Some Types of Archaisms in Polish Dialectsin Lithuania

The subject of the article is related to the author’s work on the international project “Polish Dialects in Lithuania” (“Gwary polskie na Litwie”, 2016–2018). The purpose of this paper was to identify and study lexical archaisms in the dialect material selected by the project group. In the article the concept of ‘archaism’ is interpreted widely: both archaic and obsolete words are considered. In total, it was identified about 200 lexical units classified as obsolete or archaic: proper lexical archaisms constitute approximately 50% of the material (arenda, bachur, czernica etc.), semantic archaisms constitute about 35% (baczyć, cacka, czeladź etc.), and about 15% of the material are lexical wordbuilding archaisms (kradkiem, lenować się, nadgrobek etc.). By comparing the studied material with the data of the historical sources, it was possible to realize that a number of lexemes qualified in some scientific papers as regionalisms borrowed from the Eastern Slavic languages should be recognized as archaisms, once known to the common Polish language. Тhe results allow us to confirm the undoubtedly significant role of the Belarusian and Russian languages in supporting the functioning of lexical archaisms in Polish dialects in Lithuania. About half of the identified lexical archaisms are also known to a number of dialects in Poland.

I. Currently Poles make up about 7% of the Lithuanian population. The Polish language is represented by a number of territorial and functional dialects: in the field of culture and education the cultural dialect is prevailing; in everyday communication, especially in rural areas in the northern part of Vilnius County, in the southern part of Širvintos district and in the south-east of Lithuania (e.g. in Zarasai district, Turmantas), the so-called Northern Kresy (Borderland) dialect is widely spread. The entire southern part of Vilnius County, Šalčininkai district and the eastern part of Trakai district are inhabited by Poles (according to their self-identification) whose mother tongue is "prosta mova", a subdialect of Belarusian. Polish is spoken there mainly by the older generation [Grek-Pabisowa 1992, 55-62;Kurzowa 1993, 62-64;Karaś 2002, 22, 47].
The emergence and development of the Polish language on the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (hereinafter GDL) were determined by the two historical factors: (1) the intensified immigration of the population from the Kingdom of Poland as a result of the signing of the unions (the end of the 14 th -16 th centuries); (2) the process of polonization of the autochthonous population. It being known that judging by the degree of the exposed influence, the dominant role was played precisely by the process of polonization that gradually encompassed various social strata, which led to the exclusion of other languages of the GDL from the field of formal communication [Kurzowa 1993, 17-43].
It is relevant to mention that the first wave of polonization, which had an influence on the gentry and the educated strata of the GDL, did not affect the peasantry at all: rural Polish dialects based on the Belarusian and Lithuanian substrate were mainly formed only by the middle of the 19 th century [Turska 1939[Turska /1982Rieger 1995, 31-38;Koniusz 2005, 101-118]. Since the Polish dialects were formed on the territory of Lithuania under the impact of the close interaction with other local languages, the mutual interference contributed to the formation of the Polish regional variant with a set of specific features that distinguished it both from the literary Polish and from its other dialects. On the other hand, the conditions under which the local Polish dialect existed among other languages, as well as its long isolation from the Polish cultural influence in the 20 th century contributed to the preservation of various archaic features in it, both on the grammatical and lexical levels.
II. During my work on the mentioned project, various types of archaisms 2 were found. The aim of this research was to identify and study lexical archaisms in the dialect material selected by our research group. The interest in this subject was determined by the fact the issue of archaisms both in Polish dialects in general [cf., Boryś 2007, 532-538;Gotówka 2015, 207-221;Kłobus 1987, 209-219] and in periphery dialects in particular is poorly developed in the scientific literature 3 . The main problem in the process of identifying archaisms was to distinguish relicts preserved in local Polish dialects from the regionalisms borrowed from the Eastern Slavic languages as a result of interference. In order to verify the chronology, history and semantic development of each word, historical, etymological and dialect dictionaries of the Polish language were utilized in the analysis. In addition, the material from Belarusian, Russian and Lithuanian that had had a significant impact on the Polish dialects on the territory of Lithuania was applied. The most important criteria on defining a lexical unit as an archaism were the presence of chronological qualifiers in the dictionaries of the Polish language (both modern and historical, see list of dictionaries).
