© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

The Balto-Slavic Languages: History and Typology

J.T.E. Elms

California State University, Northridge

November 2007

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Balto-Slavic Origins

PIE

Hittite

Tocharian

Iranian

Indic

Albanian

Armenian

Greek

Latvian

Lithuanian

Bulgarian

Macedonian

Serbo-Croatian

Slovenian

Czech

Slovak

Sorbian

Byelorussian

Polish

Russian

Ukrainian

Celtic

Romance

Germanic

8500 BP 7500 6500 5500 4500 3500 2500 1500 500 Present

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Lexical Distance Among European Languages

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Balto-Slavic Cognates

• Cognates have similar phonological form, syntactic form, & meaning• Common cognates suggest common origin:

– Shared historical (“genetic”) ancestor, followed by isolation & drift

– Contact & borrowing from unrelated contemporary source

“mother” “hand, arm” “king” “ten” “go”

Slavic

Russian (E) matj, materinskij rjka korolj desjatj hoditj, idti

Ukrainian (E) matu, matir ruka korolj dεsjatj xodutu, itu

Bulgarian (SE) majka rjka kral dεsεt hodja

Slovenian (SW) mati, matisa roka kralj deset hoditi, iti

Serbo-Croatian (SW)

majka, matεrinski ruka kralj dεsεt otijsi, ijsi

Czech (W) matka, matεřski: ruka král dεsεt hodit sε, xod

Polish (W) matka rεka krόl ʤiεsiεʨ ists

Baltic

Lithuanian mote, motina rankų karalius dæ∫imt eiti

Latvian mate roka karalis dεsmits iet

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Balto-Slavic Phonology:Satem (vs Centum) Velar Development

• Palatalized velars sibilants: kj s, ʃ; gj z, ʒ– PIE *kjmtom-, “hundred” Lithuanian ʃimtas, “hundred”

Russian sto, “hundred” – PIE *gjhel-to-, “golden” Lithuanian ʒeltas, “gold”

Polish zloty, “gold piece, unit of currency”,

• Plain, aspirated, & labialized velars plain velars: k, kw k; g, gh, gw, gwh g– PIE *kwos, “who” Lithuanian kas, “who”– PIE *sneigwh-o-, “snow” Russian sneg, “snow”– PIE *gwerh-, “consume” Lithuanian geriù, “I drink”

• Centum exceptions are numerous (e.g. Lithuanian geltas, “yellow”)

Satem

Centum (Kentum)

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Vowel Systems• Typically 5 or 6 basic vowel phonemes

– 51% of world languages fall in this range (World Atlas of Language Structures)– Slovenian is an exception with 8 vowels, Latvian with 7 – Contrast Germanic family with up to 14 basic vowels, largest inventories in the world

• Vowels have null allophones, eg Russian [djεn], “day” (NOM) vs [djn.a], “day” (GEN)

• Tone or pitch accent present in many languages

Basic Inventory Size Meaningful Contrasts

SlavicRussian (E) /i, ε, a, o, u/ 5 • Stressed/unstressed

• With/without palatal onglide /ji, je, ja, jo, ju/

Ukrainian (E) /i, ɪ, ε, ɑ, ɔ, u/ 6 • Stressed/unstressed• With/without palatal onglide /ji, jɪ, jε, jɑ, jɔ, ju/

Bulgarian (SE) /i, ε, ə, a, ɔ, u/ 6 • Stressed/unstressed• With/without palatal onglide for /ja, ju/

Slovenian (SW) /i, e, ε, ə, a, ɔ, o, u/ 8 • Stressed-long/unstressed-short• Rising/falling pitch accent in stressed syllables

Serbo-Croatian (SW) /i, ε, a, ɔ, u/ 5 • Long/short duration• Rising/falling pitch accent in stressed syllables

Czech (W) /i, ɪ, ε, a, o, u/ 6 • Long/short duration (except tense/lax on /i:/ vs /ɪ/)

Polish (W) /i, ɪ, ε, a, ɔ, u/ 5 • Nasalized/nonnasalized

BalticLithuanian /i, ε, æ, ɐ, o, u/ 6 • Stressed/unstressed

• Long/short duration (except /e:/ always long)

Latvian /i, e, ε, æ, a, o, u/ 7 • Long/short duration• 3 tones on long vowels & dipthongs: high level (eg [luo˦ki], “chives”) falling (eg [lùoks], “arch, bow”) rising-creaky-falling (eg [luôgs], “window”)

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Consonant Systems• Typically 22 - 45 consonant phonemes; half ≥ 30, large to very large inventories

– World average consonant inventory size is 22 phonemes (World Atlas of Language Structures)– Only 9% of world languages have ≥ 34 consonants (WALS)– Compare Germanic with 21-25 consonants (32% of world languages fall in this range – WALS)

• “Hard” (unpalatalized) vs “soft” (palatized) consonants are usually contrastive– Russian: мат /mat/, “checkmate” vs мать /matj/, “mother”; нос /nos/, “nose” vs нёс /njos/, “(he) carried”– But Latvian: noncontrastive allophonic palatalization of /k, g, l, n/, eg /n/ [ŋ]/_ {k,g} in [baŋka], “bank”

