Banat Bulgarian dialect Banat Bulgarian (Banat Bulgarian: ''Palćena balgarsćija jázić'' or ''Banátsća balgarsćija jázić''; bg, банатскa българскa книжовна норма, translit=banastka balgarska knizhovna norma; german: Banater Bulgaris ...
— from the 18th century in
Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
(
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
) **
Pomak Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
Bulgarian Muslims The Bulgarian Muslims or Muslim Bulgarians ( bg, Българи-мохамедани, ''Bǎlgari-mohamedani'', as of recently also Българи-мюсюлмани, ''Bǎlgari-mjusjulmani'', locally called ''Pomak'', ''ahryan'', ''poganets'', '' ...
in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
(
Pomaks Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
) * Macedonian **
Slavic dialects of Greece The Slavic dialects of Greece are the Eastern South Slavic dialects of Macedonian and Bulgarian spoken by minority groups in the regions of Macedonia and Thrace in northern Greece. Usually, dialects in Thrace are classified as Bulgarian, whi ...
Macedonians in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
; the letter was published in 1925; it published periodicals and books in different countries, but nowadays, as far as is known, it does not function. ;West Slavic * Slovak ** — the language of
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
s in eastern Slovakia since the mid-18th century *
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
** — practically the language of one author — the poet
Óndra Łysohorsky Óndra Łysohorsky was the pseudonym of Ervín Goj (6 July 1905 – 19 December 1989), a Czech poet of Silesian origin and awareness. He is known for his works written in Lach language (intermediate dialect between Czech and Polish) which w ...
— based on the
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
n dialect *
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
** — based on the Polish dialects of
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, attempts since the late 1980s ** ;East Slavic *
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
**
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...
() —
Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...
in the
Zakarpattia Oblast The Zakarpattia Oblast ( uk, Закарпатська область, Zakarpatska oblast) is an administrative oblast located in western Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is ...
,
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
**
West Polesian The West Polesian language (захыднёполіськая мова) is the East Slavic language spoken in southwestern Belarus, in northwestern Ukraine and adjoining regions of Poland. There is controversy regarding whether West Polesian i ...
(Sudovian/Yotvingian) — south-western
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
* Belarusian ** — in the late 1980s in Lithuania, based on local Belarusian dialects **
West Polesian The West Polesian language (захыднёполіськая мова) is the East Slavic language spoken in southwestern Belarus, in northwestern Ukraine and adjoining regions of Poland. There is controversy regarding whether West Polesian i ...
(Sudovian/Yotvingian) — south-western
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
** Podlachian (their language) —
Podlachia Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the c ...
Pannonian Rusyn Pannonian Rusyn ( rsk, label=Pannonian Rusyn, руски язик, translit=ruski jazik), also historically referred to as Yugoslav Rusyn, is a variety of the Rusyn language, spoken by the Pannonian Rusyns, primarily in the regions of Vojvodin ...
(Yugoslav) —
Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...
of
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
and Croatia; genetically refers to the Slovak linguistic massif, however, with a strong substrate and
adstrate In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through language contact, contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a s ...
influence of East Slavic Rusyn dialects. Based on a set of criteria, this language occupies an intermediate position between microlanguages and the main Slavic languages. According to Aleksandr Dulichenko, the creation of new Slavic literary microlanguages continues today. Thus, at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the Bunjevac literary norm was formed in
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
on the basis of the
Bunjevac dialect The Bunjevac dialect (), also known as Bunjevac speech (), is the Danubian branch of Shtokavian– Younger Ikavian dialect of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language, preserved among members of the Bunjevac community. Their accent is purel ...
of the Serbo-Croatian language.
Bunjevci Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavic sub-ethnic group living ...
(most likely Catholic
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
who moved to Vojvodina from
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, who consider themselves a separate
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
or part of the Croatian ethnic group), created the and the . Some of the texts in the "Bunjevac Journal" () are printed in the Bunjevac dialect; in some primary schools, the Bunjevac dialect lessons are taught in places where Bunjevci are densely populated. New Slavic literary microlanguages can also be considered Silesian and Goral dialects (mainly based off the ). The movement for the creation of literary standards in Silesian and Goral dialects has arisen in the south of Poland since the 1990s, these movements are characterised by a lack of unity, their representatives are united in different societies offering different options for
writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...
,
spelling Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...
and . Nevertheless, attempts are being made in these languages to create literary works, periodicals, and the
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
, in particular, has been translated into Goral.


