Studies in Polish Linguistics vol. 10, 2015, issue 2, pp. 57–85 doi:10.4467/23005920SPL.15.003.3560 www.ejournals.eu/SPL Alexander Andrason Stellenbosch University, South Africa Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? Abstract he present article analyzes the Vilamovicean language within the framework of language contact. he author studies various sociolinguistic, lexical and grammatical features and properties, which are typical of mixed languages, and which can be found in Vilamovicean. he evidence suggests that Vilamovicean can be deined as a mixed German(ic)-Polish language, relatively advanced on the cline(s) of mixing. Although Vilamovicean originated as an exemplary member of the German(ic) family – and although the bulk of its components are still German(ic) – due to prolonged and intense contact with Polish, the ethnolect became similar to this Slavic language. Keywords Germanic languages, minority languages, Vilamovicean, language contact, mixed languages Streszczenie Artykuł jest analizą statusu języka wilamowskiego z punktu widzenia kontaktu językowego. Sociolingwistyczne tło tego etnolektu, jego leksykon oraz gramatyka pozwalają na sklasyikowanie wilamowszczyzny jako germańsko-słowiańskiego języka mieszanego, stosunkowo zaawansowanego na skali języków mieszanych. Chociaż wilamowski wywodzi się z rodziny germańskiej i większa część jego cech jest nadal typowo germańska, zbliżył się on znacznie do języków słowiańskich pod wpływem długiego i intensywnego kontaktu z językiem polskim. Słowa kluczowe językoznawstwo germańskie, języki mniejszościowe, wilamowski, kontakt językowy, języki mieszane 58 Alexander Andrason 1. Introduction – Vilamovicean: its history and classification1 Vilamovicean – or Wymysiöeryś [vɨmɨsøːrɪɕ], as it is called by its speakers – is a colonial German ethnolect used by a minority group of elderly people in the town of Wilamowice in Małopolska (Lesser Poland) in Western Galicia, on the border with Górny Śląsk (Upper Silesia) in Southern Poland. According to the most optimistic view, the number of Vilamovicean speakers is estimated to reach no more than two hundred, although the fully proicient speakers are less than ity. Nearly all these persons – and deinitely all the proicient speakers – were born before 1930, which means that most of them are currently more than 80 years old. he younger generations – especially adolescents and children – are generally unfamiliar with the language.2 Vilamovicean is a member of the so-called Bielsko-Biała linguistic enclave (Bielitz-Bialaer Sprachinsel), which had its roots in the First German Colonization in the 12th century and which, at the climax of its expansion, used to include several villages and towns in the Eastern Silesian and Western Galician areas. Usually, the Vilamovicean language – similar to the other Silesian varieties – is classiied as an East Central German (Ostmitteldeutsch) colonial variety (Kleczkowski 1920; Lasatowicz 1992; Morciniec 1984, 1995; Wicherkiewicz 2003; Lewis 2009). Together with Standard German, Upper Saxon, Yiddish and Silesian German, Vilamovicean is viewed as belonging to the Irminonic3 group of the West-Germanic branch (Ritchie 2012: 7). he most typical Irminonic feature that is shared both by Vilamovicean and Standard German, is the participation in the High German Sound Shit (for a more detailed discussion, see Ritchie 2012). According to all these opinions – and in lights of the historical vicinity of the ethnolect with other Upper Silesian vernaculars – Vilamovicean would have originated in an older German variety (Kleczkowski 1920; Mojmir 1936; Lasatowicz 1994; Wicherkiewicz 2003: 5–14; Ritchie 2012: 9, 86). 1 his article is a result of the research project ‘Native Languages, linguae francae, and Graphics Traditions in Late Bronze Age Syria and Palestine: hree Case Studies (Canaan, Ugarit, Emar)’ (FFI 2011-25065), funded by the Spanish Ministry for Economic Afairs and Competitiveness within the National Plan for Scientiic Research, Development and Technological Innovation (I+D+I). I would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the previous version of this paper. 2 However, the situation may be changing, as Tymoteusz Król started to teach the Vilamovicean language to children from the local school and other revitalization activities have recently been implemented. 3 In his study, which constitutes the most recent and the most extensive publication dedicated to this issue up to date, Ritchie (2012) employs the terms Irminonic, Ingvaeonic and Istvaeonic although they may be quite problematic in the area of Germanic linguistics. Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 59 However, Vilamovicean seemingly distinguishes itself from other members of the Bielsko-Biała linguistic enclave community by a possible Flemish, Anglo-Saxon and/or Frisian inluence (Kleczkowski 1920, 1921; Besch et al. 1983; Ryckeboer 1984; Morciniec 1984, 1995; Lasatowicz 1992; Wicherkiewicz 2003; Ritchie 2012). In fact, the common view expressed by Vilamoviceans themselves is that their ancestors – and, hence, the language – came from the Low Countries: Flanders, Holland or Friesland (Wicherkiewicz 2003: 15). Yet another opinion, commonly shared by native speakers, is that their origin is Anglo-Saxon. he two theories are mainly regarded as local, popular, folk explanations – German scholars used to view them as naïve Polish alterations, propaganda or falsiications whose objective was to de-Germanize the ethnic identity of Vilamoviceans – although the distinctiveness of Vilamovicean from other German varieties of Bielsko-Biała and Silesia has generally been noticed, and its non-(High-)German character and/or origin is even argued by certain authors (Latosiński 1909: 13, 266–70; Młynek 1907: 8–10; Kuhn 1981; Ryckeboer 1984: 25–26; Wicherkiewicz 2003: 15–19). According to Ritchie (Ritchie 2012: 7–8) certain features of Vilamovicean connect the language to the Istvaeonic (which likewise includes Dutch, Flemish and Afrikaans)4 and to the Ingvaeonic (which consists of English, Low German and Frisian) groups of Germanic languages. Among the characteristics that distinguish Vilamovicean from the East Central German group, one may name the palatalization of velar stops, the loss of the consonant n in unstressed syllables and the h- shape of the third person masculine singular pronoun (i.e. har; see Ritchie 2012: 86–87). Currently, the working hypothesis is that the majority of the traits of the language situate it in the East Central German (or Irminonic) branch, although the inluence of other Germanic dialects (especially Low-German or Istvaeonic) is quite noticeable (for a more detailed treatment of the Germanic origin and classiication of the tongue, see Wicherkiewicz 2003 and Ritchie 2012). he truth may be that being a colonial variety, its speakers – although they mainly descend from one region, most likely from the zone of the middle part of the rivers Main and Rhine (Kaindl 1911; Kuhn 1981)5 – may have brought traces typical of other German(ic) areas, incorporating them into the dominant East Central German frame. In this respect, it is important to note that, according to some authors, the irst waves of German colonization also included groups of Dutch, Flemish and Walloon origins (Wicherkiewicz 2003: 7–8). Whatever the exact classiication in the Germanic family is, Vilamovicean is consistently viewed as a West-Germanic language and, hence, classiied as a member of this family. On the Flemish connection, see Ryckeboer (1984) and Morciniec (1984). here is, however, no consensus on the exact origin of the irst wave of settlers (cf. Wicherkiewicz 2003: 7). 4 5 60 Alexander Andrason However, since its origin in the 12th century, Vilamovicean has stayed in close contact with Slavic languages of the area, with Polish (and its dialects) in particular. In the 13th century, the area of Bielsko-Biała was ruled by Piast princes under the dominion and authority of the Kingdom of Poland. In the 14th century, these Silesian rulers swore their loyalty to the Czech king. he region of Bielsko-Biała remained part of the Upper Silesia until the middle of the 15th century, where its eastern section (containing Wilamowice) was incorporated into Lesser Poland, in the Polish Kingdom. his new border was crucial for future divergence between German colonial varieties, being responsible for a gradual, partial or total Polonization of the dialects in the Polish zone during the next 400 years. he Polish inluence was clearly visible in the phenomenon where, in the 17th century, the eastern part of the Bielsko-Biała area became Catholic once more, due to the Counter-Reformation, whereas Silesia remained Protestant. his certainly intensiied the impact of Polish on German vernaculars, including Vilamovicean. he partition of Poland between Russia, Germany and Austria in the 18th century and the absorption of Lesser Poland into the Austrian Empire partially re-established a more direct connection between Vilamovicean and German, restricting the expansion of the Polonization in that area. However, in the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian rule recognized Polish as the oicial language of Lesser Poland, which again accelerated the Polonization of Wilamowice and the adjacent region. At that time, Vilamovicean