Projects / Programmes
Vocabulary from the semantic field 'man' in Slovenian dialects: A geolinguistic presentation (1st volume of the Slovenian Linguistic Atlas)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.05.01 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
Languages - research |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H401 |
Humanities |
Dialectology |
Slovenian linguistic atlas, dialectology, geolinguistics, Slovenian dialects
Researchers (7)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The three-year research project will include the creation of an interactive database, linguistic analysis, and a geolinguistic presentation of Slovenian dialect vocabulary for the semantic field ‘man’; that is, vocabulary for parts of the body, illnesses, and the family within limits defined by the questionnaire for the Slovenian Linguistic Atlas (SLA). Vocabulary has been collected since the early 1950s for the Slovenian Linguistic Atlas, which encompasses 406 local subdialects in Slovenia and across its borders (it is still necessary to transcribe some localities on the margins of Slovenian linguistic territory, and many existing transcriptions need to be checked and, as needed, supplemented by field surveys of dialect speakers). This vocabulary will be transferred from a card catalogue and binders to the SlovarRed database with the help of the ZRCola entry system, and geographical information systems (GIS) will make it possible to display the information on linguistic (i.e., lexical and word-formational) maps. A precise copy of material in Slovenian dialect transcription accompanied by graphic and audio material in the database, together with professional literature, will form the basis for phonological, lexicological (synchronic), and etymological (diachronic) analysis of the material, on the basis of which it will be possible to present the collected vocabulary on maps displaying symbols, isoglosses and dialect areas, phonetic forms, or a combination of these (with inscriptional maps). Not only will this be the first volume in the long-awaited SLA with approximately 100 annotated maps, but vocabulary arranged and analyzed in this way will also mark the beginning of a dialect dictionary covering all of the Slovenian dialects. Because Slovenian is one of the few Slavic (and European) languages that still does not have its own linguistic atlas, those participating in this project wish not only to make up for this delay, but also to present Slovenian to the professional community and the public (especially in schools) through the use of modern tools and in line with current global developments in dialectology.
Significance for science
These dialectology studies are important not only for Slovenian dialectology, but also for Slavic and broader European dialectology (which also includes participation in the international projects for the Slavic Linguistic Atlas and European Linguistic Atlas), and they are also connected to other linguistic disciplines (e.g., etymology, sociolinguistics, history of the literary language) and non-linguistic disciplines (especially ethnology and history, but also biology, geography, etc.). The results of dialectology studies can be used as material for additional narrowly focused professionally oriented studies or for direct and indirect comparison with the findings of their studies, as well as for multidisciplinary scholarly use and the preservation of national natural and cultural heritage. Despite its deficiencies, the collection for the SLA is the richest collection of dialect material from the entire geographical territory of Slovenian and it has therefore long been a resource for researchers from Slovenia and abroad in shedding light on the history of Slovenian. Because of the geographically marginal position of Slovenian and its resulting archaisms, it is also an exceptionally rich resource for etymological, comparative, and contrastive studies of the Slavic languages and the entire Indo-European language family.
The results of the studies will be interesting not only for the professional community, but also for users among the public that are interested in the life and use of dialect vocabulary that, together with the representationalism that is disappearing because of the changing world, is sinking into oblivion and that is known only by the oldest dialect speakers (especially in the countryside). Because of the influence of the literary language (especially through school and the media), the use of local subdialects is changing, in some places moving toward convergent development; that is, dialects are receiving not only a different image, but also a different role in everyday life compared to what they previously had. The cartographic presentation of dialect words with professional commentary will make possible a flexible approach to dialect vocabulary for both non-expert users and non-speakers of the dialect, the maps will make it possible to present Slovenian dialects more clearly in schools, and with the help of these maps the proverbial dialectal diversity of Slovenian will also become clearer to non-Slovenians (not only those learning Slovenian as a foreign language or as a heritage language, but also tourists, businesspersons, and others).
Significance for the country
The results of the research will be exceptionally important for the preservation of Slovenian cultural heritage; due to the increasingly greater communication flow through Slovenian space, globalization, and the modern lifestyle, dialects are changing relatively quickly at all linguistic levels, especially at the lexical level. Words are disappearing together with the objects and activities that they name or are being replaced by loans from various contact languages. The literary language also has increasing influence through the media, school, and so on. Because the material for this research was collected throughout the second half of the 20th century, its transcription, analysis, and presentation to the public also represents an opportunity to preserve at least part of this cultural (i.e., linguistic) heritage, and to thereby increase the possibility for the preservation of national identity, especially at the margins of Slovenian linguistic territory – that is, in all of the neighboring countries as well. It is well known that emigrants in particular, because of reduced contact with their country of origin and native language, also lost contact with the development of their native language, and in their speech and idiolects they often preserved (developmentally) older forms of their native local subdialects. The atlas will therefore also be of significant help for them in preserving cultural and national identity despite lack of knowledge or non-active use of literary Slovenian. Because we still do not have a dialect dictionary covering all of the Slovenian dialects, the atlas and its index will also be of indirect use as a collection of words and lexemes for selected semantic fields, which encompasses Ramovš’s notion of the atlas as “a kind of dictionary that is not arranged alphabetically, but geographically.”
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