Insular and peripheral microlanguages

Native speakers A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
of contemporary Slavic microlanguages either live among unrelated linguistic communities, thereby constituting an ethnic "island", or live on the geographical
periphery Periphery or peripheral may refer to: Music *Periphery (band), American progressive metal band * ''Periphery'' (album), released in 2010 by Periphery * "Periphery", a song from Fiona Apple's album '' The Idler Wheel...'' Gaming and entertainm ...
of their historical
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s. Correspondingly, these microlanguages can be divided into insular and peripheral categories (the latter of which can also be called "
regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...
s"). The principal insular forms are:
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...
,
Burgenland Croatian Burgenland Croatian (; german: Burgenländisch-Kroatisch, Burgenlandkroatisch, burgenlandkroatische Sprache, burgenländisch-kroatischen Sprache, hu, gradiscsei horvát nyelv) is a regional variety of the Chakavian dialect of Croatian spoken ...
,
Molise Croatian ''Slavomolisano'', also known as Molise Slavic or Molise Croatian, is a variety of Shtokavian Serbo-Croatian spoken by Italian Croats in the province of Campobasso, in the Molise Region of southern Italy, in the villages of Montemitro (), Acqu ...
, the
Resian dialect The Resian dialect or simply Resian (self-designation Standard , Bila , Osoanë , Solbica ; sl, rezijansko narečje , ; ) is a distinct variety in the South Slavic continuum, generally considered a Slovene dialect spoken in the Resia Valley, P ...
(which may also be characterised as "peninsular") and Banat Bulgarian. The main peripheral forms include
Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, East Slovene, or Wendish ( sl, prekmurščina, prekmursko narečje, hu, vend nyelv, muravidéki nyelv, Prekmurje dialect: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmör ...
, , , ,
West Polesian The West Polesian language (захыднёполіськая мова) is the East Slavic language spoken in southwestern Belarus, in northwestern Ukraine and adjoining regions of Poland. There is controversy regarding whether West Polesian i ...
and others.


Functional characteristics

The precise hierarchical relationship between national standard languages and microlanguages can be ascertained by examining internal attributes, such as the disparity between strictly enforced
standardisation Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...
in the case of the former and, in the case of the latter, a more relaxed standard. The national language often displays a standardised spoken form whereas such a regularity is absent from microlanguages (whose spoken form often consists of divergent
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s.) Likewise, the difference can be seen in external attributes such as extensive
functionality Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-oriente ...
and explored genres in the case of national languages, compared to the narrowness of
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s and limited functional role of microlanguages. As literary microlanguages are, in terms of functionality, more expansive than their corresponding
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s, they display a tendency toward standardised norms, which entails a significant enlargement of the
lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...
and a more systematised, codified
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
, often by way of foreign borrowings, and recourse to a previous literary and
linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
tradition alien to vernacular dialects. In contrast to a dialect exploited for artistic purposes, every minor literary Slavic language is to a greater or lesser degree governed by an organised literary and linguistic process that provides for the establishment and development of a literary microlanguage, and which presents it as such. In terms of location, Slavic microlanguages exist in both predominantly Slavic and non-Slavic areas, earning some the designation of linguistic "islands" resulting from a past migration, whereas others exist indigenously, having never been entirely separated from their genetic and geographic points of origin.


