STUDIA LINGUISTICA ET
BALCANICA. ÏÀÌßÒÈ ÀÃÍÈÈ ÂÀÑÈËÜÅÂÍܲ ÄÅÑÍÈÖÊÎÉ
(1912-1992)
Studia Linguistica et Balcanica. Ïàìÿòè Àãíèè Âàñèëüåâíû
Äåñíèöêîé (1912-1992).Chief
editor N.
Kazanski, Ñàíêò-Ïåòåðáóðã, “Íàóêà”, 2001, 410 p. (In memoriam Agnia Vassilevna Desnitskaya) Presented by Russana Beyleri
Professor
Agnia Vassilievna Desnitsakya
(1912-1992), associate of the Academy of Science (USSR), was an outstanding
philologist and linguist of the XX century, a manager of science and
also a pedagogue, whose works were eminent for the broadness and variety
of scholarly interests. A.V. Desnitskaya was working fruitfully not
only in different domains of linguistics (Germanic and Indo-European
linguistics, Albanian and Balkan studies, history of linguistics)
but also in contiguous branches of humanitarian science, such as folkloristics
or history of literature. During the period 1963 - 1976 she was head
of the Leningrad Department of Institute of Linguistics. “Studia
Linguistica et Balcanica” is the latest compendium edition of the
St Petersburg department of Russian Institute for Linguistic Studies
in memoriam Prof. Desnitskaya. The book is formally divided into two
nonsymmetrical parts. The first, rather small group of articles, consists
of personal recollections and retrospective reviews of her students
and colleagues. The second one reflects the wide range of A.V. interests
through individual scientific reports of Russian, German and Albanian
scholars. It has been arranged in three thematic chapters as follows:
Indo-European comparative linguistics; Balkan philology; Albanian
linguistics, literature and culture. As a graduate from the Albanian Department of
the St Petersburg State University I was part of the very last generation
of students that was honored to enjoy this great teacher during the
whole course of studies and what can be stated from personal experience
is that A.V. genuinely belonged to her students. They were always
welcome to her house and their professional successes were cheerfully
celebrated. Naturally, young people cherished the same cordial affection
combined with overwhelming professional admiration. This is the explanation
to why the reader will benefit from this book not only knowledge and
concise information, but also strong creative drive. The first section
of articles is a learning diary that offers a look back at A.V.’s
life and scientific heritage. After the editor’s preface of N. Kazanski, the life story of A.V. follows,
presented by her talented disciple, senior researcher A. Zhugra (p. 7-41). Being a specialist
in German studies by university education, A.V. defended her Ph.D.
dissertation in 1935 on the topic of “Vowel alternation (ablaut) in
Germanic languages”. Her doctoral dissertation “The development of
the direct object category in Indo-European languages” (1946) outstretched
beyond the limits of Germanic studies, based on solid grounding of
acquired knowledge in Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Iranic, Celtic languages,
Georgian and some Daghestan languages. The author stresses the turning
point in A.V.’s studies – a visit to Albania in the middle forties.
Emotional vocabulary has to be used as to better depict what happened,
because that was “love from first sight”. A.V. mastered Albanian on
her own and wrote series of basic works on Albanian linguistics. Further
A. Zhugra analyses the scientific principles applied by A.V. that
had lead to major contributions and innovations in the main branches
of her multifarious studies and mostly the historical approach. Senior
researcher A.Rusakov makes a brief overview of A.V.’s works on Albanian literature
entitled “Àëáàíñêàÿ
ëèòåðàòóðà â íàó÷íîì òâîð÷åñòâå À.Â. Äåñíèöêîé”
(Albanian literature in
the scientific work of A.V. Denitskaya)
(p. 41-49).
The main themes (Italo-Albanian literature, the oriental poetry of
bejtexhinjtë, the works of Naim Frasheri)
are emphasized. The intimate connection between A.V.’s linguistic
and philological works is shown. This connection is explained in the
frame of the single philological method characteristic for A.V., quite
the opposite of her contemporaries’ drive for separation of sub-branches
and linguistic formalism. M. Domosileckaya remains in the same domain
choosing “À.Â.Äåñíèöêàÿ
êàê èñòîðèê èòàëî-àëáàíñêîé ëèòåðàòóðû” (A.V.Desnitskaya’s publications,
devoted to the Arberesh (Italo-Albanian) literature) (p.87-97).