In total, it was possible to identify about 200 lexical units classified as obsolete or archaic. Not only the native vocabulary was considered, but also the old borrowings that once had functioned in the common Polish language. Within the scope of this article, I would like to share the preliminary observations and conclusions.
III. As a result of the analysis, the collected material was divided into several groups: drwotnia 'wood-shed': the old apophonic variant of Polish dialect drewotnia/ drewótnia/ drewutnia (SGP) that is also known in Lithuania, cf. the alternation drwa -drewno; another local form is drywotnia id. (cf. Belar. drywotn'a); L notes; SWil and SW consider it a provincialism.
kram 'a shop': Sławski [SE] notes kram as an old Germ. word starting with the 13 th cent.; L illustrates the use of it in the 17 th -18 th cent.; an alternative form krama is mentioned in SW and SGP as a regional variant, cf. Belar. krama 'a stall'. kroba / krobia, króbka, króbeczka 'a bark basket, box, box of bast': acc. SESł it has been mentioned in the Old Polish since the 14 th cent.; SW and SJPDor mark it as an obsolete and dialectal word; cf. Belar. korab, karabok, Russ. korob, korobok, korobka.
kuczma 'tangled cords', 'tangled messy hair'; L mentions it as 'a kind of fur hat'; SJPDor considers it obsolete; is also known as a dialect word (SGP); cf. Belar. dial. kučma. mleczno 'dairy products'; L says it goes back to the 16 th -18 th cent.; SW and SJPDor consider it obsolete; SGP mentiones that only a few examples are found, however, in different regions; Kurzowa [1993,388] notes the synonym mleczniwo as a result of contamination of the forms mleczno and mleczywo. młoćba / młóćba 'grind': an old form is noted in L, Arct, SWil, SW; SJPDor classifies it as obsolete; cf. Belar. małac'ba, Russ. mołot'ba.
polica 'a shelf': L notes it starting with the 16 th cent.; Arct, SW; SJPDor consider it obsolete and dialectal; it is also well-known in the autochthonous dialects (SGP); cf. Belar. palica id.
pośnik, postnik 'a fast dinner, dinner at Christmas Eve': L defines pośnik as 'advent or fast food', starting with the 16 th cent.; the contemporary dictionaries classify it as obsolete; the meaning 'Christmas Eve dinner' is known only in some regions, as well as in the autochthonous dialects [SGP].
tłucz, tłucza 'fodder (for horses, dogs) made from grinded grain': acc. L it is mentioned starting with the 16 th -17 th cent.; Arct, SW; SJPDor consider it obsolete; no information in SGP.
1.1.2. Another subgroup of nouns includes the designation of a person (e.g., old words to denote the degree of relationship, some body parts, etc.). Compare: bachur 'a lad'< Heb. bakhúr 'a young man': widespread in Lithuania; in Polish, it appears as a pejorative form bachor; L gives the old form of the word in a neutral sense 'a child (Jewish)'; SW demonstrates the two words with alternation bachur and bachor; SJPDor describes it as old; Karaś [2002,322] notes a female form bachuryca in Kaunas region.
dziewierz 'brother-in-law//husband's brother': an archaism has been documented abundantly in Old Polish since the 14 th cent.; Kurzowa [1993, 354] states after Szymczak that in general Polish it disappeared in the middle of the 17 th cent.; acc. SGP, it is only known in "Kresy" ('borderlands') region.
familia 'family' < Lat. familia: the contemporary dictionaries consider it obsolete; under the influence of the Russian language, it is also widespread in Lithuania in the meaning of 'surname'; acc. Karaś [2002,325], in Kaunas region the old derivative form familiat 'blood relationship' is also preserved; L, SWil, SW note the form familijant 'a member of a noble family'.
gościa 'a female guest': it was mentioned in SStp (the 15 th -19 th cent.); not mentioned in L; SWil and SJPDor classify it as obsolete; SGP records it only in Lithuania; cf. Belar. hoscja, Russ. gostja.