children were, from the beginning of schooling, instructed in Polish. From the second grade, they were also taught German or, in fact, Vilamovicean. It seems, nevertheless, that parents preferred their children to be educated in Polish and the Polish school was more popular than the German one, both of which had been in existence since 1912. he late 19th century already shows a gradual decline of the Vilamovicean language and the Polonization of the population of the town. In 1880, 92% of the population spoke Vilamovicean. his number decreased to 72% in 1890 and 67% in 1900, although in 1910 it expanded again to 73% (Wicherkiewicz 2003: 13). In 1918, Wilamowice formed part of the reborn Polish state and was ascribed to the administrative province of Małopolska (Lesser Poland). he Second World War (1939–1945) and the German domination over the Polish territory drastically hindered the inluence of Polish, as the Germans promoted the usage of Vilamovicean and emphasized its connection with the German language. Children were taught exclusively in German, and, later, even the Catholic mass was celebrated in German instead of Polish, which had always been their preferred language of worship. Ater the fall of Nazi Germany and during the communist rule – especially during the 40s and 50s – Vilamovicean experienced a profound Polonization. In 1946, the use of the language was oicially banned and traditional Vilamovicean costumes were prohibited. Vilamoviceans were persecuted and some were deported to labor camps in Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 61 Ural and Caucasus. All these events may be viewed as the real beginning of the death of this ethnolect. As for a survey conducted in the year 2000, only 4% of the inhabitants of the town could speak Vilamovicean (Wicherkiewicz 2003: 13). Currently, this number is almost negligible and still – despite numerous recent initiatives and revitalization activities – the extinction of the ethnolect, which is now entirely substituted by Polish in the town, seems to be imminent (Wicherkiewicz 2003: 6–19). To conclude, due to its geographic location, the Vilamovicean community has always coexisted with the Polish culture and language and Vilamoviceans have consistently been bilingual, speaking not only their own ethnolect but also Polish.6 Given this profound immersion in the Polish linguistic and cultural frame, a question arises: whether Vilamovicean – with all its German(ic) baggage – can constitute a case of being a German-Polish (Germanic-Slavic) mixed language. he present article explores this issue, ofering a detailed analysis of Vilamovicean within the modern framework of mixed languages (Bakker and Matras 2013; Meakins 2013). In order to answer the aforementioned question, the article will be organized in the following manner. First, the theoretical frame of reference, which underlies the present study, will be introduced (section 2). Next, in the empirical part of the paper, all the properties of Vilamovicean which indicate the Polish origin and suggest the analysis of Vilamovicean as a mixed language will be enumerated (section 3). hereater, the presented evidence will be discussed in light of the recently formulated theory of mixed languages. Lastly, main conclusions will be drawn and plans of future research suggested (section 4). 2. Theoretical framework In order to adequately understand the nature of the Vilamovicean language and to design a more satisfactory model of its family ailiation, the phenomenon of mixed languages must irst be discussed thoroughly. Mixed languages are distinguishable both in respect to their sociological context and structure. However, as will be evident from the subsequent discus6 Additionally, they have also been trilingual as they spoke Standard German, usually in its Austrian version. his German inluence irst stemmed from the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian rule and important trade relations between Wilamowice and Vienna. Later, the inluence of German was stimulated by the German invasion of Poland in 1939. As Volksdeutsche, Vilamoviceans were forced to attend the German school, where German was the language of instruction. he efects of this “second” Germanization may be observed even today, as the Vilamovicean variety used by the speakers who went to the German school during the Second World War exhibits remarkable German traits. 62 Alexander Andrason sion, all such sociolinguistic and (especially) grammatical features constitute continua of prototypicality, rather than a set class of invariant traits. In negative terms, mixed languages are usually deined as failing to be classiiable in traditional historical terms of a phylogenetic tree. To put it simply: they have no clear genetic heritage. On the contrary, they descend from and are products of (usually) two distinct parent languages, in a situation of bilingualism (homason and Kaufman 1988; Meakins 2013: 180).7 As far as the socio-historical origins and features of mixed languages are concerned, such linguistic systems emerge from a prolonged coexistence of two source systems and the subsequent bilingualism of the speakers (Meakins 2013: 159). It is important to note that mixed languages are products of expressive needs rather than communicative ones, which is the factor of contrast with pidgin and creole languages. In the case of mixed languages, a common language that enables communication already exists. herefore, mixed languages, rather than facilitating communication, are expressions of social and/ or ethnic identity (Meakins 2013: 181–183). In this manner, they assure the continuation of ancestral and/or endangered identity, or mark a new in-group or ethnic distinctiveness (homason 2003: 25; Meakins 2013: 216). Just like any bilingual speakers, speakers of mixed languages employ resources available in their language consciously and creatively for expressive functions (Matras et al. 2007; Meakins 2013: 194). In various cases, a given mixed language is the native language of the local community, usually being spoken alongside another language which is also native (Meakins 2013: 186). With respect to the structure, mixed languages are characterized by a considerable degree of typological dissimilarity. First of all, such languages may result from a split, where two source languages contribute relatively equally to a new language: one donates the vocabulary and/or noun phrase, while the other supplies the grammar and/or verb phrase. However, mixed languages can also be more intermingled lexically and/or grammatically, as the two languages contribute more equally to the lexicon and/or grammar. hus, from the lexical point of view, they range from languages which extract a great amount of vocabulary from one language (in such a case, the grammar is usually derived from another source) to languages which use lexemes extracted from two sources. A particular case is paralexiication, where two lexicons exist in parallel form, each one descending from another source code (Mous 2003; Meakins 2013: 193). From the grammatical point of view, mixed languages range from systems that are derived from only one source language, to the codes where both source languages contribute signiicantly to a new grammar. As a result, mixed languages form a continuum (or continua) of 7 his fact contrasts with pidgins and creole languages which typically involve more than two languages in contact (cf. tertiary hybridization). Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 63 lexical and/or grammatical mixing.8 Lastly, and in harmony with lexicon and grammar, phonological or phonetic systems of mixed languages display situations that can be located between two ideal cases, forming two poles of a continuum. On the one side of the cline, the mixed code derives its phonetics from one source code only, while at the opposite edge, two source phonological systems contribute and/or operate simultaneously (Matras 2000; Meakins 2013: 179, 210, 215). he typological variety of mixed languages and its classiication as a continuum (from less to more mixed) is related to and explained as manifestation of the evolution (or diachronic tendencies) of such systems. he main hypothesis elucidates the genesis and evolution of mixed languages as a unidirectional shit from a source language to a target language, during which mixed languages cease somewhere at half-way. In this process, two mechanisms operate: borrowing and codeswitching (Muysken 2000; Meakins 2013: 187).9 As far as borrowing is concerned, scholars argue that features can be copied irrespective of the typological distance between the interacting languages so that bound or inlectional morphology can also be transfused. However, in order to allow the borrowing of structural components and, in particular, of inlectional morphology, two conditions must be met: extensive and prolonged community bilingualism (Meakins 2013: 188). In general terms, with the increase of the intensity of the contact, the borrowing passes from the incorporation of non-basic lexemes and functions that were previously missing, to changes in syntax, word order, deep word structure and synthetic morphology, through the integration of functional words, such as adpositions, pronouns and numerals (homason and Kaufman 1988: 74–75; homason 2001; Meakins 2013: 188). he shit may stabilize at any section of this scale, although the largest class includes languages that display a relatively clear division between the source of their lexicon and grammar, each being dominated by a diferent language. his stems from the occurrence whereby the former is more receptive for inluence, while the latter is more resistant, deriving mostly from the dominant language in the situation of contact – the hosting code. Inversely, the transfer of inlexional morphology and deep organization of the grammar seems to be less common. It seemingly only takes place in situations of prolonged and intense contact, however. In such cases, the resultant grammar of a mixed language is a composite that preserves grammar from both source It should also be noted that in the process of transferring one grammar to another, the mixing may involve mapping of the supericial structure of one language form onto the other language’s grammar. 