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In addition to a brief overview of the historical development of the Croatian language in the linguistic and sociolinguistic sense (as a literary and standard language), the paper attempts to examine its relationship to the languages of the Balkan linguistic area. Marginal presence of Balkan language features in Croatian is indicated, since Croatian territory is also geographically on the edge of the Balkans. But, since there has not been systematic research on this subject yet, the paper is merely an attempt to draw attention to some phenomena that might be interesting and to encourage further research and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the names for fig tree Ficus carica in the languages and dialects of the western part of the Balkan Peninsula (mainly in Albanian and Serbo-Croatian). The most ancient names of fig tree in the region are explored: Grk. συκιά, σύκα (< σῦκον, τῦκον), Lat. fīcus, and also Dalmat./Ital. pruna, brun-, mur-/mor etc. and South Slav. smokvа. The paper gives a complete classifi cation of more than 120 Albanian and Serbo-Croatian names for fig and its varieties. It is based on different characteristics (including – fruits’: size, colour, shape, flavour, moisture, the time of ripening, the thickness of the peel etc.). These names are etymologically analyzed. The phytonyms derived from expressive words, proper names and place names as well as facts of xeno-nomination are shown. It is demonstrated that the name of fig tree was given to some other plants: prickly pear, agave and birthwort. The name of fig fruit got into somatic lexis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents new ideas on the standardization of Romani, using diff erent Vlax dialects as a base. In cases where it is not possible to take lexical items from these dialects, lexical items from other non-Vlax Romani dialects or Indian languages are suggested instead, and are subsequently adapted to the Romani language. Additionally, examples are given of how neologisms could be created from internationally known words by following the grammatical rules of Romani. The paper also suggests a regional standardization of Romani for the Balkan Peninsula countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the dissemination of several geographic names from the same lexical stems in the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor and the Aegean basin, such as Ἴστρος/ Histria, Ἄρισβος/ Ἀρίσβη, Ἴλιον/ Ἴλιος, Κεβρήνιοι/ Κεβρήν, Κρίσος/ Κρῖσα, Πέργαμος/ Πέργαμον etc. They are traditionally examined as Thracian in Thrace, pre-Greek in Greece and “indigenous” in Asia Minor. The geographic distribution of the names – from the Danube in Thrace in the north, to Crete in the south, and from Karia in Asia Minor in the east, to the Adriatic Sea in the west – leads to the con clusion that the common lexical stems in the toponymy are a sign of lexical proximity between the languages in the Palaeo-Balkan linguistic space: Thracian, pre-Greek (the so-called Pelasgian), Illyrian and some linguistic idioms in Western Asia Minor, with a probability that it could be due to something more than common Indo-European heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a case of language contact in Balkan Romance where lexical borrowing has led to a shift in the primary productive verb formation pattern. Historically, there are two major productive verbal patterns in Balkan Romance, though there are differences between the inventories of verbs associated with each pattern, as well as the patterns' relative levels of productivity across the different Balkan Romance varieties. I argue that these differences are largely the result of language contact, with lexical borrowing from French, a prestigious language in 19th century Romania, eventually leading to the promotion of one of the patterns over the other in Daco-Romanian. Due to not being subject to the same infl uence, Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian did not undergo the same development. However, it does appear that a similar shift could be happening in modern Aromanian, though the language responsible for the change is not French, but rather Daco-Romanian itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the inaugural International Conference on Minority and Endangered Languages in the Balkans, discussing bilingualism's effects, linguistic diversity, and societal implications in Southeast Europe. Presentations covered themes such as language contact's impact on linguistic changes, challenges in minority schools due to multilingualism, and the evolving linguistic landscape in specific Balkan regions, offering a comprehensive exploration of language dynamics in the area.

Starting from a lack of consensus regarding the origin of shepherds’ terminology in the Balkans, we apply the experimental, but so far highly successful approach of triangulation, proposed in Robbeets et al. (2021) for anthropological and linguistic purposes. It involves the triangulation of insights from the spheres of archaeology, human genetics and diachronic linguistics/anthropology. This is because the characteristic terminology of shepherds’ culture in the Balkans and the Carpathian mountain range is a prominent and simultaneously common feature. We attempt to shed light on developments in that region during prehistoric times and the possible links between the ancient shepherds’ culture in the Balkans and the Carpathian mountain ranges, and the oldest migration streams into Southeast Europe in a Neolithic context. To do so, we examine the archaeological cultures in question and consider what human genetics can tell us about the individuals taking part in prehistorical migrations and forming innovative cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]