żeniec 'reaper': L mentions it starting from the 18 th cent.; SJPDor classifies it as obsolete; SGP notes a number of its use in various autochthonous areas; cf. Belar. žn'ec.
dawić 'to choke': is mentioned in SStp and L; acc. Brückner it was used in the 15 th -18 th cent.; SW and SJPDor consider it archaic; SGP says it could be found in Polish dialects; cf. Belar. davic', zadavic' 'to press, to crush, to knock down'. dośpiać, dośpiewać 'ripen, become fully ripe'; L provides a number of examples with dośpiewać from the 16 th -18 th cent.; SJPDor notes it is obsolete: SGP states it was used in the north-east of the country; cf. Belar. daspec', daspjavac'. gomonić / homonić 'to shout, to vociferate': Sławski (SE) and Bańkowski (SE) have noted its use in Old Polish since the 15 th cent.; Arct also provides gomonliwy, gomonny 'noisy, boisterous'; SJPDor classifies it as obsolete; SGP indicates gomon 'cry, noise, din' in various dialects; Bańkowski (SE) treats the regional variants starting with h-as a Ruthenian form, cf. Belar. hamanic'.
krążać 'to crumble, to drop crumbs': L has already mentioned it is an archaism with the provided examples coming from the 16 th -17 th cent.; SGP illustrates various examples of its use in different regions, especially in Lesser Poland (Malopolska) and Silesia.
odkazać 'to refuse': an archaism described in L, Arct, SW, also in the meanings 'to answer', 'to command'; known to many Polish dialects, but in the meaning 'to refuse' it dominates in the Eastern Borderlands and in the dialects of Eastern Poland (SGP; Karaś 2002, 327 obrzyzgły 'about a disgusting, unpleasant sour taste and smell of drinks: another old Polish form is obrzazgły 'starting to turn sour, thus, undergoing fermentation' (L, Arct); SJPDor classifies it as obsolete by mentioning the forms obrzazg/ obrzask 'disgust, sour in the mouth'; SGP notes the verb obrzyskać 'to scent, to fry' coming from Kaszuby region; cf. Belar. abryzhnuc' 'to turn sour'.

Semantic archaisms. The next quantitative group (according to its
number that is about 70 units) is presented by the semantic archaisms, i.e. the words that have preserved their obsolete meanings. The group includes various parts of speech: 2.1. The NOUNS. Compare: baba '(an old) woman': an old general Slavic expression that is also found in contemporary Polish, however, its meaning is marked as strongly negative.
błazen, błazenek 'a snot nose, greenhorn, pup, child': cf. general Polish meaning 'a person saying nonsense, something ridiculing', 'a clown'; L defines this word 'about a young person who is a prankster, also about small children'; SW 'a kid, a snot (colloquial)'; SGP express. 'about a child' (from Lithuania and Białystok region); the meaning 'a young boy' is also preserved in Belar. błazan, błazen.
cacka 'a toy': L provides its variants cacko, czaczko, cacka from the 16 th cent.; SW considers it a provincialism; SJPDor notes the meaning 'a children's toy' used till the end of the 19 th cent.; this meaning is also noted by SGP; cf. modern Polish cacko 'a small object of an artistic value', 'something beautiful, elegant'. chrust, chrusty 'brushwood, scrubs': in this meaning it is noted in SPXVI, L, Arct, SW; in SJPDor it is mentioned without any qualifier; the dictionaries of contemporary Polish consider it obsolete in relation to the general Polish meaning 'dry branches of trees and shrubs' (Sing. tantum).
cmentarz 'a courtyard by the church, a tomb': both SJPDor and L note its general Polish meaning 'the place where the dead are buried' < Lat. cimiterium 'cemetery' < Gr. koimētḗrion 'a resting place'.
czeladź 'family, relatives, blood relationship (children)': a semantic archaism (< Proto-Slav. *čel'adь 'family, kin') towards the general Polish word czeladź, a word that used to mean 'a person who performs duties for others, especially a person employed in an aristocratic house on domestic duties'.
denko 'a lid': cf. Pol. denko 'the bottom of a small container'; L states it has been used since the 16 th cent.; SW considers it an archaism; acc. SGP it is known to various Polish dialects. phenomenon; Boryś [SEBor 760] considers it the next form of the dialectal *živelъ 'a living being, creature' < *živъ 'living' with the rare suffix *-elъ (cf. dzięcioł, kwiczoł).

