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Hanna Popowska-Taborska : Light and Shade in Etymologist’s Work (from Slavic Perspective)
The specificity of rapidly developing in the last fifty years Slavic etymological research involves constantly growing base of linguistic material. Slavic etymological dictionaries increasingly rely on dialectal materials, include to their considerations language historical materials and ethnographic data. They also have a tendency to use emerging collection of materials related to the development of ethnolinguistic study. The enrichment of Slavic lexical and formative resources significantly broadens the field of etymological investigations and the possibility to introduce considerations on cultural contexts helps in reconstruction of original meanings of studied words.
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Włodzimierz Pianka : Cultural Aspect of Contemporary Etymology
Etymology which originated as one of the oldest branch in Slavic linguistics, has serious delays in applying the achievements of important scientific theories (F. De Saussure’s laryngeal theory, V.M. Illich-Svitych’s nostratic theory) whereas cultural studies, a recent discipline which enables its application in fragments, is used increasingly (T.V. Gamkrelidze, V.V. Ivanov, O.N. Trubachev or W. Boryś). The cultural aspect, connected with semantics, was used earlier by some researchers but never systemically. In semantic-cultural microsystems researchers should study in the first place the basic oppositions expressed derivationally (CSl. *ov-ь-ca ‛sheep’ – Pol. owca : CSl. *ov-ь-пъ – Serb. ovan, Pol. baran ‛ram’) and lexically (IE *gwen-e-H2 > *gen-ā-ø from *gwen- > *gen- ‛to give birth’ > žena ‛woman’ > żona ‛wife’: *man-gio or *man-gĭ – from *man-(g-) ‛to jutt out, to project, to lift’ > *mǫžь ‛man’ > mąż ‛husband’. In this case the role difference in procreation was initially lexically expressed and was precised by means of woman’s and man’s anatomic features. The first example shows the oppositions under the category of gender which is expressed with a developed derivational system.
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Witold Mańczak : How to Improve the Etymological Dictionaries
For fifty years the author has pointed out the fact that in all languages the word form has depended on three main factors – not only on a regular phonetic and analogical development but also on, what he calls, an irregular phonetic development caused by frequency. According to his opinion, frequently used word groups, words and morphemes repeatedly experience irregular reductions, e.g. wasza miłość > waszmość, podobno > pono or suffix in infinitive in the Old Polish (umrze)-ci > (umrze)-ć. Although the author has devoted three monographs and many articles to that matter, the effects of his activity stay very modest. For example, as far as etymological dictionaries of the Polish language are concerned, the irregular phonetic development caused by frequency is mentioned only 23 times in Bańkowski’s works, 9 times in Boryś’s and 15 times in Długosz-Kurczabowa’s. The author claims that etymological dictionaries would be better if they accounted to a greater extent the irregular phonetic development caused by frequency and he mentions a number of examples: From Proto-Slavonic *estь originated not only Old Polish jeść [to eat] but also contemporary jest [it is]. According to the author, the Old Polish jeść is a regular continuant of Proto-Slavonic *estь, whereas jest originated from *estь as a result of the irregular phonetic development caused by frequency. It is supported by the fact that in the contemporary Polish language there are almost 3500 words ending in -ść (część, sześć, ilość ect.) < Proto-Slavonic *-stь and only one word (jest) in which Proto-Slavonic *-stь experienced the irregular dispalatalization, while the irregular jest is used more often than almost 3500 words ending in regular -ść.
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Mariola Jakubowicz : The Etymological Research Field – from Pokorny to Boryś
The article is devoted to discussing key issues in etymology. Particular attention was paid to, not yet discussed in the scientific literature, the meaning reconstitution in the process of reconstructing languages which were not certified by materials. The issue is presented in the example of reconstructed Proto-Slavonic words. The author also discusses the current state of etymological research in Poland.
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Ewelina Kwapień : Etymological Information in General Dictionary of Polish Language
The article is devoted to the question of etymology in general dictionaries of Polish language within 200 years (SL, A. Osiński’s dictionary, SWil, SRyk, SW, SJPLS, SJPD, SJPSz, USJP). The evolution of etymology conception can be noticed in this kind of dictionaries. The way of expressing etymological information in the sources mentioned was illustrated with the examples which concern the origins of the following words: barwa, farba, fajka, herbata, kawa.
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Krystyna Długosz-Kurczabowa : Contemporary Interest in Etymology (on the material of Poradnia Językowa PWN)
Etymological interests are clearly visible in our contemporary society. They are revealed in radio and television broadcasts devoted to the language, in coursebooks (e.g. the explanations of foreign terms) and even in private conversations.
They are also supported by the material of Poradnia Językowa PWN, from which originate a dozen or so questions with provided answers that are all mentioned in the article. The questions concern the origins of selected native and foreign words, neutral and marked stylistically, common words and proper names.
The aim of the article is to signal the need for dissemination of etymological knowledge.
