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Conflicting Nationalist Discourses in the Balkan Slavic Language Area

Profile image of Jouko LindstedtJouko Lindstedt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_21
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29 pages

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  1. Conflicting nationalist discourses in the Balkan Slavic area shape linguistic identities and research agendas.
  2. Bulgarian and Macedonian nationalists impose distinct identities despite overlapping linguistic and cultural histories.
  3. Nationalism manifests through domestic and cross-border dimensions, complicating regional linguistic affiliations.
  4. Bulgaria's withdrawal from the Slavic Linguistic Atlas illustrates the impact of nationalism on academic collaboration.
  5. Multiple linguistic minorities navigate complex identities influenced by competing nationalist narratives in the region.

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The paper presents the authorʼs individual views on the state of affairs and presents theoretical, methodological and practical results, obtained by him in the last decade in the field of the comparative-historical and comparative-contrastive Balkan linguistics and especially of (morpho-)syntax. The major theoretical issues of Balkan linguistics like principles of genetical, areal, social or contact determination or restriction in language evolution are being addressed. The historical, structuralist and functionalist methods of research in Balkan dialectology (collecting the (morpho-)syntactic data, their mapping, systemic and contrastive analysis) are being applied. In the introduction a new definition of a (Balkan) Sprachbund is being promoted, as " a language group defined by functional, not substantional properties ". Further a number of general, areal, particular and universal (morpho-)syntactic phenomena are being presented, like (1) redundancy in Balkan grammar; (2) contact-related convergent syntactic structures; (3) two-languages-in-contact induced morphosyntactic changes; (4) borrowability hierarchies in the (history of the) Balkan languages. It is claimed for ex., that Balkanisms (" the shared common Balkan features ") should be opposed to anti-Balkanisms (" features that were never shared (borrowed) despite similar conditions of contact "); that the causes of Balkan convergence are to be seen in multiple language shifts (substratum phenomena) rather than in balanced bi-or trilingualism; that although a cross-linguistic comparison of (morpho-)syntax involving Balkan languages is truly possible, the study of " comparative (morpho-)syntax of the Balkan languages " can, but should not obligatorily discover parts of the " comparative Balkan (morpho-)syntax ". In conclusion the major tasks and desiderata of contemporary Balkan linguistics are being summarized.

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References (55)

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FAQs

sparkles

AI

What explains the persistence of conflicting nationalist discourses in the Balkans?add

The persistence arises from historical narratives that idealize medieval boundaries, leading to contemporary ethnolinguistic conflicts. For instance, Bulgarian histories assert that Bulgarian identity encompasses all surrounding Slavic populations despite their self-identification.

How do Bulgarian and Macedonian national identities differ historically?add

Bulgarian national identity was largely constructed in the late 18th century, while Macedonian identity emerged significantly later in the late 19th century. This century-long gap complicates claims of ethnic continuity between the groups.

What is the impact of isogloss maps on linguistic identity in the Balkans?add

Isogloss maps, particularly those in the Bulgarian Dialect Atlas, reinforce the perception of a monolithic Bulgarian language area despite dialectical diversity. These maps politically delineate language boundaries that inadequately reflect actual linguistic identities.

How does cross-border nationalism manifest linguistically in the Balkan Slavic area?add

Cross-border nationalism in the Balkans leads to the labeling of dialects based on national affiliation, resulting in the Macedonian standard being seen as a 'regional standard' of Bulgarian. This perspective diminishes the recognition of unique Macedonian linguistic features.

When did the Macedonian standard language gain official status, and what were the challenges?add

The Macedonian standard language gained official status in 1944 amid efforts to solidify a national identity. However, its acceptance was hindered by longstanding adherence to the Bulgarian standard among local speakers.

About the author
Jouko Lindstedt
University of Helsinki, Faculty Member
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Andrey N . Sobolev / Андрей Николаевич Соболев, Alexander Rusakov, Georgios Vardakis, Ivanova Elena

Volume 34 | Language Contact and Bilingualism [LCB], 2026

The book provides a comprehensive empirical examination of linguistic convergence in the Balkans. By mapping over 100 linguistic and sociolinguistic features across 60 languages and dialects, the contributions rigorously test the concept of a linguistic area. Each feature is visually represented with maps and analyzed in summaries co-authored by an international team of experts. Conceptualized as a companion to the Atlas of the Balkan Linguistic Area Online (ABLA), the book is an essential resource for scholars of language contact and typology. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111389936

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From a Text Tradition to a Standardized Language – Development of Linguistic Norms in Balkan Slavic
Ivan Šimko

2022

The present text outlines some questions concerning the research of language change in the Balkan Slavic area. In our focus is the relation between the written and spoken language. On the one hand, our goal is to recognize archaisms in historical texts written in a vernacular-based language, distinguishing them from the forms productive in the vernacular. On the other hand, we also want to explain the role of those archaisms, which remained in the written norm in spite of vernacular developments until very late (if not now), taking into account a broader social context of national integration.

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Commonalities in Balkan Languages: a Spruchband Effect or a Universal Tendency? To what extent are the parallels in Balkan languages particular to the Balkan region? -A synthesis on Balkan linguistics
Roran Kobayashi

2021

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Broad vs. Localistic Dialectology, Standard vs. Dialect: The Case of the Balkans and the Drawing of Linguistic Boundaries
Brian D Joseph (==> Brian D Joseph, please)

2008

1. Preliminaries Dialectology as a scientific pursuit is interested in charting and accounting for the range and spread of similarities and differences—that is to say, variation—within languages, and where appropriate, across languages too. As such, dialectology and the study of dialects more generally intersect in several ways with Balkan linguistics, the study of the interactions among various Aromanian (a close relative of Daco-Romanian spoken mostly in Greece and Macedonia), Daco-Romanian (the language of Romania), Romani (the language of the Gypsies (Rom)), and Turkish—that show structural parallels linking them in a particular type of contact zone known as a " Sprachbund ". First, there can be dialect divisions within a language that indicate that one dialect or dialect area of a language has been influenced by neighboring Balkan languages while other dialects have not, or have not to the same extent. This is the case, for instance, with the Torlak dialects of Serbia...

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Related topics

  • Balkan Studies
  • Southeastern Europe
  • Nationalism and identity constru...
  • Breakup of the former Yugoslavia
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