Ethnic factor

Behind the majority of Slavic microlanguages are not
nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
s, but the so-called cultural-linguistic and ethno-linguistic groups as branches of large Slavic ethnic groups-nations. Peripheral literary micro-languages function in the environment of cultural and linguistic groups that exist within the peripheral (ethnic) area and are distinguished within its framework only by local features of cultural-historical and linguistic (dialectal) nature - such are
Chakavian Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...
s,
Kajkavian Kajkavian (Kajkavian noun: ''kajkavščina''; Shtokavian adjective: ''kajkavski'' , noun: ''kajkavica'' or ''kajkavština'' ) is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia, Gorski Kotar and nort ...
s in Croatia, etc.; ethno-linguistic groups, that is, "insular", which are
national minorities The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
, are behind insular literary microlanguages — such are the
Burgenland Croats Burgenland Croats (, , , ) is the name for ethnic Croats in the Austrian state of Burgenland, along with Croats in neighboring Hungary and Slovakia. Around 320,000 residents of Austria identify as of Croat heritage; 56,785 have, as sole or mu ...
,
Molise Croats Molise Croats ( hr, Moliški Hrvati) or Molise Slavs ( it, Slavo-molisani, Slavi del Molise) are a Croat community in the Molise province of Campobasso of Italy, which constitutes the majority in the three villages of Acquaviva Collecroce (''Kru ...
,
Banat Bulgarians The Banat Bulgarians ( Banat Bulgarian: ''Palćene'' or ''Banátsći balgare''; common bg, Банатски българи, Banatski balgari; ro, Bulgari bănățeni; sr, / ), also known as Bulgarian Roman Catholics and Bulgarians Paulician ...
, etc. (unlike cultural-linguistic groups, they are characterised by more tangible ethnic and linguistic separately). Both peripheral and island branches consider themselves to be an inseparable part of the corresponding Slavic ethnic nations: the Banat Bulgarians - the
Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...
, the Chakavians and the Kajkavians, as well as the Burgenland Croats and the Molise Croats - the
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
, etc., but also as an independent Slavic language, as it is used by an ethnic group (community), claiming the role of nationality. However, the border between microlanguages and independent Slavic languages and in some other cases turns out to be indistinct: for example, the "insular" Sorbian, representing the Slavic national minority in Germany, and peripheral to the Polish Kashubian tradition established in Russian linguistics, are considered as separate languages.


History of occurrence

As conditions for the emergence of literary microlanguages are necessary: the presence of compactness of the environment and the associated isolation from the main dialect continuum, awareness of linguistic and ethnic specificity, complexity of the dialectal landscape, forcing you to look for your own literary language (especially during the formation of national literary languages) close dialect basis; the presence of literary-linguistic pre-tradition in a related or unrelated language, which provided the conditions for experiments on the use of native speech as a literary language; at the same time, the quantitative factor is not decisive, although it influences the potential possibilities of the literary-language process. Stimulating moments in the emergence of a number of Slavic microlanguages were
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
(16th century), the movement for the national revival of Slavic peoples (19th century), a subjective factor, that is, the presence of enlighteners who are able to give an impetus to the power of their example organisations of the literary-linguistic process in their dialect (dialect). A peculiarity of peripheral literary microlanguages is that almost all of them already at the initial stage of their development (before the era of national revival) were regional variants that competed with each other to become the basis of the emerging national literary language.


