A Regionality of the Vocabulary of Novellas Submitted to a Competition Organised by the Kaunas Daily “Dzień Polski” (1936)

Abstract

This article presents specific vocabulary excerpted from twenty-one novellas submitted to the competition announced in 1936 by Dzień Polski [The Polish Day], a Polish daily issued in Kaunas. Prior to publication, the novellas were edited with the aim of eliminating regional accretions. The excerpts include 116 peculiar lexemes: 42 substrate interference items, 69 archaic innovative units, and 5 that are shared with indigenous dialects. Native lexis outweighs foreign lexis; it constitutes 61% of all peculiarities and confirms the conservative nature of the Kaunas variety of Polish in the northern Kresy. It consists mainly of archaic lexis (e.g. żądnie, spokojność, najprzód), as well as innovative lexis (e.g. moderny) and lexis found in indigenous dialects (e.g. rozezłuć). Some of this vocabulary has East Slavic support, e.g. kędy or zrazu. Foreign influences are clearly evident in the novellas: substrate-interference items account for 39% of the material. This is old vocabulary formed under the influence of the Belarusian-Lithuanian substrate and long-term contact with Lithuanian and Belarusian (27 units: 85% Belarusianisms, e.g. odryna, and 15% Lithuanianisms, e.g. pagaluk) and more recent interference from Lithuanian and Russian (15 units: 80% Russianisms, e.g. germaniec, and 20% Lithuanianisms, e.g. naujakur).