LIETUVIŲ KALBOS ŽEMAIČIŲ TARMĖS YPATYBĖS
FEATURES OF ŽEMAITIAN DIALECT OF THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE IN THE WESTERN AUKŠTAITIAN SUBDIALECT OF KAUNAS

Summary/Abstract: The Lithuanian language has two main dialects: Aukštaitian and Žemaitian. In subdialects located on the borders of the main dialects, features characteristic of both Aukštaitian and Žemaitian dialects are observed. The article refers to the features of northwestern part of the Western Aukštaitian subdialect of Kaunas. This region includes subdialects of Jurbarkas and Šakiai and it borders on Southern Žemaitians of Raseiniai, so it is rich in Žemaitian features. Although these subdialects belong to Aukštaitian dialect, dialectologists often consider them to be a transitional area between Žemaitian and Aukštaitian dialects. The main phonetic features that relate the subdialects and Žemaitians are the following: phonetic ending shortening (in unstressed endings long vowels are shortened while short ones are often dropped), vowels’ i, u openness, syllable stresses with Žemaitian features (circumflex is drawled on both components of diphtongs; acute is very distinct and resembles voice break while pronouncing; the most distinctive feature of accent differentiation is suddenness of pitch change), prevalent secondary stresses. The morphologic features relating the subdialects of Kaunas and Žemaitians would be cases of morphologic ending shortening (forms which have usually more syllables in the paradigm are shortened), usage of dual verb and pronominal pronouns, which are similar. Also, a set of vocabulary exists, which is common to the subdialects of Kaunas and Žemaitians; it is rich in common Germanisms particularly. Žemaitian features are spread on two courses in the area of western Aukštaitian subdialect of Kaunas. The first course (mainly the phonetic features) includes the very northern subdialects that coincide with the area of ending shortening. The second course continues in a long narrow strip to the south along the western boarder of the subdialects of Kaunas, almost till the very boarders of Poland. The area in the East coincides approximately with the boarder of the first component elongation in acute diphthongs. Namely, vowels’ i, u elongation + widening or elongation + narrowing are the main features distinguishing Žemaitian and Aukštaitian subdialects.

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