The VERBS:
baczyć 'to see': in this meaning SWil considers it an archaism; acc. SGP an old meaning is also preserved in some dialects in Poland; cf. modern baczyć 'to look at something' that is described as a book style in the contemporary dictionaries; to oppose Kurzowa's opinion [1993,478], it should rather be classified as a semantic archaism, in Kresy region it probably remains under the influence of Belar. bačyc' 'to see'.
dokazać 'to prove, to convince': cf. the contemporary meaning 'to achieve the intended goal, to attain something'; L agrees on the meaning 'to prove' by providing the examples from the 16 th -18 th cent.; acc. SW and SJPDor, it is obsolete; SGP provides the examples from the autochthonous Polish territories; cf. Belar. dakazac', Russ. dokazat'.
dybać 'to go stealthily': cf. the contemporary meaning 'to hold breath and hide'; L provides an example with the meaning 'to creep on tiptoe'; SW and SJPDor consider it an archaism; SGP notes the meaning 'to go slowly' (in Białystok region); cf. Belar. dybaс' 'to walk on tiptoe or slowly (with difficulty)', Russ. dialectal dybat' id.
liczyć 'to consider': in this meaning (close to general Polish 'to count') it is noted in L and Arct; SW and SJPDor classify it as obsolete; cf. Belar. ličyc' id.
wiedzieć 'to know': an archaic meaning (L, Arct, SWil, SW) as compared to the contemporary meaning 'to be aware of something', it is also known to the native dialects (SGP). zastanowić się 'to stop': an obsolete meaning (L, SWil, SW) if compared to the contemporary meaning 'to think about something'; SJPDor considers it obsolete; it is also known to the native dialects (SGP); cf. Russ. ostanovit's'a id.
znać 'to know': in this meaning it is noted in L (the 16 th -18 th cent.), Arct, SW; SJPDor classifies it as obsolete; to know about Kresy's characterictic blending of meanings of the words znać and wiedzieć see: [Kurzowa 1993, 456].
czuły 'watchful': a semantic archaism as compared to its contemporary Polish meaning where czuły is 'affectionate, loving, sensitive'; in the meaning 'watchful' it is mentioned in L as an example from the 16 th cent.; SW and SJPDor consider it obsolete; cf. Belar. čuły 'sensitive'.
drugi 'other': cf. the contemporary 'second'; acc. Sławski, it has functioned in this meaning since the 14 th cent.; it is also noted in SStp and SPXVI; L defines it as 'certain'; acc. SGP its old meaning is well-known to many Polish dialects; cf. rano, raniej 'early, earlier': a semantic archaism commonly used in Kresy, as well as in north-eastern Poland (SGP); L and SW provide the examples from the 18 th cent.; SJPDor classifies it as obsolete; this meaning finds its equivalents in Belar. rana, Russ. rano.
wcale 'completely, totally' in affirmative constructions: in general Polish it usually appears with a particle strengthening the negation (not); in the old meaning it is noted in L, SWil; SW and SJPDor classify it as obsolete; it is also known to the autochthonous dialects (SGP).

Lexical word-building archaisms
The last group consists of not numerous word-building archaisms (the socalled word-building doublets), which differ from the contemporary equivalents by any word-forming affix, occasionally by the form of the root morpheme (see: [Buttler 1984, 278;Sierociuk 2008, 229-236]).
It is a very interesting lexical group which requires a separate study.
V. Thus, the conclusions are as follows: 1) During the work on the project "Polish Dialects in Lithuania", various types of archaisms were found. 2) In total, it was identified about 200 lexical units classified as obsolete or archaic. The analysis has shown that proper lexical archaisms constitute approximately 50% of the material, semantic archaisms constitute about 35%, and about 15% of the material are lexical word-building archaisms. About half of the identified lexical archaisms are also known to a number of dialects in Poland.