The Balkan Languages

Southeast Europe's Balkan peninsula is home to numerous languages that have come to converge structurally and lexically, due to complex social factors involving contact among speakers of these languages, constituting a 'sprachbund'. This volume provides the first comprehensive, book-length survey of the Balkan languages in English. It covers the full range of languages involved in the Balkan convergence zone, including Albanian, Aromanian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Greek, Judezmo, Macedonian, Meglenoromanian, Romani, Romanian, Torlak, and West Rumelian Turkish. Balkan convergences - 'Balkanisms' - are presented, considering the grammatical domains of phonetics, phonology, morphology, morphosyntax, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and lexicon. It gives attention to relevant notions of contact linguistics and to the history of the field, while also introducing key conceptual innovations. Providing fresh data and perspectives on the most studied intense contact situation, this work is essential reading for anyone interested in Balkan languages. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

'This groundbreaking, data-rich handbook on Balkan linguistics is the first to appear in English and utilize socially anchored historical linguistics to account for Sprachbund phenomena. This is an immensely readable book whose chapters can be read independently of one another making it useful as a reference, textbook, as well as an indispensable resource for any scholars interested in historical and areal linguistics, typology and Sprachbund phenomena.' Grace Fielder, Professor Emerita, Russian & Slavic Studies, University of Arizona

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