On the matter of Polish and Russian language contacts in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lexical borrowings – via the Polish language – in selected literary genres of Old Belarusian in the 16th and 17th century Cover Image

Z zagadnień polsko-ruskich kontaktów językowych w Wielkim Księstwie Litewskim. Zapożyczenia leksykalne za pośrednictwem polszczyzny w wybranych gatunkach piśmiennictwa starobiałoruskiego XVI–XVII wieku
On the matter of Polish and Russian language contacts in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lexical borrowings – via the Polish language – in selected literary genres of Old Belarusian in the 16th and 17th century

Author(s): Lilia Citko
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku
Keywords: Grand Duchy of Lithuania; language contacts; Old Belarusian literature; Polish Language; lexical borrowings

Summary/Abstract: This article is dedicated to the issue of Polish and Russian language contacts in the 16th and 17th centuries. The analysed Old Belarusian historical assets document the presence of foreign vocabulary assimilated via the Polish language. Research shows that the Polish Language of that period formed a medium used to transfer words of German, Latin, Czech or Italian origin to the Belorusian land. The functioning of such borrowings has been tracked on the basis of two popular literary genres on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – chronicles (Kronika Supraska and Kronika Bychowca), representing original Belorusian literature, and chivalric romance (Białoruski Tristan), which was an example of translated literature. Loanwords supplemented native lexical resources with lacking units to name such areas as state, church and military institutions, living needs, war craft and the life of knights.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 45-62
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish