Slavic languages
The Slavic languages (also Slavic ) form a main branch of the Indo-European languages . A distinction is usually made between East Slavic , West Slavic and South Slavic .
Around 300 million people speak one of the 20 or so Slavic languages as their mother tongue; 400 million including second speakers. By far the most speaker-rich Slavic language is Russian with around 145 million native speakers. Other important Slavic languages are Polish and Ukrainian (about 50 million speakers each). Almost all major Slavic languages are national languages of their countries.
The science of Slavic languages, literatures and cultures is called Slavic studies .
Primeval Slavic and the development of the Slavic languages
The Slavic branch of the language is most closely related to the Baltic within Indo-European (cf. Balto-Slavic hypothesis ), which is supported without exception by all lexicostatistical and glottochronological calculations.
According to the most widespread hypothesis, the Slavic languages emerged from a common proto- language , which is called Ur- Slavic or Proto -Slavic, and which comes closest in time to the oldest known Slavic written language, Old Church Slavonic . The three main branches (East, West and South Slavonic) probably developed from the Primeval Slavonic in the middle of the 1st millennium AD, after which further migrations led to the development of today's linguistic diversity. The sound processes of palatalisation and the tendency towards increasing syllable tonality are of great importance in the development of Slavic from Indo-European .
Classification of Slavic Languages
The Slavic languages are linguistically and geographically divided into three main groups: East Slavic , West Slavic and South Slavic . Overall, the Slavic languages can be classified as follows:
- Altnovgorod dialect †
- Old East Slavic (Old Russian) †
- Russian
- Ruthenian (Old Belarusian, Old Ukrainian) †
- Belarusian
- Ukrainian
- Russian : Carpathian-Russian and Yugoslav-Russian
- West Polish
- Czech group
- Sorbian group
- Czech-Slovak group
-
Southeast Slavic
- Old Church Slavonic † (also called Old Bulgarian; from this the Church Slavonic developed )
- Bulgarian , Banater Bulgarian
- Macedonian , Aegean Macedonian
-
Southwest Slavic
- Middle South Slavic ( Serbo-Croatian ) group
- Slovenian group
(*) Dialect bridge between Polish and Czech
† means the respective language is extinct
From a linguistic point of view, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian represent a common single language, also called Serbo-Croatian . However, there are differences e.g. B. in the vocabulary, which, according to the old border between the Western and Eastern Roman Empire, has more Latin loanwords in Croatian, and more Greek in Serbian (cf. differences between the Serbo-Croatian standard varieties ). After the fall of Yugoslavia, three standard national languages were established. It can be assumed that these three varieties will continue to develop apart in the future. As a fourth language, Montenegrin (the form of Serbian in Montenegro) will possibly achieve standard language status. On the other hand, Serbian and Bulgarian, Czech and Slovak, Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian, as well as a few others, are understandable to one another to a certain extent. Macedonian, on the other hand, is often viewed as a Bulgarian dialect by the Bulgarian and Greek sides.
The table below gives a good impression of the degree of relationship between the individual Slavic languages.
For the purpose of internal classification, vocabulary that differ between the subgroups (so-called isoglosses ) is important. The word for "forgotten" is expressed in each of the three subgroups using different vocabulary (here two example languages per subgroup):
| East Slavic | West Slavic | South Slavic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian | Russian | Belarusian | Ukrainian | Slovak | Czech | Polish | Croatian | Bulgarian | |
| "to forget" | забывать (zabyvat ') | забуду | забыцца (zabycca) | забувати (zabuvaty) | zabúdať | zapomínat | zapominać | zaboravljati | забравя (zabravja) |
More often it is the case that only one subgroup has a specific word, while the other two subgroups go together. Five examples each for this situation:
| East Slavic | West Slavic | South Slavic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian | Ukrainian | Slovak | Czech | Polish | Croatian | Bulgarian | |
| "Friend" | друг (drug), приятель (prijatel ') | друг (druh), приятель (prijatel ') | priateľ | přítel, druh | przyjaciel | priyatelj, drug | приятел (prijatel) |
| "today" | сегодня (segodn'a), сей день (sej den ') | сьогодні (s'ohodni) | dnes | dnes | dziś | then | днес (dnes) |
| "more" | больше (bol'še) | більше (bil'še) | viac | více | więcej | više | повече (poveče) |
| "to open" | открывать (otkryvat ') | відкривати (vidkryvaty) | otvárať | otvírat | otwierać | otvarati | отваря (otvarja) |
| "below" | внизу (vnizu),
на дне (na dne) |
внизу (vnizu),
на дні (na dni) |
dole | dole | na dole | dole | долу (dolu) |
| "Chest" | грудь (grud ') | груди (hrudy) | prsia, hruď | prsa, hrud´ | pierś | grudi | гърди (gărdi) |
| "Village" | село (selo),
деревня (derevnja) |
село (selo),
деревня (derevnja) |
dedina | vesnice | how | selo | село (selo) |
| "rejoice" | радоваться (radovat's'a), тусить (tusit ') | радіти (radity), тусить (tusit ') | tešiť sa | těšit se | cieszyć się | radovati se | радва се (radva se) |
| "kill" | убивать (ubivat '),
забивать (zabivat ') |
вбивати (vbyvaty),
забивати (zabivati) |
zabíjať | zabíjet | zabijać | ubijati | убива (ubiva) |
| "knowledge" | знать (znat '),
ведать (wedat ') |
знати (znaty),
відати (widati) |
vedieť, poznať | vědět, znát | wiedzieć | znati | знае (znaje) |
| "The End" | конец (konec),
край (kraj) |
кінець (kinec '),
край (kraj) |
koniec | konec | koniec | kraj | край (kraj) |
| "Hair" | волос (volos), косы (kosy) | волосся (voloss'a), коси (kosy) | vlas | vlas | włos | kosa | коса (kosa) |
| "right" | правый (pravyj) | правий (pravyj) | vpravo, doprava | pravý | prawy | desni | десен (desen) |
| "expensive" | дорогой (dorogoj) | дорогий (dorohyj) | drahý | drahý | drogi | skup | скъп (skăp) |
| "Door" | дверь (dver '), ворота (vorota), врата (vrata) | двері (dveri), ворота (vorota), врата (vrata) | dvere | dveře | third | vrata | врата (vrata) |
In addition to the lexical isoglosses mentioned here, there are also isoglosses on other levels, such as grammar or sound.
Geographical distribution and number of speakers
The following table contains an overview of the geographical distribution and number of speakers of the Slavic languages, broken down into the three main branches. In the Distribution column , areas in which the language in question is the official language are highlighted in bold, and areas in which the language in question has only recently arrived through emigration are highlighted in italics.
| language | distribution | speaker |
|---|---|---|
| East Slavic languages | ||
| Russian (русский язык) | Russia , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , other countries of the former Soviet Union (especially Ukraine , Latvia , Estonia ), USA, Israel, Germany, other Western European countries | 145 million |
| Ukrainian (українська мова) | Ukraine , Russia , Kazakhstan , Moldova , Poland , Belarus , Slovakia , Romania , North America , Argentina , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia , Western Europe, Czech Republic | 47 million |
| Belarusian (беларуская мова) | Belarus , Russia , Ukraine , Poland (in the vicinity of Białystok ), Latvia , Lithuania , Kazakhstan , USA | 8 to 10 million |
| Carpathian-Russian (Ruthenian) (руски язик) | Carpathian Ukraine ( Ukraine , but not officially recognized there, but regarded as a Ukrainian dialect), north-eastern Slovakia and neighboring areas of Poland , emigrants mainly in North America | 830,000 to 1 million |
| Yugoslav Russian (Batschka Russian) (бачвански руски язик) | Vojvodina ( Serbia ) and Slavonia ( Croatia ) (original origin: Carpathian Ukraine ) | 23,000 |
| West Polish | in the border area between Ukraine and Belarus | around 800,000 (1931 census) |
| West Slavic languages | ||
| Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbska rěc) | Niederlausitz ( Germany ) in the area of Cottbus | 7,000 |
| Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbska rěč) | Upper Lusatia ( Germany ) in the vicinity of Bautzen | 20,000 |
| Polish (język polski) | Poland , Belarus, Ukraine, Israel, Czech Republic, Lithuania, North America, Western Europe, Brazil, Australia | 50 million |
| Kashubian (kaszëbsczi jãzëk) | in Poland west and south of Gdansk | 50,000 |
| Slovak (slovenský jazyk) | Slovakia , Vojvodina ( Serbia ), Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Croatia, North America, Australia, Western Europe | 6 million |
| Czech (český jazyk) | Czech Republic , bordering countries (especially Slovakia ), North America, Western Europe, Australia | 12 million |
| South Slavic languages | ||
| Slovenian (slovenski jezik) | Slovenia , southern Carinthia , former provinces of Trieste and Gorizia ( Italy ), western Hungary | 2 million |
| Resian (rozojanski lengač) | Resia valley in the province of Udine ( Italy ) | 19,000 |
| Croatian (hrvatski jezik) | Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Western Europe | about 7 million |
| Burgenland Croatian (gradišćansko-hrvatski jezik) | Burgenland , Vienna ( Austria ), West Hungary, South West Slovakia | 19,000 |
| Molise Slavonic (naš jezik, na-našu) | Molise ( Italy ) | 2,500 |
| Bosnian (bosanski jezik) | Bosnia and Herzegovina , Serbia , Montenegro , Turkey , North America, Western Europe | 4 million |
| Serbian (српски језик, srpski jezik) | Serbia , Montenegro , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , North Macedonia , Albania , Romania , Hungary , Turkey , Western Europe, America, Australia | about 12 million |
| Serbo-Croatian (srpskohrvatski jezik, hrvatskosrpski jezik) | Official language in Yugoslavia until 1991 , used in emigration countries | 18 million |
| Bulgarian (български език) | Bulgaria , Ukraine, Moldova, bordering countries (Macedonia, Eastern Serbia, Eastern Romania, European part of Turkey), USA, Western Europe | 9 million |
| Banater Bulgarian (bâlgarsći jazič) | Banat ( Romania , Serbia ) | 18,000 |
| Macedonian (македонски јазик) | North Macedonia , bordering countries (Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria), Western Europe | 2 million |
Language categories
Standard languages and microliterature languages
It is common in Slavic studies to divide Slavic languages into “standard languages” and “microliterature languages”. Many researchers, however, regard some of these small languages only as dialects or varieties of standard languages (especially in Anglo-Saxon literature). After the break-up of Yugoslavia and the division of Czechoslovakia, the standard languages are exactly the Slavic languages with the status of a national language.
With that in mind are
- Standard languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Upper Sorbian, Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Macedonian.
- Microliterature languages: Yugoslav-Russian, Carpathian-Russian, West Polish, Kashubian, Lower Sorbian, Resian (to Slovenian), Burgenland-Croatian, Molise-Croatian, Banat Bulgarian and Pomakian (to Bulgarian).
The classification of the Sorbian languages is handled differently, but Lower Sorbian in particular lacks most of the criteria of a “standard language”.
Extinct Slavic languages
The most important extinct Slavic language is Old Church Slavonic belonging to the South Slavic branch , an early form of Bulgarian , which is attested in around 30 manuscripts and some inscriptions from the 10th and 11th centuries. Proto-Slavic, the hypothetical common predecessor language of all Slavic languages, can be largely deduced from Old Church Slavonic . Further developments of Old Church Slavonic - so-called editorships of Church Slavonic that arose through local substrate influences and conscious approaches to standardization - played a central role as a literary language in the Orthodox Slavic regions until modern times . Even today, which is Neukirchen Slavic in almost all Slavic Orthodox churches as liturgical language used.
In the course of the German settlement in the east , a large number of West Slavic peoples were assimilated or displaced, their languages became extinct. This affects first the Slavic tribes between the Elbe and Oder and the island of Rügen , which assimilated linguistically at the beginning of the 15th century, then the Polabic (also Drawänopolabisch) in Wendland near Lüchow (Wendland) and Dannenberg (Elbe) , which is in the first Became extinct in the middle of the 18th century. Finally, the Slowinese language, which was spoken in Pomerania until shortly after 1900 . The number of speakers in the two Sorbian languages has also been steadily declining for centuries, and Lower Sorbian must be considered acutely threatened today.
Other small Slavic languages
Other languages and dialects that are counted among the Slavic languages are:
- Aegean Macedonian is a language related to Macedonian and Bulgarian in northern Greece, which intellectuals there have been trying to write for a few years
- Čakavisch is a collective term for Croatian dialects around Istria , Pomorje islands ( Kvarner ), Zadar and Split , which in the past (until the middle of the 19th century) also served as a written language;
- Kajkavic is a collective term for Croatian dialects in the area around Zagreb and the surrounding area, limited by the line Karlovac - Jasenovac - Koprivnica - Varaždin and Karlovac. Kajkavian dialects have served as a written language in the past;
- Štokavian is a collective name for dialects in Serbia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro and parts of Croatia .
- Lachish is adialect of Czech spokenin northern Moravia and in the former Austrian Silesia , which the writer Óndra Łysohorsky wanted to make a written language;
- under Moravian refers to various attempts to introduce based on the languages spoken in Moravia Czech dialects own default language;
- Masurian is a Polish dialect strongly influenced by German in the area of former East Prussia, in which a certain amount of literature was published at times;
- Eastern Slovak denotes the attempt at an own written language based on Eastern Slovak dialects , which Slovak Calvinists undertook from the 17th century;
- Podhalic is the Polish dialect of Podhale at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, in which a certain amount of dialect literature has been published;
- Pomak is the language of a Slavic ethnic group of the Muslim religion in southern Bulgaria, which was at times written in Greek ;
- Slavonic-Serbian is a form of Russian Church Slavonic, which was used in the 18th century and the early 19th century in Serbia as a written language.
Grammar in comparison
Slavic languages share many common grammatical features, the most prominent of which is likely to be the Aspect . In addition, the animatedness category in the paradigm of mainly masculine nouns is marked.
Conjugation of Slavic Verbs
Slavic verbs can be inflected according to the grammatical categories of person and number . As an example, the conjugation of the two verbs with the meaning 'take' (or 'read' in Slovenian) in comparison:
| number | person | Bulgarian | Serbo-Croatian | Slovenian | Slovak | Czech | Polish | Ukrainian | Russian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspect: imperfect | |||||||||
| Infinitive: | - | brati | bráti | brať | brát | brać | брáти (bráti) | брать (brať) | |
| Singular | 1 | бера (bera) | berem | bérem | beriem | based | biorę | берý (berú) | берý (berú) |
| 2 | береш (beresch) | bereš | béreš | berieš | bereš | bierzesz | берéш (berésch) | берёшь (berjósch ') | |
| 3 | бере (bere) | re | bére | berie | re | beer | берé (beré) | берёт (berjót) | |
| Plural | 1 | берем (berem) | beremo | béremo | straps | bereme | bierzemy | беремо́ (beremó) | берём (berjóm) |
| 2 | берете (berete) | berete | bérete | advised | berete | Bierzecie | берете́ (bereté) | берёте (berjóte) | |
| 3 | берат (advice) | based | bérejo | based | berou | biorą | берýть (berút ') | берýт (berút) | |
| Aspect: Perfect | |||||||||
| Infinitive: | - | uzeti | vzéti | vziať | vzít | wziąć | взяти (wzjati) | взять (wzjat ') | |
| Singular | 1 | взема (wzema) | uzmem | vzámem | vezmem | vezmu | wezmę | візьмý (wizmú) | возьмý (wazmú) |
| 2 | вземеш (wzemesch) | uzmeš | vzámeš | vezmeš | vezmeš | weźmiesz | ві́зьмеш (wízmesch) | возьмёшь (wazmjósch) | |
| 3 | вземе (wzeme) | uzme | vzáme | vezme | vezme | weźmie | ві́зьме (wízme) | возьмёт (wazmjót) | |
| Plural | 1 | вземеме (wzemame) | uzmemo | vzámemo | vezmeme | vezmeme | weźmiemy | ві́зьмемо (wízmemo) | возьмём (wazmjóm) |
| 2 | вземете (wzemete) | uzmete | vzámete | vezmete | vezmete | weźmiecie | ві́зьмете (wízmete) | возьмёте (wazmjóte) | |
| 3 | вземат (wzemat) | uzmu | vzámejo | vezmu | vezmou | wezmą | ві́зьмуть (wízmut ') | возьмýт (wazmút) | |
Vocabulary in comparison
The vocabulary of the Primeval Slavonic can partly be reconstructed using methods of comparative linguistics based on later written Slavic languages as well as traditional Slavic words in other languages. The following table shows some Slavic word equations with the reconstructed ancient Slavonic forms (penultimate column) and the corresponding Indo-European word root (last column). This table shows the close relationship between the Slavic languages.
The example of the head clearly shows the divergence of the three Slavic branches of the language, which already began during the original Slavonic sound process, with the tendency towards increasing syllable harmony.
Reconstructed, unused forms are marked with a preceding asterisk * . The languages written in Cyrillic script (Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Old Church Slavonic) are transliterated.
Slavic word equations
| meaning | Russian | Ukrainian | Polish |
Czech / Slovak |
Upper Sorbian | Slovenian |
Croatian / Bosnian / Serbian |
Bulgarian / Macedonian |
AltKslaw. | Ur-Slavic | Indo-term. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eye | глаз (glaz), око (oko) | око (oko) | eco | eco | woko | eco | eco | око (oko) | eco | * ȍko | * h₃okʷ-os |
| Brothers | брат (brat) | брат (brat) | fry | roast / roast | roast | fry | fry | брат (brat) | roast | * bràtrъ | * bʰréh₂tēr |
| Foot leg | нога (noga) | нога (noha) | noga | noha | noha | noga | noga | крак / нога (krak / noga) | noga | * nogà | * h₃nogʷʰ- 'nail' |
| Hand, arm | рука (ruka) | рука (ruka) | ręka | ruka | ruka | roka | ruka | ръка / рака (răka / raka) | rǫka | * rǭkà | * wronk-eh₂- |
| heart | сердце (serdce) | серце (serce) | serce | srdce | wutroba | srce | srce | сърце / срце (sărce / srce) | srьdьce | * sьrdьce | * ḱr̥d-ik-io- |
| head | головa (golowa) | голова (holowa) | głowa | hlava | hłowa | glava | glava | глава (glawa) | glava | * golvà | * golH-u- 'bald' |
| mother | мать (mat ') | мати (maty) | uterus, mom | matka, máti / matka, mať, mater, mati |
mać | mati, mater | mati (acc. mater), majka | майка / мајка (majka) | mati | * màti | * méh₂tēr |
