The problem of word stress patterns in the russian dialect of the Old Believers (in the Suwałki–Augustów region)
Problematyka akcentuacji w rosyjskiej gwarze staroobrzędowców (region suwalsko-augustowski)

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses the problem of word stress in the Russian dialect of the Old Believers living in the Suwałki–Augustów region. This is an island dialect: it is surrounded by a Polish-speaking environment, and there is no area of contact with the Russian-speaking environment. The Old Believers alternately use the Russian dialect and the Polish language in every-day communication, depending on the situation and the communicative partner. The research demonstrates that currently the Russian dialect of the Old Believers, to a large extent, is not only different from standard Russian but also from the Pskov-region dialect, which forms the basis of the Old Believers’ Russian dialect. The dialect is undergoing a peculiar process of hybridisation – mingling with Polish in which one of them is seen as the basic frame for the functioning of root elements and borrowings. In the case of the Russian dialect used by the Old Believers, the basic frame is equated with the morphological system of this dialect and the original vocabulary. The influence of Polish is visible on all levels of language – particularly in the spheres of lexis, syntax, and pronunciation. Changes connected with civilisation advancement and technological progress are most visible in lexis. In borrowings from Polish and in the Russian root lexical items word-stress fluctuation can be observed – word-stress variants occur in the dialect. The place of the stress in a loan lexeme usually corresponds to a relevant morphological rule in the Russian language.

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