A.V. came to the conclusion that the source of the XVIII century Arbresh
literary tradition in Calabria and Sicily were spiritual verses that
were sung during Greek orthodox rites. Hence originates the religious
didactic poetry of Nicola Brancati, Nicola Filja, and Nicola Keta.
In XIX century the National Revival movement flourished in literature.
A.V. showed special appeal for Ieronim de Rada, whose early poem “The
songs of Milosao” she ranked among the unsurpassed masterpieces of
European Romanticism. The names of the other Arbresh poets had also
been distinguished by A.V. in
separate studies. “À.Â.Äåñíèöêàÿ
êàê êîìïàðàòèâèñò” (A.V. Desnitskaya works in the field
of comparative linguistics) (p.49-59) is the title of I.Perelmuter’s survey of another important
niche of A.V. creative work. The
author reminds that more than a half of her publications are somehow
connected to these problems. Her preference to the linguistic material,
i.e. the language substance, is pointed out together with the meticulous
attention to the semantic side of the grammatical phenomena and the
consistent non-eccentric attitude towards the reconstructions of the
Indo-European proto language. The
main topics of area linguistics considered by A.V. are listed in the
late S.Smirnickaya’s article
“À.Â.
Äåñíèöêàÿ î ïðåäìåòå è ìåòîäàõ àðåàëüíîé ëèíãâèñòèêè” (A.V.Desnitskaya’s on the subject and methods of area linguistics) (p.59-65), featuring the process of spreading and integration of dialectal
phenomena, taking place within the area of a language; the results
of the integration of linguistic distinctive features, that proceeds
in situations of language contacts; the traces of ancient area connections
between both genetically related and unrelated languages
in the specific language systems and place-names; the emergence
of new language areas in the context of intense proliferation of culture
and language contacts in today’s world. A.V.’s concept on linguistic
geography and area linguistics as separate disciplines is also depicted.
A specific example of research work on language contacts is tackled
by L.Sharapova in “Ïðîáëåìû èíòåðôåðåíöèè ÿçûêîâ êàðïàòî-áàëêàíñêîãî àðåàëà
â îñâåùåíèè À.Â. Äåñíèöêîé” (The interference of the languages of
the Carpathian-Balkan area as an object of A.V. Desnitskaya’s special
study) (p.81-87). The
most amazing aspect of A.V.’s attitude is revealed by V.
Modestov in “Ó÷åíûé ñ äóøîé õóäîæíèêà” (Prof. A. Desnitskaya and fine arts)
(p.97-106).
It’s hardly known that the outstanding philologjist had been emotionally
committed to fine arts. The author presents in a most elaborate way
the crucial involvement of A.V. in the revival of Adan’s ballet “The
Sea Rogue”. Picturesque details illustrate the artistic ability of
the great scholar. A.V.
immense and diverse impact on Albanian studies is object of attention
of the respected Albanian scholars A. Dodi “Àãíèÿ Äåñíèöêàÿ – âûäàþùèéñÿ
àëáàíîâåä ñîâðåìåííîñòè” (Agnia Desnitskaya – an eminent authority
in the Albanian philology) (p.65-74) and K. Topalli “Âêëàä À.Â. Äåñíèöêîé â èçó÷åíèå
âîïðîñà î ïåðèîäèçàöèè àëáàíñêîãî ÿçûêà” (A.V.Desnitskaya’s contribution to the periodization of the Albanian language
history) (p.74-81). A.Dodi focuses on the fact that it was under A.V.’s auspices that
the Department of Albanian Language and Literature was launched in
1957 at the Leningrad University, where she was delivering lectures
on all principal courses and held colloquia and seminars. K.Topally’s
basic idea is that in distinction of her predecessors (H.Pedersen,
E.Chabey, S.Riza), who defined the phases of development of the Albanian
language conform the stages of the national history, A.V. was the
first to proceed from the inherent transformations of the language
during its own history.
The
second section of this scientific collection starts with the chapter
dedicated to Indo-European comparative linguistics. N.
Kazanski’s article “«Îñíîâíîé çàêîí ìîðôîëîãèè» Í.Â. Êðóøåâñêîãî” (M.Kruszevski’s “Essential law of morphology”)
(p.106-118),
reintroduces the “Essential law of morphology” which was proposed
by Bodouen de Courtenais and published by M. Kruszevski in 1882. The
main idea of the law concerns the interaction of morphemes within
the word in the Indo-European languages. The author opines that this
neglected law may be used for understanding of a linguistic change
as a result of interaction between different levels of language system. A
long discussed problem, involving not only the Albanian, but also
the other I.-E. languages is dealt with by the eminent Albanian scholar
Shaban Demiraj in “On the evolution
of the I.-E. gutturals in Albanian” (p.118-123). Some phonetic
changes of I.-E. labio-velars and palato-velars attested in Albanian,
that had supposedly taken place in the pre-Albanian language stage,
are illustrated through the examination of some particular words,
which are generally admitted to have been inherited from ancient I.-E.
times. In
1885 B.Wheeler set up a phonetic law, according to which in Greek
the old oxytona change into paroxytona in words with dactylic ultimas.
This rule, to be later named “Wheeler’s Law” is critically presented
by Yu. Otkupschikov in
“Çàêîí Óèëåðà è èäíîåâðîïåéñêîå ñëîâîîáðàçîâàíèå” (Wheeler’s law and Indo-European word-formation)
(p.123-129). L.Stepanova has turned to the history of linguistics and Italian documentary sources in “Íà÷àëî ðîìàíñêîé ôèëîëîãèè â ÿçûêîçíàíèè ýïîõè Âîçðîæäåíèÿ: âîïðîñ î ïðîèñõîæäåíèè èòàëüÿíñêîãî ÿçûêà” (The beginning of the Romance philology in the Italian language studies of the Renaissance) (p.129-144), ardently encouraged to do so by the late A.V. “Ëàòèíñêàÿ
ñîìàòè÷åñêàÿ ëåêñèêà” (Somatic vocabulary in Latin) (p.144-152) specified in the designation of “leg” and its parts is the
topic chosen by A.Grosheva
within the broader problem of weather the basic vocabulary of any
language, including the designations of the parts and organs of the
human body, are to a lesser degree subject to borrowing and changes
during the language contacts. N.
Bondarko dwells on the syntactic peculiarities
of the three editions of Bertold Regentsburg’s sermon “Von den fremeden
sünden” in “Âàðüèðîâàíèå è ïàðàëëåëèçì â
ñèíòàêñèñå ñðåäíåâåðõíåíåìåöêîé ïðîçû” (Variation and parallelism
in the syntax of the Middle Upper German prose)
(p.152-180).
I.Kryukova presents to the reader part of a major
work of hers, being a chapter named “Ïðîãðåññèâ è åâî ðîëü â ñòàíîâëåíèè
ãëàãîëüíîãî àíàëèòèçìà â èðëàíäñêîì è äðóãèõ êåëüòñêèõ ÿçûêàõ” (The progressive as an element of the tense-aspect system of Irish and other Celtic languages)
(p.223-235). The status of the progressive periphrastic forms within the conjugational
paradigm of Irish and other Celtic languages, along with some peculiarities
of their functioning has been established. Also the basic structures
of the Irish progressive have been determined. The
late director of the St Petersburg Department of Institute of Linguistics
and well-known specialist in German linguistics A. Domashniev’s paper “Äèàñòðàòè÷åñêèå îáðàçîâàíèÿ â ñîâðåìåííîì íåìåöêîì ÿçûêå”
(The diastratic formations in modern German) (p.180-199)
attempts to verify the sociolects (various social idioms) of the modern
German on the basis of analysis of the opinions of the leading German
sociolinguists as well as on author’s own estimation of the factual
language data. Among other types of sociolects the article deals with
problems related with the notion of slang. “Ôàêòîðû
ÿçûêîâîé ñèòóàöèè è ñðàâíèòåëüíûå èññëåäîâàíèÿ ôîðìèðîâàíèÿ ñîâðåìåííûõ
ñòàíäàðòíûõ ÿçûêîâ â Àëáàíèè, Áîñíèè è Ãåðöåãîâèíå” (The factors of the linguistic situation and the comparative studies on
the formation of modern standard languages in Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina) (p.199-216) by the German linguist
D.Niering offers further practical development
of A.V.’s idea for the necessity of diachronic comparative studies
of different languages and dialects. Sociolinguistic’ and psycholinguistics’
tools have been highlighted and supported by the respective argumentation
in the typical comprehensive scientific style of the author. E.