9 Apart from the unidirectional explanations of the genesis of mixed languages, some scholars propose so-called “fusion approaches”, whereby two languages merge or combine, rather than one being replaced by the elements of the other (Bakker 1997: 210; for a more detailed discussion see Meakins 2013: 195). 8 64 Alexander Andrason languages, leading to the impossibility of the identiication of the one “grammar language” (Matras 2003: 158; Meakins 2013: 189–190). Apart from borrowing, another process from which mixed languages originate is codeswitching.10 Codeswitching can be insertional or alternational (Muysken 2000). he former consists of a mere alternation of structures from two diferent languages, whereas in the latter the grammar of one language is more dominant, constituting the frame of insertion for the other language. Codeswitching can be viewed as the irst step in a gradual process of developing mixed languages. his cline schematizes a progression from pragmatics to grammar: it shows a gradual loss of pragmatic function of codeswitching and, on the contrary, the increase of grammatical constraints in the determination of the mixing. At the irst stage, two languages intermingle by means of codeswitching, which is the most variable and socially-marked form of mixing. Later, as the penetration continues, codeswitching gives rise to language mixing. Although, at this stage, a mix still exhibits patterns of codeswitching, the social and pragmatic associations of the codeswitching are lost, while syntactic factors and structural constraints start to determine the language switches. Lastly, mixed languages cease to provide cases of alternational codeswitching – they approach only insertional structures. By doing so, they drastically decrease syntactic variations in comparison with language mixing: structures that were functionally equivalent in the two source languages tend to develop specialized uses (Meakins 2013: 190–191). In the genesis and development of mixed languages from codeswitching, the insertional type seems to be the most inluential. his stems from the fact that the insertional codeswitching pattern, being more rule-governed and predictable, is more easily conventionalized and grammaticalized into a stable and autonomous complex than the alternational codeswitching (Meakins 2013: 213–215).11 It is important to note that, from a grammatical perspective, a mixed language fails to constitute a closed system – rather, it corresponds to a luid circuit of language choice. On the one hand, various linguistic systems can be classiied as mixed languages occupying diferent places on the clines of mixing. On the other hand, one language may occur in situations that are mapped onto diferent stages of the borrowing and codeswitching clines, for example, ofering synchronic instances of a profound lexical and/or grammatical intermingling as well as codeswitching (Matras et al. 2007; Meakins 2013: 193, 199). he claim whereby codeswitching leads to the formation of mixed languages is still debated. Its strongest opponent, Bakker (2003: 129) argues that it plays no role in the genesis of mixed languages. However, empirical evidence seems to demonstrate the opposite, i.e. codeswitching does contribute to the formation of mixed language (McConvell and Meakins 2005; Meakins 2011, 2013: 211). 11 It should be noted that alternational codeswitching, alone, seems to be unable to yield genuine mixed languages. 10 Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 65 3. Evidence Having explained the theoretical foundation of mixed languages, the most important properties ofered by Vilamovicean which are typical of mixed languages will be introduced. First, sociolinguistic characteristics of the ethnolect will be described (section 3.1). Next, I will discuss the phenomenon of codeswitching (3.2). Aterwards, the most signiicant grammatical traits (related to phonetics, lexicon and core grammar) that may have a Polish origin will be presented (section 3.3). Lastly, the question of complexity will be examined (section 3.4).12 3.1. Sociolinguistics Various sociolinguistic or socio-historical traits of the Vilamovicean language indicate its relation with Polish, thus separating it from a German(ic)13 prototype. First, Vilamovicean has remained in close and prolonged contact with Polish. As already mentioned, the connection with the Polish language goes back to the period of the original settlement in the 12th century or, at least, to the 13th century, where Slavic Piast princes began governing the region of Bielsko-Biała. Since the 15th century, this contact gradually intensiied, as the area of Bielsko-Biała and Wilamowice were incorporated into Lesser Poland in the Polish Kingdom. All of this means that the contact between Vilamovicean and Polish has existed for some nine centuries, of which an intense connection must have continued for six or ive hundred years. Certainly, this is a suicient time to enable the dominant Slavic language of the region (i.e. Polish) to penetrate into the minority Germanic colonial variety (see Wicherkiewicz 2003). Second, for many centuries – at least, for six or ive hundred years – Vilamovicean speakers have been bilingual, speaking not only their Germanic tongue but also the Polish language. his must have been the case since the time of the Counter-Reformation, as the church service in the town has almost always been conducted in Polish. he Vilamovicean-Polish bilingualism of the inhabitants of the town is documented in the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, as the data show that, in this period, most children attended the Polish he evidence introduced in sections 3.2 and 3.3 summarizes the indings presented in two papers which I have published previously (Andrason 2014a; Andrason and Król 2014) and which were dedicated to a more descriptive task of determining and enumerating possible Polish loans in Vilamovicean (see especially Andrason 2014a). 13 Since the exact dialectal position of Vilamovicean is still debated (cf. section 1), in the following discussion the term “German(ic)” will be used in order to refer to the origin and genetic iliation of the ethnolect. 12 66 Alexander Andrason school. Ater the Second World War, the Polish language entirely dominated the town and nowadays all the Vilamovicean speakers are also native speakers of Polish. In particular, all the Vilamovicean informants, who participated in our ield research are native Polish speakers. hird, the regular bilingualism of the Vilamovicean speakers – due to the above-mentioned intense and prolonged contact between their Germanic tongue and the Polish language, the main language of the area – means that Vilamovicean in its modern shape (i.e. with its component transfused from Polish) did not emerge due to communicative needs. Although originally non-Slavic, the Vilamovicean speakers must have learned Polish quite early. Being native speakers of this Slavic language at a very remote time, they possessed a linguistic code that would assure communication with other peoples of the area. Fourth, Vilamoviceans have generally emphasized their pro-Polish attitude. Inversely, they have always stressed their non-German character, be it cultural, ethnic or linguistic. However, they do relate very strongly to Austria, especially to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It should be noted that Florian Biesik, acknowledging all their distinctiveness, advocates the view of Vilamoviceans as Poles, highlighting their loyalty to Poland and identiication with the Polish history and an aversion to Germany and Germans, shared with Poles. For example, he described the German language as ugly, while Vilamovicean was, to him, beautiful. his connection between Vilamoviceans and Poland is evident in the religion which strongly uniied the two groups. One should once more recall Florian Biesik, who, in his epopee from the beginning of the 20th century, airms that being Catholic is analogous to be Polish (cf. Wicherkiewicz 2003: 446).14 3.2. Codeswitching Vilamovicean-Polish codeswitching constitutes another phenomenon where the presence of the Polish language is evident. he instances of Vilamovicean-Polish codeswitching, both insertional and alternational, are extremely common in the daily use of Vilamovicean. Certainly, the majority of such codeswitching communications are constructed ad hoc and/or idiolectically. However, the very use of this strategy constitutes a typical trait of the realistic Vilamovicean language, shared by all the speakers. Insertional codeswitching is particularly frequent, and stems from the fact that speakers in their communications can always use Polish imports in It is however possible, that this pro-Polish attitude has been idealized by Biesik and other authors/scholars. Rather than being Polish or German, Vilamoviceans seem to consider themselves as a distinct ethnic group. 