The Contribution of the Slovenian Linguistic Atlas to the Study of South Slavic Dialects

Abstract

This article presents the achievements of the first volume of the Slovenski lingvistični atlas (Slovenian Linguistic Atlas, 2011). It compares this work with the Български диалектен атлас. Обобщаващ том (Bulgarian Dialect Atlas: Generalizing Volume, 2002). The following groups of dialect lexical material are examined: (1) material showing the unity of the lexical system of the Slavic languages, (2) material showing the unity of the Slavic lexicon with the European lexicon, and (3) material showing the dialect division of lexemes from the first two groups. It presents the opportunities offered by juxtaposing various languages at the dialect level both for explaining their historical development and also for solving problems in the history of the language family that they belong to.

Keywords

• slovenian dialectology
• bulgarian dialectology
• linguistic atlases
• linguistic geography