Size Stops Fricatives & Affricates Approximants Nasals

SlavicRussian (E) 36 /p, b, t, d, k, g/

/pj, bj, tj, dj, ç//f, v, s, z, ʃ:, ʒ:, ts, ʧ, x/

/fj, vj, sj, zj, ʧj/; /ʂ, ʐ/ (retroflex)/r, l, j/ /rj, ʎ /

/m, n/ /mj, ɲ/

Ukrainian (E) 33 /p, b, t, d, k, g/ /tj, dj/

/f, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, dz, ʧ, ʤ, x, ɦ/ /fj, sj, zj, tsj, dzj/

/ʋj, r, l, j//ʋj, rj, ʎ /

/m, n/ /ɲ/

Bulgarian (SE) 36 (39) /p, b, t, d, k, g/ /pj, bj, tj, dj, ç, gj/

/f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, (dz), ʧ, ʤ, x/ /fj, vj, sj, zj, tsj, (dzj),(xj)/

/r, l, j//rj, ʎ /

/m, n/ /mj, ɲ/

Slovenian (SW) 22 /p, b, t, d, k, g/ /f, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, dz, ʧ, ʤ/ /ʋ, l, ɾ, j/ /m, n, ɲ/

Serbo-Croatian (SW) 24 /p, b, t, d, k, g/ /f, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, ʧ, ʤ//ʧj, ʤj/

/ʋ, l, r, j//ʎ/

/m, n/ /ɲ/

Czech (W) 24 (27) /p, b, t, d, k, g//ç, gj/

/(f), v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, (dz), ʧ, (ʤ), x, ɦ/ /l, r, j//r -/ (fricative)

/m, n/ /ɲ/

Polish (W) 32 /p, b, t, d, k, g//ç, gj/

/f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, dz, ʧ, ʤ, x//ʂ, ʐ, tʂ, dʐ/ (retroflex)

/w, l, r, j//ʎ/

/m, n/ /mj, ɲ/

BalticLithuanian 39 (45) /p, b, t, d, k, g/

/pj, bj, tj, dj, ç, gj//(f), s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, dz, ʧ, ʤ, (x), (ɣ)/

/(fj), sj, zj, ʃj, ʒj, tsj, dzj, ʧj, ʤj, (xj), (ɣj)//ʋ, l, r, j/ /ʋj, ʎ, rj/

/m, n//mj, ɲ/

Latvian 20 (22) /p, b, t, d, k, g/ /(f), v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ts, dz, ʧ, ʤ, (x)/ / l, r, j/ /m, n/

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Syllable Structures• Very complex syllable structures

– Only a third (31%) of world languages allow syllables more complex than (C)(C)V(C) — WALS– Balto-Slavic allows up to four segments in syllable onset, eg Russian встретить ['fstrjetj.ɪtj], “to encounter”– Balto-Slavic allows up to five segments in syllable coda, eg Polish [skɔmpstf], “stinginesses” (GEN PL)– Sonority hierarchy weakly enforced, mostly in largest consonant clusters & in onsets– Russian one-syllable examples: взгляд /vzgliad/, “look”; монстр /monstr/, “monster”

• Syllables without vowels– Syllable nuclei allow approximants, liquids, and nasals as well as vowels, eg Czech [zmrz.lɪ.na], “ice cream”– Null allophones for vowels means entire words may be vowelless, eg Russian [v], “in”; [s], “with”; [k], “to”– Exceptions: Polish, Lithuanian require a vowel in every syllable

• Compare Germanic (C)(C)(C)(V)(C)(C)(C)(C), eg English “strengths” [strεŋ{k}θs], “bottle” ['bɑt.l1 ]

SyllableStructure

Example Consonant Clusters

Consonantal Nuclei

SlavicRussian (E) (C)(C)(C)(C)(V)(C)(C)(C)(C) fspr-, fspl-, fstr-, fskr-, fsxl-, vzbr-, vskr-, vzbl-, vzdr-, vzgr- vzgl-,

spr-, spl-, str-, stl-, stv-, skr-, skl-, smr-, fkr-, fkl-, zbr-, zbl-, zdr-, zgr-, zgl-, zgn-, vgl-, vzb-, vzv-, vbr-, vsk-, sxv-, ..., -bsk, -nstr

/j,r,l,m,n/

Czech (W) (C)(C)(C)(C)(V)(C)(C)(C) tʃtv-, smr-, sml-, xtʃ-, vʒd-, zvl-, prʃ- ... /r,l,m,n/

Polish (W) (C)(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C)(C) zjbjdw-, zskl-, ptʃl-, pstr-, dsk-, tsk-, tʃst-, tʃʃts’-, vrjb-, vrjx-, sml-, ʃrp-, vln-, klb-, xlm-, mgl-, ..., -lʃtʃ, -rʃtʃ, -rstf, -mstf, -

pstf, -mpstf

None

BalticLithuanian (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C) skr-, ksl-, ..., -rbk, -rbs, -kʃt, -nkst None