Thau-Knudsen’s article “Íåêîòîðûå
ñîîáðàæåíèÿ î ïðîöåññàõ çàèìñòâîâàíèÿ” (Some thoughts about the
borrowing process) (p.216-223) is based on the material of Albanian texts from Kosovo strongly
influenced by Serbian Prisren-Timok dialects. The generalizations
result from the author’s translation practice from Albanian into Danish.
Some theoretical prerequisites for the successful interference process
conclusions are drawn. There is a
degree of affinity between the two language systems, on the
one hand, and a level of high language competence in the second language
among the bilingual speakers, on the other hand, the observations
reveal.
The
next chapter of essays is dedicated to the Balkan philology. The problem
of Slavonic place-names in Albania has been a long-term research field
of the Albanian linguist Ç.
Bidollari. His present work “Ðåçóëüòàòû èçó÷åíèÿ ñëàâÿíñêîé
òîïîíèìèè Àëáàíèè” (The results of the study of Slavonic
place-names in Albania) (p.235-240)
gives an account of the latest achievements in this area. An up-to-date scholarly etymology of the word
“gagauz” is launched by L.Pokrovskaya
in the essay “Äâà ñðåäíåâåêîâûõ ýòíîíèìà ãàãàóçîâ”
(To the etymology of the ethnicon “gagauz”) (p.250-256). A trace back to the mediaeval ethnicon of the turc-oghuz tribes
“kangaghuz” is suggested. A.
Griffanova puts forward one of her numerous and
well-found studies on the Turkic lexis in the Balkan languages and
namely “Òþðêñêèå ýòíîñû ðàííåãî ñðåäíåâåêîâüÿ â þãî-âîñòî÷íîé Åâðîïå
(ê ïðîáëåìå òþðêñêèõ «çàèìñòâîâàíèè»” (Turkish peoples of the
early middle ages and the problem of Turkish “borrowings” in the languages
of the South-Eastern Europe) (p.256-266). An interesting conclusion
is illustrated, concerning the fact that many names were not perceived
as Turkish by origin and showed up etymologically “unburdened” in
Rumanian, Slavic and Albanian-speaking environment. Senior
researchers Xh.Ylli (Albania) and A. Sobolev
(Russia) alongside with their strictly theoretical input in the Balkan language contacts study should be highly
honored for their field expeditions in various border areas. A voluminous
rude material has been collected and is under processing with joint
efforts. “The small dialectal atlas of the Balkan languages” is the
final goal and the idea surpasses all previous attempts in that direction.
The paper “Áàëêàíñêàÿ ëåêñèêà â àëáàíñêîì òîñêñîì ãîâîðå” (Balkan lexis in one Albanian Tosk idiom) (p.266-275) is a well-sustained semantic and etymologic
review of 73 local words, registered in Leshnia village, Albania. The authoritative linguist in Greek and Albanian
A. Lopashov agrees with
A.V. thesis that the most intense language contacts in the Balkan
Peninsula were taking place on the level of dialects. In “Ãëàñíûé ä â ñàðàêà÷àíñêîì – áàëêàíèçì?” (The vowel (ä) in the Saracachan as a possible
balkanism” (p.275-283) the
influence of the resembling sound in other Balkan languages on Saracachan
(caracachan) dialect of Greek is suggested. L.Sukharchev
in “Ìèîðèöà” (Mioriţa) (p.283-304) draws our attention to two details that specialists
in culture studies pass unnoticed when dealing with this brilliant
fragment of east-romance epic. The
first of these details concerns the pipe of bone (fluieraş de os) and the second is the denomination of tomb pillar
(stîlp). The author
tries to reconstruct certain elements of the Romanian folklore text
according to the “corrections” that are made, when tradition changes
and previous culture-bound words and ideas have been forgotten, yielding
place for a new perception of reality. A.Tsherniak presents an interesting essay on a
quite intriguing topic: “Ê âîïðîñó î ïîäëèííîñòè «Çàïèñêè
ãðå÷åñêîãî òîïàðõà»” (The genuineness of the Greek toparch
manuscript) (p.240-250) concerning an anonymous Byzantine chronicle discovered and
published by Ch. Hasii in 1819. The argument is finalized in favor
of the latest after a deep review of the scientific data enumerated
with preciseness and refined sense of humor. The
last article in this section “Î ïîõîðîííûõ ïëà÷àõ â îáëàñòè Ñòðóãà” (On the funeral mourning in the Stroug area) (p.304-313) by the Albanian scholar R.Tuda analyses the material recorded
in the 2 biggest villages of the Stroug area, Macedonia: Velesht and
Lyadorisht. In these places the longest known mourning in Albanian
folklore have been attested. That’s extremely important having in
mind that this genre constitutes a strongly distinctive integral part
of the Albanian culture. The details of the funeral rite and of the
local ritual actions have been examined.
