Problematyka centrum i peryferii obszaru etnicznego w świetle archaizmów i innowacji dialektalnych (na podstawie analizy obszaru polskiego)

Abstract

The paper contains an analysis of innovation ranges in the fields of phonetics, stress, word-formation and inflection typical of the Polish linguistic area as presented in the Atlas of Dialectal Innovations by K. Dejna. The analysed material 1) strongly supports the thesis of the existence of peripheral archaisms while it practically precludes the existence of central archaisms; 2) permits us to speak of numerous peripheral innovations; 3) presents the problem of central innovations as far more complex than it has been usually thought of. In the future any conclusions drawn from an analysis of the Polish linguistic area ought to be compared with analogical analyses of other linguistic areas. We should then be able to better determine the relations between the center and the periphery on one hand, and the innovation and archaism on the other. Data collected in this way may constitute a valuable material for both historical and cultural investigations focused on the reconstruction of former ethnic ranges.