14 Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 67 the hosting frame of the Vilamovicean grammar. Since – as will be explained later in this part – Vilamovicean makes a frequent use of non-adapted Polish loans, if such loans are more numerous in a given conversation, they naturally give rise to insertional codeswitching (for examples see Andrason and Król 2014: 277–278). Alternational codeswitching is less common than insertional and mainly appears in situations where a Vilamovicean speaker communicates with a Pole. In such cases, Vilamoviceans mix – in a relatively equal proportion – larger Polish and Vilamovicean chunks. In this manner, a fragment of an oral text or dialogue alternates sections of pure Vilamovicean (or rather Vilamovicean with adapted Polish elements) with sections produced entirely in Polish (for examples, see Andrason and Król 2014: 278–279). A particular type of codeswitching is its hybridized variety (a variety of congruent lexicalization; Muysken 2000), where a section in Vilamovicean is repeated by an analogous fragment in Polish, as if it was translated (or vice versa). For example, in the sentence kon’å może wykoleić ‘it can derail’, the Vilamovicean expression kon’å ‘he/it can’ (literal gloss: ‘can he’) is echoed by an analogical clause in Polish może ‘he/it can’ – both embedded in a larger Vilamovicean frame (cf. Andrason and Król 2014: 277). As the other types of codeswitching, this phenomenon constitutes one of the particularities of colloquial Vilamovicean (on the phenomenon of hybridization, to which this type of codeswitching belongs, see section 3.3.2 below). One should emphasize that codeswitching is highly common and constitutes a typical trait of Vilamovicean conversations. Speakers naturally introduce non-adapted Polish sections or smaller fragments into the Vilamovicean frame, delivering a realistic Vilamovicean language, where non-adjusted Polish components can always be accommodated. In our recordings, noncodeswitching conversations are virtually missing – any conversation or oral text makes use of codeswitching ater a suiciently large period of time (for a detailed discussion of codeswitching in Vilamovicean, see Andrason and Król 2014). 3.3. Borrowing In this section, the most relevant properties of Vilamovicean that have their origin in the Polish code will be presented. First, I will discuss the Polish components in the phonetic system (3.3.1), then in referential lexicon (3.3.2), and, lastly, in the core grammar (3.3.3). It should be noted that in this part of the article, standardized traits will be analyzed, i.e. those that are shared by all – or the majority – of the Vilamovicean speakers. In this manner, idiolectal and unstable variants will be avoided. Sometimes, less common varieties, but still acceptable by a vast group of the users, will also be mentioned. 68 Alexander Andrason 3.3.1.Phonetics he Vilamovicean phonetic system contains various sounds that are typical of Polish and seem to have been borrowed from this Slavic language. First, as far as the consonants are concerned, the language includes both series – the “sot” and “hard” – of sibilants and africates, i.e. laminal lat postalveolar [s̠ ], [z̠ ], [̱s̠ ], [̱z̠] and laminal alveolo-palatal [ɕ], [ʑ], [tɕ], and [dʑ], in addition to typical Germanic palatals [ʃ] and [tʃ] (Andrason 2014a: 4–5). Second, just like Polish, Vilamovicean includes the palatal nasal consonant [ɲ] (or, more correctly, an alveolo-palatal sound [ȵ]) spelled ń. his consonant appears both in Polish loanwords and in genuine Germanic lexemes (meńć ‘man’ or gińa ‘went’; Andrason 2014a: 6). hird, the original voiceless glottal fricative [h], which typically appears at the beginning of a word (hund ‘dog’ and hond ‘hand’), may be alternatively pronounced by using a corresponding “h-sound” of Polish, i.e. a voiceless velar fricative [x]. In loanwords from Polish which start with the consonant [x] (nowadays written as ch or h), both h varieties can be used, i.e. either [x] or [h]: hrapka ‘wish, lust’ (from Polish chrapka; Andrason 2014a: 6). Fourth, Vilamovicean ofers certain exemplary Slavic phonological properties, for instance, the lack of aspirations of plosives (in contrast to Standard High German) and a possible development of “dark” [l] into [w], following an analogical change in Polish. Fith, in the system of vowels, Vilamovicean possesses a sound typical of Polish, viz. the central close unrounded vowel y [ɨ] (or fronted close-mid central unrounded [ɘ̟]). his sound is highly common in Vilamovicean, being found both in loanwords (ryź ‘rice’ from Polish ryż) and in the genuine Germanic vocabulary (e.g. błynd ‘blind’, myt ‘with’, and in the preix gy [gɨ] in past participles gybröta ‘baked’). In such cases, it usually replaces the corresponding Standard High German vowels [ɪ] or [ə] (Andrason 2014a: 4). It should be noted that, at least in some parts of the phonetic system, the Vilamovicean speakers – and even one and the same user – have access to two phonological organizations: one is genuine colonial German (for instance, the consonant [h]), whereas the other is Polish (for example, the consonant [x]). Sometimes, the structure of the accessible systems is more complex. For example, in the case of the sibilants and africates, three systems operate: the irst and the most common system is mixed, where the original colonial German palatals (e.g. [ʃ]) are adjusted to the Polish laminal alveolo-palatal series (e.g. [ɕ]); the second and still common is identical to the Polish system and possesses two series of sibilants and africates, i.e. laminal lat postalveolar (e.g. [s̠ ]) and laminal alveolo-palatal (e.g. [ɕ]) instead of one typical of colonial German; and third, the least frequent, is consistent with original colonial German palatals (e.g. [ʃ]; for a detailed discussion and Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 69 more examples of Polish phonetic elements in the Vilamovicean language, see Andrason 2014a: 4–6). 3.3.2. Referential lexicon Polish lexemes he referential vocabulary is heavily impregnated by Polish loanwords which consist of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Loans are regularly well-integrated into the Vilamovicean system, being adjusted phonetically and/or morphologically. Hence, they are not mere examples of codeswitching, but quite the reverse: they belong to the standard – although non-Germanic – vocabulary of the ethnolect. Nominal lexemes form the category that has been inluenced by Polish vocabulary in the greatest degree. he number of substantives of Slavic origin amounts to some three hundred. It should be noted that Polish has afected mostly words which are widely and commonly used in every-day rural life. Such lexemes usually refer to: – – – – – – – – – persons: bjydok <15 biedak ‘poor man’; proper names: Jyndra < Jędrzej, Jędrek ‘Andrew’; family members: dźjada < dziadek ‘grandpa’; professions and functions: gancoż < garncarz ‘potter’; plants: kaśton < kasztan ‘chestnut’; animals: ropüh < ropucha ‘toad’; foods: bość < barszcz ‘beetroot soup’; parts of body: ćüprin < czupryna ‘head of hair’; concrete objects, instruments, tools and buildings: moźdźjyż < moździerz ‘mortar’ (Andrason 2014a: 7–9). However, although the above-mentioned words possess tangible referents and/or relate to a quotidian – most typically rural – sphere of life (köwuł ‘mare’ or bürok ‘beetroot’) predominate, Polish borrowings have also deeply penetrated into other types and categories of the Vilamovicean lexicon, being found in a more abstract and formal vocabulary (nodźeja ‘hope’ or sond ‘judgment’). Among this latter group, lexemes associated with religion and faith (ćyśćjec ‘purgatory’ or gżyh ‘sin’) are particularly important. Names of dates, events and weather phenomena are likewise commonly imported from Polish: Buoźe Ćjåło < Boże Ciało ‘Corpus Christi’ or grüdźjyń < grudzień ‘December’. In addition, one should observe that various kinship terms have been imported 15 he sign “<” stands for the relation of ‘coming from’ or ‘being borrowed from’. he segment indicating the result of the relation corresponds to a Vilamovicean form, while the other segment shows the Polish input entity. 70 Alexander Andrason from Polish: baba < baba ‘grandmother’, kłop < chłop ‘man, husband’ (for more examples, see Andrason 2014a: 8). Verbs, adjectives and adverbs constitute other abundant groups of loans. Verbs of Polish origin are particularly common, amounting to more than two hundred. hey include not only lexemes that refer to the activities typically performed in the town and region (e.g. drenowån < drenować ‘drain’) but also predicates that are general and may be considered as semantically basic (e.g. dümjån < dumać ‘think’; for detail, see Andrason 2014a: 13–17). Polish-based adjectives and adverbs are less common than nouns and verbs, although they still include some ity entries each. What is signiicant is that adjectives and adverbs that have been imported from Polish constitute very important lexemes of the Vilamovicean language, being used with a great frequency. In other words, such imports are not some rare and irrelevant adjectives and adverbs but, on the contrary, they belong to the core vocabulary of the ethnolect. See, for instance, adjectives such as wożnik < ważny ‘important’ and jåłowik < jałowy ‘arid’ and adverbs hyba < chyba ‘maybe, possibly’ and poprostu < po prostu ‘simply, directly’ (for a more extensive discussion, consult Andrason 2014a: 18–19). To conclude, the quantitative and qualitative weight of Polish loanwords is impressive. First, the number of imported lexemes is remarkable ascending to some six hundred fully stabilized words. Second, the imports have penetrated into all the word classes, be they nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs (on function words, see section 3.2.2). Moreover, lexemes borrowed from Polish belong both to the specialized lexicon as well as to the basic vocabulary, including kinship terms. As was the case with the phonetic system, where two organizations may operate, in referential vocabulary, quite commonly, two alternative synonymous lexemes exist: one genuine Germanic (e.g. śpejła ‘play’) and the other of Polish origin (e.g. båwjån zih < bawić się and -bawiać ‘play’). hus, it seems that, at least in some part, speakers have access to two lexical sub-systems (for a more comprehensive treatment of Polish imports in the Vilamovicean lexicon, see Andrason 2014a: 6–19). Mixed forms In their adjustment to the Vilamovicean language, various loanwords from Polish take some of the Vilamovicean properties, delivering mixed forms to which both Polish and Vilamovicean elements contribute. his may already be observed at the phonetic level of the loanwords, where complex consonant clusters, typical of Polish, are quite commonly reduced, ofering a less “Polish” pronunciation, closer to the Germanic phonetic rules: bość ‘beetroot soup’ (from Polish barszcz; Andrason 2014a: 12). With respect to morphology, the following typical adjustments can be observed in nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. In their majority, Polish sub- Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 71 stantives are subjected to the rules of the Vilamovicean nominal declension and derivation, yielding forms that, although imported from Polish, also ofer typical Vilamovicean characteristics. For example, feminine nouns ending in -a in Polish lose this vowel during their incorporation to Vilamovicean: małp ‘ape’ (form Polish małpa) or ropüh ‘toad’ (from Polish ropucha). his stems from the fact that Vilamovicean feminine nouns in the singular never end in -a, but rather in a consonant. he ending -a is used with feminine nouns only to derive their plural (singular cåjt ‘time’ – plural cåjta ‘times’), which is the dominant pattern of feminine declension. hus, in order to maintain the gender of the feminine substantives without transgressing the rules of the Vilamovicean nominal morphology, the vowel a of the original feminine nouns in Polish has been eliminated. As a result, the borrowed words can follow the main pattern of the feminine declension – they end in a consonant (ropüh ‘toad’) in the singular and add the ending -a in the plural (ropüha ‘toads’). In general, all the substantives borrowed from Polish follow the rules of the plural formation by taking on plural endings typical to the Vilamovicean language. hey are also declined by using the Vilamovicean case endings. Additionally, Polish loans may be used with genuine Vilamovicean derivational suixes, for instance, with the diminutive morpheme -la, as illustrated by the word ćüprinla, which consists of ćüprin (from Polish czupryna with the loss of the vowel a, explained above) and the diminutive suix -la (for more examples, see Andrason 2014a: 10–13). Concerning verbs, one inds various cases where the Polish verbal base is accompanied by a distinctively Vilamovicean preix (e.g. åj-, by-, cy-, ejwer- or fer-), for instance uhapån (uf + hapån < chapać) ‘catch up, grab’ and cyśjekån (cy + śjekån < siekać) ‘cut of ’. his mechanism of combining Polish verbal stems with Germanic preixes is extremely common and productive in Vilamovicean. Another example of mixed Polish-Vilamovicean verbal forms may be found in the case of predicates that are relexive in Polish. Namely, when a given relexive verb is transferred from Polish to Vilamovicean, it may lose the feature of relexivity in the hosting Vilamovicean language, under the condition that there is an analogical non-relexive verb already existing in Vilamovicean that expresses the same activity: jonkån ‘stammer’ (cf. the Polish verb jąkać się versus the Vilamovicean predicate droka; for details, see Andrason 2014a: 15–17). he presence of Vilamovicean-Polish verbal composites is probably the most evident in the situation where originally Polish lexemes are extended in Vilamovicean by the typical derivational and lexional endings of the ethnolect. For example, the ininitive of borrowed verbs that end in -ać and -awać in Polish substitute the characteristic ending -ć by a typical morpheme of the Vilamovicean ininitive, i.e. -n, delivering a mixed form ån or owån, a typical ending of originally Polish predicates in Vilamovicean. Other inlectional 72 Alexander Andrason categories also mix Polish lexemes with Vilamovicean morphemes, yielding intermingled forms such as the Present tense of the verb pytån (e.g. pytåst ‘you ask’); the Past Participle (pytåt ‘asked’ usually without the preix gy-) and the Preterite (e.g. pytåtst ‘you asked’; Andrason 2014a: 17). he same process of “Vilamovization” of Polish lexemes can be observed in adjectives and adverbs. For instance, the majority of adjectives imported from Polish are assimilated into the Vilamovicean adjectival and adverbial systems by taking adjectival or adverbial derivational morphemes, already productive and typical of the Vilamovicean language, in particular -ik (jåłowik < P jałowy ‘arid’) and -iś (łakümiś < P łakomy ‘greedy’). Such mixed forms, composed of a Polish base and the Vilamovicean aix, are very common in Vilamovicean (cf. Andrason 2014a: 18–19). Hybridization One of the most signiicant and obvious cases of mixing of the two linguistic systems, i.e. one Slavic (Polish) and one Germanic (Vilamovicean), is the socalled ‘same-level hybridization’. A same-level hybrid is a grammatical construct whose shape has been derived by combining two ancestral forms that belong to the same level as the level of the hybrid. For example, one morpheme derives from two underlying morphemes and one lexeme derives from two original lexemes. he ancestral forms that contribute to the hybrid descend from two diferent languages. Hybridization implies that the meaning or the function of the hybrid is identical or highly similar to the meaning or function of its two ancestors, constituting a type of double marking, cognitive reduplication or morphosyntactic redundancy where the same meaning or function is repeated twice, irst by a component from the hosting language and then by an element from another language. In other words, analogical or relatively equivalent semantic or functional information expressed by two different forms in two diferent languages is conveyed by a single form that mixes formal properties of these two ancestral forms. hus, a same-level hybrid cannot be understood as a product of one language only (Andrason forthcoming (a): 3–4). At least some examples of same-level hybridization in Vilamovicean can be analyzed in terms of congruent lexicalization as proposed by Muysken (2000), according to whom congruent lexicalization is a combination of entities from diferent linguistic sources into a shared grammatical structure. his phenomenon includes cases where both languages contribute to the grammatical structure of the phrase or sentence. Vilamovicean ofers various cases of same-level hybridization. he phenomenon can be detected at the level of morphemes, although it is especially common at the level of lexemes and phrases or clauses. As far as the morphemic hybridization is concerned, the morpheme -ja, which is employed to form the plural of certain masculine nouns of Polish origin, is a hybrid de- Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 73 rived by combining derivational plural morphemes available in Polish (-i) and Vilamovicean (-a). Namely, the plurals such as ogürkja ‘cucumbers’ are doubly marked plurals, containing the relex of the Polish plural in -i (ogórk-i) and the most typical plural morpheme of masculine nouns in the Vilamovicean language, i.e. -a. In other words, some masculine nouns have been imported from Polish in their plural forms and – in order to adapt them to the rules of the Vilamovicean language – have additionally been marked by the productive plural ending -a, delivering as a result the complex form -ja.16 Another example of the morphemic hybridization is the adjectival suix -nik found in lexemes such sprytnik ‘cunning, smart’ (from Polish sprytny). his morpheme seems to be obtained by combining the