Balkan conference (revised)

[Wayles Browne]

CALL FOR PAPERS

CONFERENCE ON THE BALKAN SPRACHBUND PROPERTIES
within the framework of the Spinoza Project, http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/spls
June 7-9 2001, University of Leiden, the Netherlands

Invited speakers: Zeljko Boskovic, Wayles Browne, Victor Friedman, Jouko
Lindstedt, Virginia Motaparnyane Hill, Marisa Rivero, Arhonto Terzi,
Zuzanna Topolinska

The Balkan languages share sets of typological properties which have
contributed to the shaping of a uniform areal typological profile,
referred to as
³Balkan language union² or ³Balkan Sprachbund². A typological language
property is assumed to be areal if (a) shared by at least three
languages of the
area, at least two of which belong to different genetic families, but (b) not
present in all the languages of the genetic family to which the language of the
area belongs (if it belongs to a language family, at all). Since the
amount, the
extent and the limit of areal typological properties necessary for granting
membership into the Balkan Sprachbund, has not and cannot be assessed
independently, linguistic discussion on Balkan Sprachbund membership has
centered around specific properties.
Different analyses single out different arrays of Balkan Sprachbund
properties, though most of them agree on one phonological property ­ the
presence of the schwa phoneme ­ and six grammatical properties: (1)
substitution of the synthetic declension markers by analytic ones; (2)
grammaticalization of the category of definiteness through postpositive
definite articles; (3) pronominal doubling of objects; (4) analytic
expression of
futurity; (5) analytic Perfect with an auxiliary verb corresponding to _have_;
(6) loss of the infinitive and its substitution by subjunctive clauses. Two
Balkan Slavic languages ­ Macedonian and Bulgarian, two Balkan Romance
languages ­ Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian, as well as Albanian have been
said to qualify for full membership; Romanian, Modern Greek, Balkan
Romani and a group of Serbo-Croatian, or rather Serbian dialects ­ the Torlak
ones ­ have been treated as peripheral members; Standard Serbo-Croatian has
been very marginally included; while Turkish has been treated as a ³donor²
language.

Papers within any framework on any Balkan Sprachbund property, involving
any of the Balkan languages, as well as languages outside the Balkans which
exhibit areal properties encountered on the Balkans (e.g. the languages of the
Caucasus or the Volga area) invited. Papers dealing with more than one
language are strongly preferred.

Please send abstracts of no more than 500 words as attachments to an e-mail
message to o.tomic at let.leidenuniv.nl. Deadline March 15. Notification of
acceptance by May 1.

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