| nose | нoc (nos) | ніс (nis) | nos | nos | nós | nos | nos | нос (nos) | - | * nȏsъ | * nh₂-es- |
| ear | ухо (ucho) | вухо (wucho) | ucho | ucho | wucho | uho | uho / uho / uvo | ухо / уво (ucho / uvo) | uxo | * ȗxo | * h₂eus-os- |
| sister | сестра (sestra) | сестра (sestra) | siostra | sestra | sotra | sestra | sestra | сестра (sestra) | sestra | * sestrà | * swésōr |
| son | сын (syn) | син (syn) | syn | syn | syn | sin | sin | син (sin) | synъ | * sy̑nъ | * suHnus |
| daughter | дочь (doč '), дочка (dočka) | донька (don'ka) | córka | dcera / dcéra | dźowka | hči | kći / kćerka / ćerka | дъщеря / ќерка (dăšterija / ḱerka) | dъšti | * dъkti | * dʰugh₂tḗr |
| father | отец (otec) | батько (bat'ko) | ojciec, tata | otec / oteʦ / / otec / oceʦ / | nan wótc (sophisticated) |
oče, ata | otac, tata | баща, татко (bašta / tatko) | otьcь | * otьcь | * atta |
| fish | рыба (ryba) | риба (ryba) | ryba | ryba | ryba | riba | riba | риба (riba) | ryba | * ryba | * dʰǵʰu- |
Some German words of Slavic origin
Sinkhole - hackney - border - cucumber - karst - kolkhoz - horseradish - mink - curd - irritant - ogonek - seal - whip - pistol - pogrom - ponor - robot - samovar - butterfly - sputnik - goldfinch - troika - vampire - Vistula - sable - siskin
literature
- Bernard Comrie, Greville G. Corbett (Eds.): The Slavonic Languages. Routledge, London 1993, ISBN 0-415-04755-2 .
- Bernard Comrie (Ed.): Slavonic Languages. In: The World's Major Languages. Oxford University Press, Oxford (UK) 1990, ISBN 0-19-506511-5 .
- Snježana Kordić : demonstrative pronouns in the Slavic languages . In: Bernhard Symanzik, Gerhard Birkfellner, Alfred Sproede (eds.): The translation as a problem of linguistic and literary research in Slavic and Baltic studies (= studies of Slavic studies ). tape 1 . Publishing house Dr. Kovač , Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-8300-0714-0 , p. 89–116 ( PDF file; 2.1 MB (PDF) [accessed December 3, 2010]).
- Snježana Kordić : Complex sentence patterns . In: Sebastian Kempgen , Peter Kosta , Tilman Berger , Karl Gutschmidt (eds.): The Slavic languages . An international handbook on its structure, its history and its research, Vol. 1. de Gruyter , Berlin, New York 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-015660-7 , pp. 592–607 ( PDF file; 1.5 MB (PDF) [accessed March 27, 2013]).
- Miloš okuka (ed.): Encyclopedia of the languages of Eastern Europe Klagenfurt 2002 (in a u.. Proto-Slavic (PDF; 247 kB) by Georg Holzer, pp 551-557, Pomoranisch (PDF; 118 kB) by Małgorzata Žemla, pp 965- 966).
- Peter Rehder (Ed.): Introduction to the Slavic languages. (With an introduction to Balkan philology by Wilfried Fiedler). 7th edition. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2012, ISBN 978-3-534-25373-9 .
- Roland Sussex, Paul Cubberley: The Slavic Languages. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK) 2006, ISBN 0-521-22315-6 .
Web links
- Slavic portal with large databases
- Entry on the (perished) Slavic languages (Die Slavia submersa) in the Encyclopedia of the European East (PDF file; 111 kB)
- WWWoerterbuch , collection of Slavic online dictionaries and language portals
- Link catalog on the subject of Slavic languages at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brockhaus, B20, ISBN 3-7653-3680-7 , p. 311.
- ↑ Petra Novotná, Václav Blažek: Glottochronology and Its Application to the Balto-Slavic Languages doi: 10.15388 / baltistica.42.3.1178 , accessed on April 9, 2020.
- ^ Balto-Slavic languages , Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World