adjectival-participial suix -ny from Polish and the most typical adjectival suix in Vilamovicean, i.e. -ik (for a detailed discussion, see Andrason forthcoming (a): 5–8). he same phenomenon can be observed at the level of lexemes. An exemplary case is the word kapelüśhüt ‘hat’, which is a composition of one adjusted Polish loanword kapelüś (from Polish kapelusz) and one genuine Vilamovicean lexeme hüt, both with the equivalent sense, i.e. ‘hat’. Accordingly, kapelüśhüt is a mix where two original lexemes – semantically identical – have merged into one word. As a result, in order to refer to the object categorized as a hat, Vilamovicean speakers can use three synonymous constructions: hüt (the genuine Germanic lexeme), kapelüś (the adapted loanword from Polish) and kapelüśhüt (a mixed Slavic-Germanic hybrid; Andrason 2014a: 13). In addition, there are a virtually ininite number of instances where lexeme-level hybridization appears in colloquial speech. Such hybridized forms are coined ad hoc. In other words, Vilamoviceans can always use two words, one Vilamovicean and one Polish, in any order. here is no constraint on this type of idiolectal and spontaneous hybridization, which constitutes an extremely common characteristic – if not one of the most typical traits – of natural Vilamovicean conversations (Andrason forthcoming (a): 9–10). he hybridization is even more common at the level of clauses or phrases, i.e. where an entire phrase or clause is uttered twice, irst in Vilamovicean and next in Polish, or in the opposite order. his type of hybridization has been mentioned previously in the part dedicated to the issue of codeswitching (cf. kon’å może; cf. Andrason and Król 2014). Although such clausal or phrasal hybridizations are clearly idiolectal and spontaneous and, hence, cannot be viewed as stabilized components of the ethnolect, the very mechanism of hybridization is shared by all the speakers and can be regarded as being typical of the realistic Vilamovicean language. 16 he singulars of such words seem to be backformations that lose the Vilamovicean plural marker a: ogürki. 74 Alexander Andrason 3.3.3. Core grammar he Polish language has deeply penetrated the grammatical structure of Vilamovicean. To be exact, Polish components can be recognized at the level of functional lexemes (conjunctions, particles, pronouns and interjections), morphology (either inlectional and derivational or nominal and verbal) and syntax (word order, expressions of negation and the use of tenses in subordinated clauses). Function words Vilamovicean possesses various function words that have been borrowed from Polish; for instance, causal-explicative conjunctions bo ‘because, as, since’ (from a homophonous Polish word bo) and no bo ‘because’ (from an identical expression in Colloquial Polish no bo), and causal-resultative linkers no ‘well then’ (from Polish no) and no to ‘then’ (from Polish no to). he Polish word to, itself, in the sense of ‘(so) then’ is also frequently employed in Vilamovicean as a linker between the conditional protases and the apodosis, introducing the consequence (for examples, see Andrason 2014a: 20–23). Apart from the direct borrowings mentioned above, Polish has inluenced the usage of certain genuine Vilamovicean functional lexemes. To put it differently, the functional load of a given Vilamovicean word has been remodeled in accordance with the function of its Polish equivalent. For example, the conjunction do (cf. German dass) – a typical complementizer with an expletive sense ‘that’ – can also be used with a purposive-inal ‘so that’ value or a causal value ‘since, due to the fact that’, paralleling the use of the Polish word że in compounds such as żeby and jako że (for a detailed discussion, see Andrason 2014a: 22–24). In certain cases, especially when forming a part of an idiom, even Polish prepositions can be imported to Vilamovicean. See, for example, the expression po kiöelendźje gejn ‘visit houses ater Christmas (of a priest)’ where the word po relects the Polish preposition po ‘ater’. It should also be observed that the noun used in this idiomatic phrase preserves its Polish case ending. One should note that the domain of interjections, swearwords and onomatopoeias – an expressive and pragmatic type of lexicon that is more functional than referential17 – has experienced a particularly intense Polish inluence. For instance, the interjections ah ‘oh, ah’ or oj ‘oh! wow!’ are both formal and semantic (or pragmatic) equivalents to the Polish expressions ach and oj. Various swearwords have been imported from Polish (pśjokrew ‘[vulg.] damn, hell!’ from Polish psiakrew) as is the case of onomatopoeias used in order to Interjections, swearwords and onomatopoeias could also be discussed in the section dedicated to lexicon. However, given their high functional status, these entities have been included in the discussion of core grammar. 17 Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 75 address animals (kići-kići ‘here kitty kitty [for a cat to come]’ from kici kici; for more examples of the Polish inluence on the functional vocabulary of Vilamovicean, see Andrason 2014a: 20–24). Morphology Inlectional morphology has likewise experienced considerable Polish inluence. At the level of grammatical categories, the creation of the vocative case in -y (e.g. mümy! ‘mom!’ and łoüty! ‘people!’ in contrast to the nominative müm and łoüt, respectively) is most probably due to the Polish inluence. he category of vocative is absent in the West Germanic family, but common and productive in Polish. herefore, although the formal origin of the vocative ending -y is not Polish but Germanic (it derives from the older diminutive sufix -i employed in Germanic languages to form hypocoristics, such as Mami, Opi or Berni in German), the very fact of reinterpretation of the hypocoristic morpheme as a vocative case ending in Vilamovicean seems to have been stimulated by the Polish language (Andrason 2014b). At the formal level, various components of the Vilamovicean derivational morphology have their roots in Polish. To be exact, one may ind the following derivational suixes borrowed from Polish in Vilamovicean (for more examples, see Andrason 2014a: 24–26): – the suixes -ok or -ak (from homophonous Polish forms), which are frequently used in nicknames (Hytok); – the suix -ćki (from -ski and -cki in Polish), which is common in proper names and nicknames (Holećki); – the suixes -uś, -śju, -śa/-źa, -ća and -ćo, which frequently appear in proper names Linküś and diminutives (kacuśju ‘kitty’); – the verbal suix -owå- (from the Polish morpheme -owa-ć), which is sometimes used with genuine Germanic stems, e.g. krankowån ‘be sick, weak’; – the suixes -źe/-će, (from że in Polish), which are extensively used in polite intensiied requests, accompanying the imperative form of a verb, e.g. gejźe ‘go!’. Lastly, although Polish case endings are typically lost or, at least, accompanied by the corresponding Vilamovicean morphemes, in certain instances (especially in idioms and ixed expressions), they may survive. In such cases, they seem to indicate the function of the Vilamovicean word. For example, in the locution po kiöelendźje gejn ‘visit houses ater Christmas (of a priest)’ (which is a replica of the Polish construction chodzić po kolędzie), the word kiöelendźje includes the ending of the Locative case -e with the palatalization of the preceding consonant d (compare Polish Nominative kolęda versus Locative kolędzie). 76 Alexander Andrason Syntax Some of the most evident cases of mixing and incorporation of Polish elements can be found in syntax. First of all, being profoundly inluenced by the free word order of Polish, the word order of Vilamovicean is much less rigid than that of Standard High German and various West Germanic languages. To be exact, the following characteristics, typical of Polish but foreign to an exemplary German system can be found in the Vilamovicean word order: – the subject may be detached from the inlected verb and placed ater the last component of a complex predicate, for instance ater the ininitive or participle; – the rule of the verb in the second position and, thus, the inversion of the subject and verb is not respected; – participles and ininitives fail to occupy the last position in the clause; – the object may be located outside the auxiliary and ininitive/participle frame; – the subject-verb order in subordinate clauses can be inverted; – the verb may occupy the irst position in the clause; – the inlected verb does not need to be placed at the end of the subordinate clause but may occupy the second position; – a complex three-member verbal sequence typically ofers the order: inlected verb + ininitive + participle; – the object may be placed in the irst position, triggering or not the inversion of the subject and verb (for a detailed discussion and illustrations of the syntactic loans, see Andrason 2014a: 26–31). As mentioned above, in all such cases Vilamovicean contrasts with the typical order in (Standard High) German but imitates the sequence found in Polish. Nevertheless, it should be noted that even though the Polish-like word order is highly common, the German-like syntactic principles may also be employed, so that the Vilamovicean word order, rather than being of either the Polish or the