Poļu izcelsmes vārdi Latvijas baltkrievu presē 20. gs. sākumā

Abstract

This article is a continuation of the research that the author has carried out analysing the contacts between Belarusian and Latvian languages in Belarusian periodicals published in the 20th century. This study analyses the influence of Polish in the Belarusian language of Latvia, as reflected in the periodicals of the 20th century. The aim of this article is to present some aspects of the influence of Polish in the local Belarusian language. The importance of Polish and Belarusian as contact languages in Latvia is mainly determined by the historical and areal aspects of language contact. Poles and Belarusians are territorial neighbours with close genetic ties and long-standing economic, cultural, and political relations. Poles and Belarusians are Latvian minorities whose history is linked to Latgale. Polish was, for a long time, the dominant language in the religious sphere (Catholicism) and culture, so in the local Belarusian periodicals, it is possible to observe the influence of Polish in the Latvian Belarusian language, which was reflected in the use of some Polish words and word components. As languages come into contact, it can lead to borrowing from one language into another. Interference occurs when linguistic norms are mixed and other linguistic norms are picked up so that deviations from the norms of the mother tongue can occur under the influence of the contact language.