The Phonological System of Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian Languages from a Typological Point of View in Broader (west)slavonic Context Cover Image

Fonologický systém hornej lužickej srbčiny a dolnej lužickej srbčiny z typologického hľadiska v širšom (západo)slovanskom kontexte
The Phonological System of Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian Languages from a Typological Point of View in Broader (west)slavonic Context

Author(s): Júlia Dudášová-Kriššáková
Subject(s): Language studies
Published by: Slavistický ústav Jána Stanislava Slovenskej akadémie vied
Keywords: Linguistics; phonological system; Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian languages; extreme consonantal; extreme vocal and intermediate types; typological analysis; phonemes.

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this study is a confrontational analysis of the phonological system of the contemporary standard Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian from a typological point of view. Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian as languages with consonantal correlation of softness in which hard and soft opposites in majority of articulation types are distinguished consist of the relativity rich list of consonants (32, 35) and an ordinary system of vocals (7). The Slovak language represents an intermediate type between an extreme consonantal type and extreme vocal type for its quite balanced proportion of vocals (15) and consonants (27). It is related to the fact that Slovak belongs to the languages in which prosodic (guantity) and principal, inherant distinctive features of phonemes apply while in Upper and Lower Sorbian languages (and in Polish) only inherent phonological atrributes apply. Quantity in Upper and Lower Sorbian perished and primal quantitative opposites were reassesed as quality opposite (a paralel development happened also in dialect of Eastern Slovakia). This study also establishes questions related to a new description of the phonological system of the Upper and Lower Sorbian language in which, in comparison with a traditional description and valuation of some contraversial case, new solutions and introduces.

  • Issue Year: 45/2010
  • Issue No: 02
  • Page Range: 115-123
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Slovak