Germanic type, corresponds to a composition of two systems: one is rigid and typical of West Germanic (it includes the syntactic rules similar to those found in Standard High German), while the other is free and characteristic of Slavic (it imitates various uses typical of Polish). A similar situation can be observed in the negative constructions. Namely, although negative concord is absent in (Standard High) German, it is extensively employed in Vilamovicean. In this manner, a double negation is used in a clause in order to intensify or specify – but not to cancel – its negative meaning. his phenomenon is typical of Polish, where speciic negative words (nic ‘nothing’ or nigdzie ‘nowhere’) are always accompanied by the general Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 77 negative particle nie ‘not’, resolving into a negative value. In an analogical way, speciic negative words such as nist ‘nothing’ and njynt ‘nowhere’ can be accompanied by the general negative particle ny ‘not’ and resolve into a negative. However, Vilamovicean also bestows its speaker with the possibility of using the Germanic system, where one negative word is suicient and where there is no need to employ the general particle ny ‘not’. Nevertheless, even though a single negation is possible, double negation, just like in Polish, always resolves into a negative. hus, although both negative systems operate in the Vilamovicean language, the Polish system seems to have a stronger status than the German(ic) one (for details, see Andrason 2014a: 31–33).18 he impact of Polish and the restructuration of original Germanic syntax may be observed in the issue related to the rule of consecutio temporum (or a sequence of tenses). he concept of consecutio temporum refers to a principle that regulates the agreement between the tenses in the main and subordinated clauses. Although this rule is usually observed in West Germanic languages, it is not compulsory in Vilamovicean. In fact, most commonly, it fails to be respected just like in Polish, where it is almost never observed. Accordingly, the Vilamovicean Present tense is usually used in subordinate clauses introduced by the Preterite or Perfectum, ofering a past tense meaning. Analogically, the Preterite, Perfect and Future tenses can be headed by an introductory verb with a deinite past tense value, functioning as pluperfects (in the case of the Preterite and Perfect) and the future in the past (in the case of the Future tense). Although this usage predominates, the usage where the rule of consecutio temporum is observed may also be found. hus, once more, the speakers have access to two systems: one Polish (here the rule of consecutio temporum fails to operate) and the other Germanic (here the rule of consecutio temporum does operate; for a more comprehensive discussion and examples of use, see Andrason 2014a: 33–34). Lastly, as one of the most evident results of the Polish inluence on the Vilamovicean language, one may mention the creation of two new verbal tenses, so-called “the new Future” and “the new Conjunctive Perfect”. In contrast with the previously mentioned syntactic properties, these constructions are still rare and cannot be viewed as stabilized. he new Future is a periphrastic future tense, consisting of the auxiliary wan (cognate to werden in German) and the past participle of a meaning verb: Yhy wå gybata ‘I will ask’ (literally ‘I will asked’). In contrast to the Future I, which also employs the verb wan (Yhy wå bata ‘I will ask’), the new Future uses the past participle instead of the ininitive. However, this innovative formation is fully equivalent to the regular Future tense, ofering an active and/or transitive sense instead of the expected Of course, there are cases of double negation in Germanic languages, even in German dialects (cf. Weinreich 1958; Andrason 2014a: 31–32). 18 78 Alexander Andrason passive meaning, suggested by the use of the Participle in the company with the auxiliary wada. he new Future seems to be a direct calque from the Polish Future tense, such as the expression będzie robił ‘he will do / be doing’, which is composed of the Future of the verb być ‘be’ (semantically equivalent to the Present of wada) and an original Active Perfect Participle (robił), which nowadays is typically used as a Past Tense (robił ‘he did, was doing’), functionally proximate to the Vilamovicean Past Participle (cf. Andrason 2010: 7, 2014a: 34; for a detailed discussion and explanation of this phenomenon see Andrason forthcoming (b)).19 3.4. Complexity It is important to observe that the Vilamovicean language impregnated by Polish traits ofers a degree of linguistic complexity that is comparable with the complexity of the original hosting German(ic) code if this is imagined as free of any Polish imports.20 In fact, in certain aspects, the complexity of the modern Vilamovicean system surpasses the complexity of its German(ic) foundation. First, it seems that the users have enriched the grammar and lexicon of the hosting Colonial East German variety by multiple Polish traits, still preserving the corresponding German(ic) properties. Simplifying the whole matter, it looks as if speakers added some parts of the Polish system to the Vilamovicean language, which has led to the situation that, quite oten, they are bestowed with two possible solutions to a given lexical or grammatical task. his “twosystem structure” has already been noticed in the area of phonetics (e.g. two possible h sounds), referential vocabulary (e.g. a set of two synonymous lexemes), morphology (two systems of diminutive suixes: one is Vilamovicean with the suix -la and the other is Polish with morphemes such as -uś, -śju, -śa/-źa, -ća, -ćo) and syntax (e.g. two possible word orders, two principles concerning negative concord and two rules governing the use of tenses in subordinated clauses). he common clause-level hybridization – or the two-language reduplication of larger parts of a sentence – can also be viewed as a particular case of a two-system organization. Second, on some occasions, three systems exist: one is genuine Colonial German (or similar to Standard High German), the other is Polish and yet another constitutes a Vilamovicean novelty. his may be observed in the three series of the sibilants and africates, as well as in lexemes, which not only relect the German(ic) and Slavic original forms but also ofer constructions built by means of hybridization (cf. kapelüśhüt). An analogical replication process of the Polish construction into the Vilamovicean system, by using Vilamovicean elements only, may be observed in the new Conditional (Andrason 2010: 8, 2014a: 34 and forthcoming (b)). 20 As a matter of comparison, the (Standard High) German language can be used. 19 Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 79 hird, the incorporation of Polish elements has led to the formation of new grammatical rules previously absent both in Vilamovicean and in Polish. For instance, the hybridization of the Polish plural morpheme -i and the Vilamovicean plural ending -a led to the creation of a new plural marker -ja. he combination of German(ic) and Slavic traits has also resulted in the development of new derivational verbal suixes, such as owån and ån, thus leading to the creation of a new conjugational class of verbs, previously unknown in the language: pluri-syllabic predicates, whose stem ends in å (e.g. pytån ‘ask’), with the Present tense forms such as pytå ‘I ask’, Preterite pytåt ‘asked’ and Participle pytåt. he creation of the new Future and Conditional tenses is yet another example of such innovations, adding to the complexity of the Vilamovicean verbal system. 4. Discussion – Vilamovicean as a mixed language he evidence provided in the previous section shows that Vilamovicean is characterized by various traits that are exemplary of a mixed language. his concerns both features which are necessary for the creation of mixed systems and properties that typically appear during their further development. he presence of all such qualities enables us, consequently, to classify the ethnolect as a type of a mixed language. Firstly, from a socio-historical perspective, Vilamovicean fulils two necessary conditions for the development into a mixed code: intense and prolonged contact of the underlying source codes and the bilingualism of the speakers. As explained, Vilamovicean has experienced deep and persistent contact with Polish due to the geographic, economic, political and cultural context in which it has existed. his Polish inluence triggered a permanent Vilamovicean-Polish bilingualism among Vilamovicean speakers. Furthermore, and again in harmony with the genesis of mixed languages, mixed and/or Polish-like properties of Vilamovicean did not emerge due to the communicative needs. As, from a very remote time, speakers of Vilamovicean have been bilingual and luent in the Polish language (which enabled their communication with the Polish population of the region), the introduction of Polish traits (be it conscious or unconscious) must have stemmed from expressive needs.21 One could hypothesize that if Vilamoviceans – as Catholics – have considered themselves closer to Poles than to Germans, this anti-German or, at least, non-German consciousness might have found its linguistic expression in introducing Polish elements into the language they spoke. In this way, the 21 hus, Vilamovicean cannot be regarded as a creole or nativized variety of an original pidgin, another common outcome of a contact of languages. 