Criticism

From a critical standpoint, the theory of "Slavic microlinguistics" is assessed by the Russian Slavic scholar , who believes that due to the vagueness and ambiguity of the definition of "Slavic microlanguages", a number of researchers, following Aleksandr Dulichenko himself, put different meanings into the concept of "microlanguages". The use of the term "Slavic microlanguages", according to S. S. Skorvid, is inappropriate, since completely dissimilar linguistic forms can be summed up under this term. All idioms of limited functioning in the Slavic world can be more clearly defined in other terms. Thus, the
Sorbian languages The Sorbian languages ( hsb, serbska rěč, dsb, serbska rěc) are the Upper Sorbian language and Lower Sorbian language, two closely related and partially mutually intelligible languages spoken by the Sorbs, a West Slavic ethno-cultural mino ...
( Upper and
Lower Sorbian Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...
) in Germany, Pannonian Rusyn in Serbia and Croatia, (Carpathian) Rusyn in Slovakia, in Poland and some other idioms should be considered as "minority languages". Kashubian in Poland, (Carpathian) Rusyn in Ukraine, Kajkavian and Chakavian in Croatia, as well as other similar idioms, whose speakers have a special regional ethno-linguistic identity, fall under the concept of "regional languages". Written idioms such as Podlachian by , and Masurian in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
or the already defunct by
Óndra Łysohorsky Óndra Łysohorsky was the pseudonym of Ervín Goj (6 July 1905 – 19 December 1989), a Czech poet of Silesian origin and awareness. He is known for his works written in Lach language (intermediate dialect between Czech and Polish) which w ...
in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, and West Polesian by
Nikolai Shelyagovich Nikolai Shelyagovich (born 21 July 1956, village Ogdemer, Drahichyn District, Brest Region, BSSR) is an initiator and proponent of the idea of the establishment of Polesian autonomy in Soviet Byelorussia in the 1980s. However, he and his asso ...
in
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
, can be defined as "literary
idiolect Idiolect is an individual's unique use of language, including speech. This unique usage encompasses vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. This differs from a dialect, a common set of linguistic characteristics shared among a group of people. Th ...
s" and "literary dialects" The absence of a "strict" definition of the basic terms of the theory of "literary microlanguages" is pointed out by the Czech researcher Vladislav Knoll. This, in his opinion, gives grounds to include in the number of "microlanguages" an increasing number of Slavic idioms of both the present and the past, which has been happening recently. In particular, modern Podhale, Masurian, Silesian and Moravian, as well as historical
Biblical Czech Biblical Czech language is Czech literary language, which established Czech intellectuals by translation of Bible of Kralice. Slovak scholars used as one of their literary languages in the 18th and 19th centuries. Protestants in Slovakia had alrea ...
, , Trnava Slovak, Camaldolese Slovak and Transylvanian Bulgarian have come to be included among the "new microlanguages". Most of the linguistic forms that Aleksandr Dulichenko considers as "microlanguages", Vladislav Knoll refers to as "literary dialects". From them, in his opinion, it is necessary to separate the group of literary idiolects, such as the project of the Lachian language, and the group of regional literary languages, such as Molise Croatian and Pannonian Rusyn, and, possibly, already Kashubian and Slovak Russian.


See also

* Dialect or language *
Balachka Baláchka ( uk, балачка, p=bɐˈlat͡ʃkɐ – conversation, chat) is a Ukrainian dialect spoken in the Kuban and Don regions, where Ukrainian settlers used to live. It was strongly influenced by Cossack culture. The term is connect ...
* Surzhyk *
Trasianka Trasianka ( be, трасянка, ) refers to a mixed form of speech in which Belarusian and Russian elements and structures alternate arbitrarily.Hentschel, Gerd Belarusian and Russian in the Mixed Speech of Belarus. In Besters-Dilger, J. et a ...
*
Russian dialects Russian dialects are spoken variants of the Russian language. Russian dialects and territorial varieties are divided in two conceptual chronological and geographic categories: Kamusella, Tomasz. (2018). Russian: A Monocentric or Pluricentric Lan ...


Notes


Bibliography

* Dulichenko A.D. Malyje slavianskije literaturnyje jazyki (mikrojazyki) // Jazyki Mira: Slavianskije Jazyki. М.: Academia, 2005 * Dulichenko A.D. Slavianskije literaturnyje mikrojazyki. Voprosy formirovanija i rasvitija. Tallinn, 1981. * Dulichenko A.D. Jazyki malyh etničeskih grupp: funkcionaljnyj status i problemy razvitija slovaria (na slavianskom materïale) // Modernisierung des Wortschatzes europäischer Regional- und Minderheitensprachen. Tübingen, 1999. * Dulichenko A.D. Kleinschriftsprachen in der slawischen Sprachenwelt // Zeitschrift für Slawistik, 1994, Bd. 39. *


References


Resianica
Materials on the Resian-Slovene language
Ruska Matka
An organisation seeking to preserve and develop the Pannonian Rusyn language in Serbia
Gradišćansko-hrvatski Centar
Cultural organisation of Burgenland Croats {{Slavic languages Slavic languages Slavic studies