The Origins of Slavonic
Noel C. Brackney
University of Surrey
This book examines the causes of the dissolution of Common Slavonic. Archaeologists have questioned traditional theories of the Indo-Europeanization of Europe; consensus has been growing that the Indo-European languages arrived in Europe earlier than previously thought, accompanying the introduction of agriculture at the end of the Neolithic period. This stands in contrast to the premise that Proto-Indo-European was introduced during the Bronze Age by steppe nomads.
Acceptance of the former model requires adjustment in the chronology of the break-up of Indo-European unity. It also necessitates the modification of theories of language change. This issue has been addressed by the proposal of a framework of language evolution incorporating the Utterance-Based Theory of Selection and the Punctuated Equilibrium Model. Both stress the role of external factors in the development of languages.
The conclusion is that there exists a concrete and dynamic relationship between catastrophic historical events and episodes of profound change in the structure of a language. The body of this book is composed of historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence, which substantiates this claim.
Noel C. Brackney currently lectures in Russian at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom and is a member of the Surrey Morphology Group. This monograph is based on his doctoral dissertation.
Table of Contents
Foreword iii
Abbreviations iv
Illustrations vi
Acknowledgements viii
Chapter 1:
Introduction 1
Chapter 2:
Theoretical Parameters 6
2.1 Introductory Remarks 6
2.2 From Early Philological to Neogrammarian Theories of Language Change 8
2.3 The Neogrammarian Approach to Language Change 11
2.4 Structural and Generative Linguistics 12
2.5 The Object of Study 18
2.6 Definition of Terms 20
2.7 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Language Change 23
2.8 Language Change 25
2.9 The Ontogeny of Linguistic Change 28
2.10 The Function of Linguistic Change 30
2.11 The Mechanisms and Phylogeny of Linguistic Change 30
2.12 Phonological Mechanisms 30
2.13 Morphological Mechanisms 31
2.14 Syntactic Mechanisms 33
2.15 Towards a Phylogeny of Change 34
2.16 Macromechanical and Micromechanical Linguistic Change 35
2.17 Lack of Concrete Divisions with the Hierarchy and Mechanisms of Change 36
2.18 The Actuation of Change 37
2.19 ‘Critical Mass’ and the Punctuated Equilibrium Model 41
2.20 Linguistic Contact 47
2.21 The Role of Context in Linguistic Change 49
2.22 Summary 49
Chapter 3:
History 51
3.1 Introduction 51
3.2 Environmental Factors 56
3.3 The Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age 59
3.4 The Middle Bronze Age, the Late Bronze Age, and the Classical Period 62
3.5 The Cimmerians 67
3.6 The Scythians 68
3.7 The Greek Colonies 70
3.8 The Sarmatians 71
3.9 The Early Slavs: Some Preliminary Remarks 71
3.10 The Early Slavs: Review of Primary Sources 72
3.11 The Early Slavs: Archaeological Evidence 75
3.12 Review of Traditional Assessments of IE Expansion and Consolidation 81
3.13 The Demic Diffusion Model 85
3.14 The Pre-Proto-Indo-Europeans, Proto-Indo-Europeans, and Slavs 91
3.15 Summary 98
Chapter 4:
Language 100
4.1 Introductory Remarks 100
4.2 10, 000 Years BP: Pre-Proto-Indo-European 102
4.3 The Grammatical Structures of Pre-Proto-Indo- European 109
4.4 6th Millennium BCE-5th Millennium BCE: From Pre- Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Indo-European 115
4.5 The Significance of the PPIE-PIE Typological Shift 117
4.6 Transitional (Early Proto-Indo-European) Phonetics and Phonology 117
4.7 Transitional Morphology 121
4.8 Transitional Lexicon 122
4.9 5th Millennium BCE-3rd Millennium BCE: Proto-Indo- European 123
4.10 Proto-Indo-European Morphology 126
4.11 3000-2000 BCE: Balto-Slavonic 129
4.12 Balto-Slavonic Phonetics and Phonology 131
4.12 Balto-Slavonic Morphology and Syntax 132
4.13 2000 BCE-1000 CE: Proto-Slavonic and Common Slavonic 134
4.15 Proto-Slavonic Phonology 136
4.16 Syllabic Synharmonism and Rising Sonority 138
4.17 Common Slavonic Phonology 144
4.18 LCS Dialect Areas 147
4.19 Elimination of Diphthongs in Liquid Sonorants 147
4.20 Development of Palatalized Dental Stops 149
4.21 The Evolution of the Jers 150
4.22 Proto- and Common Slavonic Morphology and Syntax 150
4.23 Lexical Borrowings into Proto- and Common Slavonic 153
4.24 Summary 156
Chapter 5:
Conclusion 158
Bibliography 162
Index 176
ISBN 9783895860713 (Hardcover). LINCOM Studies in Slavic Linguistics 29. 193pp. 2007.