80 Alexander Andrason intergroup ethnic identity – distinct both from German and Polish – would be better marked. It would be distinguished from Polish because the Vilamovicean language is Germanic and it would be distinguished from German(ic) because it has adapted a number of Polish (Slavic) features. Such marking of a new in-group identity is another typical socio-historic trait of mixed languages. However, mixtures like the one described in this paper can also come into existence without any conscious aims of national or ethnic orientation, being cases of a partial accommodation to a socially dominating language. On the other hand, it is likely that a negative attitude toward a dominant language could have hindered or strongly reduced the process of mixing as the loans would have been perceived very negatively. Whatever the reason of the blending was, it is evident that it did not stem from communicative necessity. Secondly, in perfect agreement with the genesis and nature of mixed systems, Vilamovicean frequently appears in situations of codeswitching. As explained in section 2.1, frequent use of codeswitching constitutes an exemplary trait of mixed languages of diferent advancement, both of the systems located at the initial stage of mixing and systems that are fully mixed. In Vilamovicean, codeswitching – both insertional and alternational, although the former is more common than the latter – characterizes any linguistic situation in which native speakers participate. In fact, codeswitching constitutes a linguistic feature that is shared by all the users of the language. Especially important is the frequent use of insertional codeswitching, as this is the type that gives rise to mixed languages sensu stricto, whereas the alternational type (especially the inter-sentential one) does not seem to prompt a development toward genuine mixed languages. Since in codeswitching situations, Vilamovicean native speakers can manipulate the extent and intensity of Polish traits, depending on their expressive needs, the language provides yet another typical feature of mixed languages – it bestows its users with the possibility to employ resources available in their two native tongues (Vilamovicean and Polish) consciously and creatively. hirdly, from a purely linguistic or grammatical perspective, Vilamovicean combines its original German(ic) properties with features descending from another, unrelated, system. he ethnolect is heavily impregnated by Polish traits, which reach all its sections and levels, importantly afecting phonetics, lexicon and core grammar. he impact of Polish on the Vilamovicean language is impressive both quantitatively (the number of borrowings is large) and qualitatively (the inluence afects all the levels and areas of the language). To be exact, various consonants and vowels seem to have been introduced from Polish and a great part of the vocabulary – including the basic one – has its roots in Polish. With respect to core grammar, Polish elements importantly afected the set of functional words, the area of morphology and, especially, syntax. he intensity of the Polish impact can be viewed not only in the phonetic, lexical Vilamovicean – A Germanic-Slavic Mixed Language? 81 and grammatical borrowings but also in the creation of mixed and/or hybridized forms, which show an advanced character of mixing. his mixing is not a merely ad hoc codeswitching phenomenon consisting of copying Polish words to the Vilamovicean frame, but has led to the creation of more elaborated, fused, novel constructions. Fourthly, as far as linguistic complexity is concerned, Vilamovicean behaves as a prototypical mixed language, by preserving or even increasing the input complexity of its German(ic) source. Namely, the inluence of Vilamovicean by Polish did not lead to the simpliication of the former – as would be the case if the language emerged as a pidgin – but, on the contrary, the structure of Vilamovicean (be it phonetic, lexical or grammatical) became more complex than the structure of the original German(ic) input. he language has introduced various Polish elements, simultaneously preserving the original German(ic) traits, thus giving access to two alternative systems. In addition, various lexical and grammatical novelties have been formed, so that, in certain cases, for a given semantic or grammatical feature, three optional strategies exist. Consequently, Vilamovicean may be viewed as a linguistic code whose complex Germano-Slavic structure and properties can be explained more adequately if the framework of mixed languages is used. To be exact, the language can be accommodated on the cline representing the synchronic intensiication of mixing and/or its diachronic advancement from less intermingled systems to profoundly mixed ones. Vilamovicean can be located somewhere between the intermediate zone of mixing and its advanced stage. With respect to the cline of borrowing, the language has arguably passed from the stage of incorporation of non-basic lexemes and functions previously missing in the language to the stage where changes afect syntax, word order, deep word structure and synthetic morphology, through the intermediate stage of integration of functional words (adpositions, pronouns and numerals). Synchronically, the language ofers all such situations of borrowing, suggesting its advanced status. he lexical and grammatical mixing is also profound. As in highly advanced mixed languages with a prolonged history of intermingling, there is no clear split between lexicon and grammar or between noun phrase and verb phrase. As mentioned previously, Polish elements have penetrated into phonetics, lexicon, grammar, noun phrase and verb phrase, where they coexist with the genuine German(ic) component. he grammatical mixing is so advanced that it has even afected inlexional morphology and the deep organization of grammar. his type of mixing takes place almost exclusively in instances of long-lasting and intense contact. hus, from a purely synchronic perspective – and in agreement with such profoundly intermingled systems – it is impossible to determine whether Vilamovicean exclusively possesses a German(ic) or Slavic structure or which grammatical organization 82 Alexander Andrason (i.e. German(ic) or Polish) constitutes the backbone of the ethnolect. It is rather a composite that preserves properties of the two source codes. As far as the codeswitching cline is concerned, Vilamovicean shows properties typical of relatively advanced mixed languages. Namely, it has passed from the stage of a simple language shiting, in which pragmatic functions predominate, to the stage where the mixing is determined more typically by purely grammatical constraints. Although Vilamovicean still exhibits patters of codeswitching, syntactic factors and structural constraints seem to play a more decisive role in the language switches. Additionally, complying with the tendency found among more developed mixed systems, even though alternational codeswitching exists, insertional structures seem to be preferred. Lastly, and in agreement with the most recent views on mixed languages, defended by Matras et al. (2007) and Meakins (2013: 193), Vilamovicean should not be viewed as a closed system classiiable uniquely as one category. Following the behavior of mixed systems, Vilamovicean entails great luidity in terms of the degrees of code mixing available to the speakers, ranging from less mixed codes to the more mixed ones and/or from codeswitching to a genuine mixed code. From a dynamic perspective, such situations relect a diachronic continuum of types of mixing: from those that are typical of less advanced cases of mixing to those that are characteristic of more advanced ones. Conclusion he present paper has demonstrated that Vilamovicean is a German(ic)-Polish mixed language, relatively advanced on the cline(s) of mixing. Although the ethnolect originated as an exemplary member of the German(ic) family – and although the bulk of its components are still German(ic) – due to prolonged and intense contact with Polish, Vilamovicean became similar to this Slavic language of the region in various and important aspects. Even though the study has shown that Vilamovicean can be understood as a mixed language – and may, therefore, necessitate a new place in linguistic iliation models – it has not responded to all possible questions related to this issue. First, as has already been recognized, the exact German(ic) origin of the ethnolect and its status in the German(ic) dialectal continuum still await determination. Second, the Polish inluence, itself, is an agglomerate of, at least, two diferent intermingling processes – the inluence of Standard Polish and of various dialects of Lesser Poland. A precise contribution of these two processes has not yet been identiied. And third, an alternative model of language iliation should be proposed, where both the initial genetic foundation of Vilamovicean and posterior changes, induced by contact, would explicitly be recoverable. 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