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Morphosyntactic CategoriesRussian (Slavic) Lithuanian (Baltic) German (Germanic)

Parts of Speech

Noun, pronoun, number, verb, preposition, adjective, adverb,

conjunction, particle, interjection; no article

Noun, pronoun, number, verb, preposition, adjective, adverb,

conjunction, particle, interjection; no article

Noun, pronoun, number, verb, preposition, adjective, adverb,

conjunction, particle, interjection, article

Person First, second, third First, second, third First, second, third

Number Singular, (dual), plural Singular, (dual), plural, (indefinite) Singular, plural

Politeness Formal, familiar Formal, familiar Formal, familiar

Gender Masculine, feminine, neuter;animate, inanimate

Masculine, feminine, neuter, common

Masculine, feminine, neuter; no common gender, no animate/inanimate

Case Nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, instrumental,

prepositional

Nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, instrumental, locative,

vocative, (illative)

Nominative, accusative, dative, genitive

Definiteness Definite, indefinite Definite, indefinite Definite, indefinite

Degree Positive, comparative, superlative Positive, comparative, superlative, attenuated

Unmarked, comparative, superlative

Tense Past, non-past Present, past, future Past, non-past

Aspect Completive/perfective, progressive/imperfective,

iterative/probabilistic, unary

Completive/perfective, progressive/imperfective,

iterative/probabilistic

Completive/perfective, progressive/imperfective

Voice Active, passive, reflexive Active, passive, necessitative Active, passive, reflexive

Mood Indicative, imperative, interrogative, infinitive

Indicative, subjunctive, imperative, interrogative, infinitive,

indirect evidentiality

Indicative, subjunctive, imperative, interrogative, infinitive

Polarity Positive, negative Positive, negative Positive, negative

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Morphosyntactic Features Per Case

2

4

6

7

7

14

21

0 5 10 15 20 25

English

German

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Lithuanian

Finnish

Hungarian

Source: Pirkola & Kittunen, 2007

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Index of Synthesis

1.06

1.09

1.68

2.12

2.55

2.86

3.33

3.72

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Vietnamese

Yoruba

English

Old English

Swahili

Turkish

Russian

Inuit (Eskimo)

Source: Pirkola & Kittunen, 2007

Analytic Synthetic

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

Balto-Slavic SyntaxMain Clause (Statement)

Rel Clause

& Noun

Adposition& Noun

Genitive& Noun

Polar Question Marking

Slavic

Russian (E) SVO N-Rel Prepositional N-Gen P2

Ukrainian (E) SVO N-Rel Prepositional ? P1

Bulgarian (SE) SVO N-Rel Prepositional Gen-N P2

Slovenian (SW) SOV N-Rel Prepositional Free ?

Serbo-Croatian (SW) SVO N-Rel Prepositional Free P1 or P2

Czech (W) SVO N-Rel Prepositional Free S/V Inversion

Polish (W) SVO N-Rel Prepositional N-Gen P1

Baltic

Lithuanian SVO N-Rel Prepositional Gen-N P1

Latvian SVO N-Rel Prepositional Gen-N P1

Germanic

German SVO(V) N-Rel Prepositional N-Gen S/V Inversion

English SVO N-Rel Prepositional N-Gen S/V Inversion

S – SubjectV – VerbO – ObjectN – Noun

P – Particle1 – First Position2 – Second PositionF – Final Position

Sub – Subordinate ClauseRel – Relative ClauseGen – Genitive Case Marker

© 2007, J.T.E. Elms. All rights reserved.

ReferencesB. Comrie (1989), Language Universals & Linguistic Typology.

M. Haspelmath, M.S. Dryer, D. Gil, & B. Comrie (eds.), (2005), The World Atlas of Language Structures.

A. Pirkola & K. Kittunen (2007), “Methods in Cross-Language Information Retrieval,” online course notes viewed 11/18/2007 (http://www.info.uta.fi/kurssit/clir/)

M. Rochon (2000), Optimality in Complexity: The Case of Polish Consonant Clusters.

A. Timberlake (2004), A Reference Grammar of Russian.

K. Tyshchenko (1999), Metatheory of Linguistics. (In Russian.)

UCLA Language Materials Project, viewed 11/20/2007 (http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/index.aspx?menu=001)

University of Texas Linguistics Research Center, “Baltic Online” — online resources on Lithuanian & Latvian, viewed 11/17/2007 (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/litol-0-X.html)

Wiktionary, “Swadesh List” (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/swadesh)

K. Wright & C. Gildersleeve-Neumann (2005), “English Speech Sound Development: Effects of a Russian-English Bilingual Environment”, poster presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) convention, viewed online 11/30/2007 (http://convention.asha.org/2005/handouts/293_Wright_Kira_070939_111605111041.pdf)

Word2Word online dictionaries (http://www.word2word.com/dictionary.html)

V. Zinkevičius, V. Daudauravičius, & E. Rimkute, “The Morphologically Annotated Lithuanian Corpus.” Viewed online 11/23/2007 (http://donelaitis.vdu.lt/publikacijos/EVV_1.pdf).