The
fourth section of articles comes from the field of Albanian linguistics,
literature and culture. The three leading pedagogues at St Petersburg
State University I. Voronina, G. Eintrey and L. Kaminskaya interpret
some major issues pertaining to their spheres of interest first outlined
in A.V.’s oeuvre. I.
Voronina fixes her attention on an older layer
of grammatical phenomena and gives a perspective to their penetration
in the modern language in “Îòðàæåíèå ñòàðîàëáàíñêèõ èìåí
äåéñòâèÿ è êà÷åñòâà â ñîâðåìåííîì ÿçûêå” (The reflection of the
old Albanian nomina actionis and nomina qualitatis in the modern language) (p. 319-328). The morphological transposition
of Old Albanian abstract nouns during the post-early and modern Albanian
period is closely examined. The development of nomina actionis following the pattern of creating a new morphological
category is manifested. The traces of nomina qualitatis in the realm of derivation are proven. L.
Kaminskaya’s paper “Íåêîòîðûå
ïðîáëåìû àëáàíñêîé ôîíåòèêè” (Some problems of the Albanian phonetics) (p.313-319) is devoted to the three trends of research
in the field of Albanian phonetics, early pointed by A.V.: the historical
phonetics; the description of speech sounds of particular dialects
and patois; the phonetics of modern Albanian. At the moment the study
of the peculiarities of the phoneme realization is an actual objective
of experimental phonetic researches that allow to find out the dynamics
of the processes and eventually to present a total spectral image
of the Albanian consonants, after that has been achieved for the vowels. G. Eintrey
[1]
picked up the Renaissance-like tendencies
in the Albanian culture of XV-XVI centuries, largely exhibited in
the Latin works of Albanian humanists at that time. The title “Òðóäû àëáàíñêèõ ãóìàíèñòîâ ÕV-ÕV²² â.: îáùååâðîïåéñêèå òåíäåíöèè
è íàöèîíàëüíîå ñâîåîáðàçèå” (The Albanian humanists
of XV-XVI centuries: common European tendencies and national identity) (p.360-367)
and the facts presented
naturally lead to the recognition of a well-shaped
folklore tradition and rich pre-Renaissance cultural processes in
the areas of Northern Albania at the time when this country was practically
illiterate. The pieces of poetry and prose, which came down to us
(written by five outstanding Albanian humanists – M. Maruli, M.Artioti,
D. Frengu, M.Bechikemi and M. Barleti) witness the overall anti-ottoman
disposition of the population and
its close connection with the Italian Renaissance. N.
Jorgaqi, K. Kodra and E. Muhametaj, representing the
Institute of Linguistics and Literature, of the Albanian Academy of
Science, are acknowledged names in the field of literary criticism
and theory of literature. The development of the novel, which is considered
to be a very late genre of the Albanian literature is enlightened
by N. Jorgaqi in “Ãåíåçèñ
àëáàíñêîãî ðîìàíà” (The genesis of Albanian novel) (p.352-360). A comparison with
the same genre in the literature of the other Balkan countries is
made. The novel was born in Albania as a “child of national Renaissance”
and it stands apart with its exceptional patriotic spirit, strong
historical background and subject development wrapped in the limits
of sentimentalism. K.
Kodra’s essay “Çåô Ñåðåìáå
è Ëåîïàðäè” (Zef Serembe and Leopardi) (p.367-372) deals with the comparative
description of the works of two distinguished poets – the Italian
poet G. Leopardi and the Albanian poet from Calabria Z. Serembe. They
have much in common. Both of them may be called the poets of high
European literature standards, masters of small lyrics full of romanticism
and pessimism. Towards the end of their lives they both began to profess
stoicism. The differences are also pinpointed, namely the source of
their pessimism and their concepts on infinity and endlessness. E.
