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 i socioLingVis inis
y iMas: ŽeMėLaPiai i 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. i memb i del p oge o hanno issa o di e si obie i i
p incipali accoglie e e pubblica e l la es ma e ial a igu an e i cen al and
pe iphe al Li huanian dialec s, pe de e mina e p ecisamen e i con ini dei Li huanian
dialec s and subdialec s on he basis o he phone ic ea u es analysis, pe
mos a e 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 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 alodu a lan s, anna s a ecka, danguolė Mikulėnienė, iga Vilnius, 2009.
2
Bal u lingua a lan s. Lessika 1: Flo a. Bal ų kalbų a las. Lessika 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 gli au o i discu ono la adizionale classi icazione o he
Li huanian dialec s and subdialec s, so olineando che c'e ano almeno e ipi di selezione
a seconda delle egole ado a e da a i ice ca o i (e più speci icamen e 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 i e 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
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 ecenziji 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. al ine di o imizza e i pun i di ice ca, di e si a o i sono s a i
speci ica i, che e ano s a i p esi in conside azione da p eceden i ice ca o i: 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 amen e 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 a eccezione, in l'opinione degli au o i, sono 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 uiscono 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 ussian 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. i diale i
li uani sono conse a i in la maggio pa e di luoghi con assegna i p eceden emen e in The
A las o he Li huanian Language, ma al momen o sono ca a e izza i da changeabili y and
dynamism, e non s abili à come decenni a. 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. hanno accol o il ma e iale dell'in e o e i o io di Li huania, che ha pe messo di
con on a 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. 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. alla
ine della pubblicazione possiamo o a e un es eso appendice (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: XXI a. inizi delle lie u ian a mės:
398 ac a
Mi osŁaW jankoWiak
Linguis ica Li huanica LXXI
geoling is inis i socioling is inis y imas. Žemėliai e lo o commen ia ai cos i uisce 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]