Shades of the Assessment of Slavic Loanwords in Southern Aukštaitian Subdialects Cover Image

Pietų aukštaičių šnektose vartojamų slavizmų vertinimo atspalviai
Shades of the Assessment of Slavic Loanwords in Southern Aukštaitian Subdialects

Author(s): Vilija Ragaišienė
Subject(s): Lexis, Comparative Linguistics, Western Slavic Languages, Eastern Slavic Languages, Baltic Languages
Published by: Vilniaus Universiteto Leidykla
Keywords: loanword; Slavism; connotation; subdialect; Southern Aukštaitians;

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the connotation, context of usage and tendencies of loanwords (nouns and adjectives) from Slavic languages used in the subdialects of the Southern Aukštaitians. The re­search conducted revealed that the constant connotation is usually characteristic of loanwords that name persons and other living beings by their character traits, habits and inclinations, less often by their physical characteristics. Loanwords acquire a contextual connotation in contexts (combinations of words and sentences) in which the physical characteristics and appearance of the object under dis­cussion (a person or other living being) are assessed from a certain aspect. The positive or negative shade of the assessment of loanwords with constant connotation can be used not only in a word taken separately but also in a wider context of usage. Loanwords of Southern Aukštaitian subdialects usually have a negative connotation. The spectrum of the assessment of the object in question is quite wide: from teasing to ridicule or even bullying. Loanwords in certain contexts are used as having a greater emotional expression than standard language words.

  • Issue Year: 68/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 73-86
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Lithuanian