The Balkan Languages and Balkan Linguistics

Posted: 2 Nov 2011

Date Written: October 2011

Abstract

The Balkans were the first linguistic area (sprachbund) to be identified as such. The concept was originally proposed to explain diffusion among languages that were genealogically unrelated or distantly related in terms of normal linguistic change as opposed to notions of corruption and impurity. The fact that the sprachbund cannot be as neatly bounded as the traditional language family has led to some calls for abandoning the concept, but it remains a useful heuristic referring to the results of historical and social processes of language contact. Recent conflations of areal linguistics and typology miss these processes, which are themselves grounded in speaker interaction. Issues of causation in the emergence of sprachbunds involve both language shift and language maintenance, influenced by various social factors playing roles. This review examines both the history and the current state of Balkan linguistics as a part of the study of language.

Suggested Citation

Friedman, Victor A., The Balkan Languages and Balkan Linguistics (October 2011). Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 40, pp. 275-291, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1950870 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-081309-145932

Victor A. Friedman (Contact Author)

University of Chicago ( email )

1101 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

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