Muhametaj introduces to the public the most prominent ideologist
of the Albanian national Renaissance Sami Frashëri from one facet
of his activity: “Ê âçãëÿäàì Ñàìè Ôðàøåðè íà õóäîæåñòâåííóþ
ëèòåðàòóðó” (Belles-lettres in Sami Frasheri’s view) (p.372-379).
Though S. Frasheri wrote in Turkish, his deep patriotic pathos,
his ideals of national liberation and social progress made him a key
figure of the Albanian literature, critical writing and philosophy.
The enlightenment, the national idea realized by the means of the
national languages, the superiority of national idea are shown as
his main principles. His high appreciation for the educative role
of the theatre is stressed. The outstanding Albanian linguist E. Lafe, highly admired in the scholar
circles as master of fascinating scholarly presentations, tackles
a topical theme in current studies: “Ðàçâèòèå êíèæíîé ëåêñèêè àëáàíñêîãî
ÿçûêà âî âòîðîé ïîëîâèíå ÕÕ â. (âëèÿíèå ðóññêîãî ÿçûêà)” (The development of the literary vocabulary of Albanian in the second half
of XX century) (p.346-352). Due to the scientific and technological as well as social-political
terms that the dictionaries of Albanian lacked in the 50s, during
the second half of XX century such were introduced under the influence
of the corresponding Russian terms. Russian derivation models non-typical
for the Albanian were adopted as the increase of the pattern noun+adjective instead of noun+noun
Gen.sing.; the –or adjectives
spread out; a new class of adjectives arose when the negative particle
“jo” became a prefix. The impact of Russian
is manifested also in the expansion of semantics of the Albanian words. A
peculiar grammatical issue touches R. Pernaska (Albania) in his article “Ñîãëàñîâàíèå ñîëèäàðíîñòè òàê íàçûâàåìûõ êðàòêèõ ôîðì ëè÷íûõ
ìåñòîèìåíèé ñ äîïîëíåíèåì â àëáàíñêîì ÿçûêå” (The agreement of solidarity of the so called short forms of personal pronouns
with object in the Albanian language)
(p.337-346). It concerns the agreement of the mentioned pronouns in person, number
and case with direct and indirect objects, expressed with the various
parts of speech. The conclusion is drawn that subject and object agreements
are symmetrical in Albanian. The agreement of objects and unstressed
(short) pronominal forms takes place under the same circumstances
as the agreement of subjects and verbal endings. A.
Hetzer’s paper “Die Ersetzung satzwertiger Infinitivphrasen in der gegischen Schriftsprache”
(The process of discontinuation of infinitive formation
in subordinate clause in the Gheg literary language) (p.328-337)
sets forth well-founded suggestions about the usage of Gheg infinitive
in the historical course of language development. The application
of linguistics and pragmatics as leading principles instead of systematic
linguistics are launched based on factual observations of the functioning
of this grammatical category. A.V.’s
diligent disciple A.
Novik has accumulated substantial experience in the ethnographic studies of Albanian
culture. His presentation “Àëáàíñêàÿ îäåæäà ïåðèîäà îñìàíñêîãî
ãîñïîäñòâà íà Áàëêàíàõ â ìóçåÿõ Ñàíêò-Ïåòåðáóðãà” (Albanian garment from the Ottoman period on the Balkans in St Petersburg’s
museums) (p.379-406) reveals
some unknown
for the general public treasures of two Russian museums – The Russian
Ethnographic Museum and the Kunstkammer. The meticulous description
of details is accompanied by professional comments and photographs. An
appropriate conclusion of this review would be a quotation of S.Averincev,
well-chosen by A. Rusakov (p. 44) as epitaph of Agnia Desnitskaya’s
philological oeuvre: “The drive
for “formalization” of humanitarian knowledge, similar to mathematics,
is typical for our time {…}.
But the traditional structure of philology {…} comprises an element
firmly resisting to this flow. It’s not exactly intuition, but something
that used to be referred to as wisdom, common sense, human knowledge,
something that has become essential to the art of comprehension of
written and spoken words i.e. philology”.
June, 2002 |